HMC is committed to ensuring fair compensation of employees. The German Minimum Wage Act (Mindestlohngesetz, MiLoG) went into effect on 01 January 2015, and the updated version of the City of Hamburg Collective Agreement of 19 September 2005 took effect on 18 November 2020 (TV-AVH).

For further information please refer to Item 8, “Decent Work and Economic Growth”.

As a public-sector company HMC is fully aware of its responsibility for society. We maintain numerous partnerships to promote a continuous exchange of sustainability know-how.

These include the Climate Partner Agreement (Klima-Partner-Vereinbarung; since 2018) and membership in the Hamburg Partnership for the Environment (UmweltPartnerschaft; since 2019) which includes membership in the Air Quality Partnership (Luftgütepartnerschaft; since 2020). These partnerships provide HMC with a variety of options to interact with experts and improve its sustainability performance steadily. Within the scope of the Climate Partner Agreement, a so-called Sustainability Network (Netzwerk Nachhaltigkeit) was established to promote the exchange of information and experiences among the participating public sector organisations, and especially, the implementation of the Hamburg Corporate Governance Code (HCGK). The members of these partnerships take joint action for the environment and the climate.

As a client of ClimatePartner, HMC has been actively involved in the following climate protection initiatives since mid-2020:

• Creation of the company's CO2 balance sheet

• Identification of CO2 reduction potential

To include our exhibitors in our decarbonisation efforts, we have prepared a Green Guide for eco-friendly trade fair participation since exhibitor operations offer significant potential for emission reduction. The Green Guide can be found on the HMC home page.

Our staff members benefit from the services of “Pakadoo", a company which has received the “Hanse Globe Special Award". Our employees can use this service to have their personal online orders delivered to their place of employment. This is not only convenient because every package is guaranteed to reach its recipient, but it also makes a major difference for vehicle traffic in the city, reducing the distances travelled by the delivery vehicles, and thereby their emissions. According to Pakadoo, as few as 50 delivered packages save as much as 46 kilograms of CO2. This is equivalent to nearly 1 kilogram of CO2 per packet.

An initiative of the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) launched in late 2021 within the scope of the "Net Zero" project has helped put the events sector on track to achieve zero emissions by 2050. This initiative consolidates the efforts of numerous companies of the events sector. Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH has co-signed and joined the “Net Zero Carbon Events” initiative.

By joining the German "Diversity Charter" in 2008, we committed to creating a working environment that is free of prejudice and discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, sexual identity, nationality, ethnic origin or philosophical convictions. Showing mutual respect and valuing every individual are principles which define how we treat each other at this company.