Material topics
The materiality analysis presented below is built upon the foundational work done in the year 2021. In 2023, as part of a context analysis, the existing material topics developed in that earlier work were first examined as to whether they remained relevant considering the present business model, and were found to remain appropriate. The topics were then analyzed according to the principle of double materiality:
- Relevant stakeholder groups assessed the impact of these topics on the economy, the environment and society in a survey (“impact materiality”). Feedback from a total of 67 stakeholders was incorporated, including investors and analysts (with a weighting of 25%), suppliers and business partners (weighting of 25%), customers (weighting of 25%) and Comet employees (weighting of 25%).
- In a second survey, a total of 32 managers from Comet’s various divisions and from Group headquarters assessed the materiality of the topics for the company’s long-term business success (“financial materiality”).
The resulting materiality matrix was validated by the Executive Committee and approved by the Board of Directors. The identified material topics serve as the foundation for our sustainability strategy, targets, and reporting.
To ensure that the material topics are up to date, we regularly review which topics are central to the long-term, sustainable development of the company. Consequently, we integrated the topics “Materials Compliance” and “Product Quality and Compliance” into a unified "Technical Compliance" framework in 2024, embedded within our management system. This consolidation reflects the shared focus of those two topics on adhering to technical, regulatory, and industry standards throughout the product lifecycle. This combination, which reduced the number of material topics from 15 to 14, is further detailed in the section "Technical Compliance". The placement of the new "Technical Compliance" data point in the materiality matrix is based on 2023 evaluation data.
