Responsibility
Douglas We do beautiful!
Douglas defines factors that contribute to a sustainable entrepreneurial success. Apart from its corporate responsibility, Douglas also takes on its social and environmental responsibility.
SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT FOR strong partnerships
Douglas operates strategically in a market environment that is changing rapidly. At the same time, Douglas is aware of its corporate responsibility. Our strong relationships with industry partners and suppliers form the foundation of sustainable success. In choosing its suppliers, Douglas ensures they meet the same social and environmental standards that guide our own actions. Our standards are defined in the Douglas Supplier Code of Conduct, which is based on the recognition of labour and social standards as well as international human rights.
WE OPEN ALL EYES TO THE beauty of uniqueness!
As Europe's leading premium beauty retailer, Douglas recognises its responsibility in society. Our company purpose leads our doing: We open all eyes to the beauty of uniqueness, bring it to life and make life itself more beautiful. For a world where everyone feels seen, heard and valued.Since 2008, Douglas has been supporting the efforts of DKMS LIFE, a subsidiary of the German register for bone marrow donors (DKMS). DKMS LIFE offers free cosmetics workshops to women suffering from cancer to help them cope with the outward manifestations of their illness and its therapy. Since the beginning of the cooperation, Douglas employees have been holding these “look good feel better” cosmetics workshops. Furthermore, Douglas offers financial support to DKMS LIFE.
Diversity AT DOUGLAS
Douglas stands for diversity. We make no distinctions in skin color, origin, sexual orientation or personal pronouns. Douglas sees itself as a democratic and inclusive brand that stands for an open and diverse society. As an employer, Douglas lives by equal treatment, tolerance and equal opportunities across all levels of its employees. Through internal formats and external campaigns, we take a stand against discrimination and for the inclusion of women, the LGBTQI+ community, various ethnic and age groups. We want to encourage everyone to be the way they want to be. We always strive to inspire our customers and employees to express their individuality.
Certified by BGA
In February 2021, Douglas was the first company to receive the Diversity Certificate by BeyondGenderAgenda (BGA). The BeyondGenderAgenda is an initiative to integrally anchor diversity in business, certifying companies for successful efforts in diversity, equal opportunity and an inclusive work environment - internally and externally. BGA believes there is a clear link between diverse leadership teams and financial outperformance. Just like BGA, we believe in this principle, too, which is confirmed by our economic success in recent years. We have anchored our long-term commitment to the topic of diversity not least in our purpose, in which we commit ourselves to a world where everyone feels seen, heard and valued in their individual uniqueness.
Women INTO LEADERSHIP
The story of Douglas is marked by strong women running the company. The promotion of women at all corporate levels, including executive positions, is an established practice at Douglas and also marks an important cornerstone of our success. As a member of the “Initiative Women into Leadership e.V.” (IWiL), we have set our goal to promote highly qualified women in their professional development. The initiative forms a broad network across business, academia and society, offering professional support and continuous exchange of experience through cross-mentoring beyond corporate boundaries.
Equal opportunities AT DOUGLAS
Germany’s Law on Equal Participation of Women and Men in Leadership Positions in the Private and Public Sectors provides for the Supervisory Board of Douglas GmbH to determine targets regarding the proportion of women in the Supervisory Board and on the team of managing directors, as well as deadlines for reaching those targets. For their part, the managing directors of Douglas GmbH are responsible for setting such goals and deadlines for the two management levels below them.
At DOUGLAS we have been implementing legal regulations on the gender quota. In recent years, we have steadily increased the proportion of women in management positions at DOUGLAS GmbH. At Parfümerie DOUGLAS Deutschland GmbH, the first-time co-determination resulted in a gender quota that far exceeds the legal target of gender parity.
We are proud that we have already achieved, and in part also exceeded, our target rations: The exact figures can be found in the adjacent table. Further, we will continue promoting this important development towards equal opportunities in the future.
BALANCING family life AND CAREER DEVELOPEMENTS
Douglas supports the reconciliation of family life and career development for mothers and fathers. Various working arrangements and part-time schemes enable our employees to flexibly arrange their daily work routine. At our locations in Hagen and Düsseldorf, we also offer day-care places to our employees.
Green BUILDING
At Douglas, we are aware of our responsibility for our environment. And so, our aim to be innovative, premium and digital in retailing also translates into a guiding principle for the respectful and sustainable use of resources. Since 2016, Douglas’ international headquarters have been located in a so-called “Green Building”: The DUO in Düsseldorf was modernised along the lines of increased energy, water and material efficiency. As a result, it has been certified with “Green Building LEED™ Gold” status. The award attests that the strict requirements were met in several environmental categories when the building was renovated. Also, thanks to various sustainable and resource-friendly measurements, the renovation process meant fewer negative effects for the environment. Today, the greenery throughout the building accentuates the eco-friendliness of the building.
Eco-friendly STORE CONCEPTS
One of Douglas’ great concerns is the efficient use of resources and energy. Hence, we selectively collect data on energy consumption, carbon emissions and other relevant ecological data. In order to contribute to protecting our climate and the environment, Douglas devotes substantial efforts to continually improve the energy efficiency of our stores and to avoid the unnecessary use of energy and materials. In new and refurbished stores we employ energy-saving technology for air-conditioning and ventilating systems. Also, a building control system has been in use with these stores since 2017, which further increases the efficiency of the technical building equipment by automatically and fully controlling both the air-conditioning and ventilation functions as well as the lighting and advertising lighting. In more than 90% of its German stores, Douglas also uses LED lighting systems on the sales floors to reduce energy consumption per square meter. Furthermore, the use of smart meter devices helps us to continually monitor and optimise the use of electricity and therefore indirectly to also reduce our carbon footprint.