Changing for the better.

We want to change things for the better. The EOS Group has defined its sustainability goals in our Corporate Responsibility (CR) strategy. It lends structure to our commitment and encourages us to act even more responsibly.

Intro

Our CR strategy shows that our responsibilities encompass far more than environmental protection alone. We have defined four key areas where action is needed: Responsible Collection, Joint Progress, Financial Sustainability and Environmental Protection. As an international provider of financial services, we are focusing above all on social and corporate engagement. We would like to change things for the better – not just for our own employees and clients, but also for consumers and the entire debt collection industry.

Materiality as starting point for our sustainability strategy

EOS further elaborated its CR strategy with the involvement of internal and external experts and developed a materiality matrix in 2022. It represents the most significant sustainability subjects for our external stakeholders, as well as for EOS, and forms the basis for the future direction of EOS' sustainability strategy.

"For us, debt collection means taking responsibility – not only for the company’s own employees and clients, but also for consumers, society and the entire debt collection industry. In short, changing for the better."

Marwin Ramcke

Chairman of the EOS Group’s Board of Directors

Our efforts are delivering results. Two examples:

With the Top Women Leaders Award for EOS in Spain and the gold medal for EOS in France from prestigious rating agency EcoVadis, EOS has already won accolades for its endeavors in corporate responsibility in the course of the financial year. But even more has happened, quite apart from these awards. We have pressed ahead with existing initiatives and created new ones.

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An overview of the most important CR activities in fiscal 2021/22.

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Responsible collection

EOS is committed to respectful and fair interaction with consumers and to solution-driven, sustainable debt reduction.

Smart collection

23 possible payment plans: which one offers the best way to get out of debt? The better the plan suits the consumer’s circumstances, the greater the likelihood that the debt will be settled. To ensure the greatest possible likelihood of success, EOS Aremas in Belgium, for example, is developing models based on historical data that suggest an individually tailored installment plan for each person. Initially, 23 possible payment plans are generated for the outstanding debt. A data-driven algorithm then selects the plan most likely to achieve payment – offering consumers sustainable debt relief.

Satisfied consumers

EOS gives defaulting consumers the opportunity to provide feedback: The German service portal invites users to complete a satisfaction survey after they have paid their liabilities in full and at the end of phone calls. This gives consumers the opportunity to rate whether the approach was understandable, the solution offered appropriate, and the interaction with them respectful. EOS in Germany uses this feedback to continuously improve the customer journey. One targeted measure is the introduction of extended payment and self-service functions for greater transparency and ease of use.

Joint progress

EOS assumes social responsibility, within its own company by promoting empowerment, diversity and inclusion, and in society as well through its own educational initiatives.

More knowledge about finances

Since its launch, more than 1,200 schools in Germany have used the finlit foundation’s educational program ManoMoneta in their curriculum. The goal of the EOS Group’s first non-profit company is to familiarize children with the topics of finances and money. In Germany, more than 70,000 children aged between 9 and 13 have already benefited from the program. And the international rollout has now begun: ManoMoneta has already been launched in the Czech Republic, with Slovenia set to follow in spring 2023. A follow-on program for school students aged 13 to 16 is currently being developed. In summer 2022, finlit has found in Hanseatic Bank a strong partner to support it with this initiative.

Please follow the links to get detailed information about the finlit foundation and ManoMoneta.

(As of November 2022)

Diversity as a value

“At EOS, diversity is part of the company’s success. The extensive expertise of our colleagues with different cultural backgrounds helps us to get better every single day,” says Marwin Ramcke, CEO of the EOS Group. Strengthening diversity is also the objective behind the establishment of the EOS Diversity & Inclusion Board, which coordinates and supports various employee initiatives across the Group like the LGBTQ+ community Queer@EOS and the women’s network W:isible.

Financial sustainability

EOS is a strong advocate of strict and binding standards in the industry as well as responsible codes of conduct.

EOS in the UN Global Compact: At EOS, Alisha Kumar and Sibylle Weingart are responsible for issues of corporate responsibility.

Worldwide commitment

The UN Global Compact is the world’s largest initiative for responsible corporate governance. EOS joined this United Nations (UN) initiative in 2021. But of course, joining the initiative is not enough; the real work is only just beginning. First of all, out of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), EOS has to choose the ones it can most effectively contribute to. The next step is to implement measures and CR initiatives that help achieve these goals. To provide transparency about our progress, EOS will report annually to the UN Global Compact in a “Communication on Progress”.

Collaboration with the IFC

EOS and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, have established a joint investment platform in Eastern Europe with the objective of acquiring and processing non-performing loans in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Romania. The investment volume will amount to €129 million over three years. “A crucial aspect of the collaboration with the IFC is to take account of environmental, social and governance factors when selecting and processing NPLs and real estate,” says Carsten Tidow, member of the EOS Group Board of Directors with responsibility for the region of Eastern Europe. “Through this partnership, we are stepping up our activities as a sustainable investor on the NPL market.”

Code of Conduct

With our Code of Conduct, we are creating binding obligations for ourselves in respect of our day-to-day activities. The defined principles of conduct are a reliable reference point for our staff, customers and partners.

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Environmental protection

Together with the Otto Group, EOS employs focused measures that can be implemented quickly to achieve the goal of cimate neutrality by 2030.

Working and traveling sustainably

We also want to do our part for ecological sustainability. Across the Group, we will be offsetting the carbon emissions from all business travel from 2022. In addition, the various EOS national subsidiaries have identified their own approaches and initiatives for a responsible attitude to the environment and the use of resources. Some examples:

The offices of EOS Aremas in Belgium are located in a particularly energy-efficient building which, among other things, sources 100 percent green energy.
Our Belgian colleagues from EOS Contentia send letters that are CO2-neutral.
EOS in Slovenia relies on electric mobility solutions for business travel.
EOS France operates indoor vegetable gardens, while
EOS Matrix in Serbia offers roof space for five beehives.

Sustainability challenge

In 2022, EOS planted 500 trees. Ahead of this activity, employees across the entire Group had reported on their private commitments to sustainability in the form of videos, text and photos. This resulted in an inspiring picture of sustainable activities in everyday life. As a thank-you to its workforce and contribution to climate protection, EOS joined forces with the Bergwald reforestation project to plant native trees in a destroyed forest.