NEU: Bertelsmann Environmental Report 2023

Bertelsmann Environmental Report 2023

Environmental information referencing the Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

w w w.bertelsmann.com/responsibilit y

Bertelsmann Environmental Report 2023

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Corporate Profile

Bertelsmann operates in the core business fields of media, services and education in around 50 countries worldwide. The geographic core markets are Western Europe - in particular, Germany, France and the United Kingdom - and the United States. In addition, Bertelsmann is active in the growth markets Brazil, India and China. The Bertelsmann divisions are RTL Group (entertainment), Penguin Random House (books), BMG (music), Arvato Group (services), Bertelsmann Marketing Services (direct marketing and printing activities), Bertelsmann Education Group (education) and Bertelsmann Investments (venture capital activities and Bertelsmann Next growth area).

Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA is a capital market-oriented but unlisted partnership limited by shares. As a group holding company, it exercises key corporate functions such as the definition and further development of group strategy, capital allocation, financing and management. Internal corporate management and reporting follow the Group's organizational structure, which consists of the operating divisions and Corporate.

RTL Group is a leading European entertainment group in the broadcasting, streaming, content, publishing and digital business, with interests in 60 television channels, seven streaming platforms and 36 radio stations. RTL Group's television channels include RTL in Germany, M6 in France and the RTL channels in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Hungary, as well as a stake in Atresmedia in Spain. The streaming services comprise RTL+ in Germany and Hungary, Videoland in the Netherlands and 6play in France. The content business, Fremantle, is one of the largest international creators, producers and distributors of scripted and unscripted content in the world. The streaming-tech company Bedrock and the ad-tech company Smartclip are also part of RTL Group. RTL Group is a listed company and a member of the MDAX.

Penguin Random House is, based on revenue, the world's largest trade book publisher, with more than 300 imprints and book brands across six continents. Its well-known imprints include Doubleday, Riverhead, Viking and Alfred A. Knopf (United States); Ebury, Hamish Hamilton and Jonathan Cape (United Kingdom); Goldmann and Heyne (Germany); Plaza & Janés and Alfaguara (Spain); Sudamericana (Argentina); and the international imprint Dorling Kindersley. Each year Penguin Random House publishes more than 16,000 new titles and sells around 700 million print books, e-books and audiobooks.

BMG is an international music company and integrates recording-label and music-publishing business under a shared umbrella. With 20 offices in 13 core music markets, BMG represents more than three million titles and recordings, including iconic catalogs and renowned artists and songwriters such as Jason Aldean, Kylie Minogue, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Jennifer Lopez, Lenny Kravitz and Tina Turner.

The Arvato Group is an international service group that develops and implements custom-made solutions for all kinds of business processes, for customers in a wide range of sectors in around 30 countries. Worldrenowned companies from an array of different sectors - telecommunications providers and utility companies, banks and insurance companies, e-commerce, IT and internet providers - all rely on the group's portfolio of solutions ranging from supply chain solutions (Arvato) through financial services (Riverty) to IT services (Arvato Systems).

The Bertelsmann Marketing Services division is a multi-channelfull-service provider for the advertising industry, bundling all of Bertelsmann's direct marketing and printing activities. Bertelsmann Marketing Services consists of four business units: the offset printers in Germany; the offset and digital printers in the United States; the Digital

Bertelsmann Environmental Report 2023

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Marketing businesses, which include the content agency Territory, Campaign, DeutschlandCard and the Dialog business, among others; and the Sonopress Group.

Bertelsmann Education Group comprises Bertelsmann's education activities. The group's companies focus on the

healthcare and education sectors, in particular education and training, and deliver innovative ways of teaching and learning as well as performance management solutions for students, professionals and organizations. The

companies include Brazil's leading university group for medical education and training, Afya, the US continuing

education and workforce management solution provider Relias, and the professional practice-oriented Alliant International University.

Bertelsmann Investments bundles Bertelsmann's worldwide venture capital activities, the Bertelsmann Next unit and

the Investments & Participations unit. Investments are largely made through the funds Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI), Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI), as well as funds and direct investments in the Europe, Brazil, Southeast Asia and Africa regions. The Bertelsmann Next unit is driving the entrepreneurial development of new growth sectors and lines of business, in particular in the areas of digital health, HR tech and mobile ad tech. The Investments & Participations unit includes, among other things, DDV Mediengruppe and the stake in the Spiegel Group.

Shareholder Structure

Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA is a capital market-oriented but unlisted partnership limited by shares. 80.9 percent of the capital shares in Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA are held indirectly by foundations (Bertelsmann Stiftung, Reinhard Mohn Stiftung, BVG-Familienstiftung,BVG-Stiftung), and 19.1 percent are held indirectly by the Mohn family. Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft (BVG) controls all voting rights at the General Meeting of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Bertelsmann Management SE (general partner).

About this Report

Bertelsmann considers environmental protection to be an integral part of its corporate responsibility. In this annual Environmental Report, Bertelsmann discloses the impacts of its activities and those of its corporate divisions on the environment and its contribution to climate protection.

In this report, greenhouse gas emissions are presented in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. Environmental indicators for the 2023 financial year presented in this report reference the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). Hyperlinks lead to further information, facts and figures about the responsible conduct of Bertelsmann and its corporate divisions on the Bertelsmann Website. In the financial year 2023, emissions from Majorel were only reported until end of October due to the sale and deconsolidation of the business.

In March 2024, Bertelsmann also published a Combined Non-Financial Statement in the Bertelsmann Annual Report 2023(pp. 55-69), which complies with the German CSR Directive Implementation Act.

Bertelsmann Environmental Report 2023

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Introduction

Bertelsmann aspires to become climate neutral by 2030. With its long-term strategy "Bertelsmann Climate Neutral 2030," the company fulfills its responsibility to reduce and offset greenhouse gas emissions. Bertelsmann joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in 2021 and supports the target of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

Supplementing the climate strategy, the company defined further strategic objectives and developed measures from those, as part of the Bertelsmann ESG Program (2021-2024). These objectives include strengthening the governance for climate and environmental protection and further developing environmental planning and reporting. In addition, the company intends to increase the share of renewable energies (green electricity, photovoltaics), implement new mobility concepts, advance energy efficiency, "Green IT," and the measurement of the digital footprint. Emissions from the print and digital products supply chains are to be presented in a transparent manner and reduced successively in a joint effort with business partners.

TheBertelsmann Environmental Policy, theBertelsmann Energy & Climate Policy, and theBertelsmann Paper Policyprovide the framework for the Group's environmental management. In addition to climate neutrality (see GRI 305) and the shift to green electricity (see GRI 302), Bertelsmann strives to ensure the sustainable procurement of paper (see GRI

301).

Group-wide environmental efforts are coordinated by the Corporate Responsibility (CR) department under the supervision of the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). Cross- divisional coordination is handled by the CR Council, which is chaired by the CHRO. Overall responsibility lies with the Bertelsmann Executive Board, which monitors the achievement of environmental targets annually as part of strategic planning. Operational responsibility for energy and environmental management lies with the managements of the individual Bertelsmann companies. The internationally staffed "be green" working group chaired by the Corporate Responsibility department serves as a platform for cross-divisional environmental engagement. Representatives from the Bertelsmann corporate divisions - e.g., paper buyers, energy and environmental managers, logistics experts, and controllers - regularly discuss current environmental topics and measures. The experts in the "be green" working group also coordinate the Group-wide collection and reporting of environmental data.

Since 2008, Bertelsmann has compiled Group-wide environmental indicators on paper, energy, water and effluents, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste (see GRI 301, 302, 303, 305, 306). These indicators illustrate the development of the environmental impacts of Bertelsmann and its sites, companies, and corporate divisions. Specific environmental footprint reports help to evaluate opportunities and risks and to report to business partners. They are also used as an information basis for ESG ratings. The basis for environmental reporting is the Group-wide IT platform "green.screen," a platform for the collection, processing, and analysis of environmental data at all levels of the organization. At the same time, more and more Bertelsmann companies are using "green.screen" for their digital energy data management. All production and logistics sites, the company's own computer centers, and most of its own and rented office sites were included in the latest data collection process. The environmental data for employees at the remaining office locations was calculated based on average consumption values.

Bertelsmann Environmental Report 2023Page 5 of 19

GRI

Disclosure

UNGC

301 Materials

Management approach

Bertelsmann uses a wide variety of materials in the production and logistics of physical products. Besides paper and cardboard, these include, e.g., printing inks, coatings and adhesives, granulate for the production of CDs and DVDs, and plastic-based films and packaging. In addition, materials are procured as part of purchased goods and services.

Paper continues to be of particular relevance to Bertelsmann, representing the most important resource for the company's printing business. Therefore, sustainable forestry, resource conservation, climate protection, and waste avoidance play a major role for Bertelsmann across the entire paper value chain. To protect forests that are valuable for climate and biodiversity, Bertelsmann has issued a Paper Policyfor paper procurement to complement its Environmental Policy. It stipulates, e.g., that no wood from primary or protected forests can be used in paper production. Bertelsmann companies also need to ensure that the paper used has the highest possible proportion of recycled materials in addition to certified wood fibers.

Bertelsmann strives to raise the share of recycled paper and paper from certified, sustainable forestry to 100 percent. Recycled paper as well as paper of certified origin, complying with FSC®, PEFC™, SFI® requirements or comparable standards, are regarded as sustainably sourced paper.

Bertelsmann's media businesses have stepped up their efforts to produce content and products in a resource-conserving manner, e.g., with certified sustainable books and magazines, "green" TV productions, and plastic-free packaging. In their function as providers of print services, Bertelsmann companies in the service business offer their customers an extensive range of sustainably certified and climate-neutral print products.

Information on the general management approach for environmental matters: see introduction.

VII-

VIII

301-1	Materials used by weight or volume			VII-
									VIII
	Material consumption
	in tons
				2023			2022
	Paper1)		907,560			1,148,930
	Other materials		101,280			76,800
	Total materials			1,008,840			1,225,730

1) Including quantities procured via service providers and provided by third parties

In the 2023 financial year, Bertelsmann's total material use decreased by 18 percent. The amount of paper used for print products, packaging paper, and office paper diminished by 21 percent, primarily due to the decline in the printing business. In contrast, the use of other materials increased by 32 percent year on year, in particular due to higher demand of packaging materials by Arvato Group's growing logistics business.

Bertelsmann Environmental Report 2023Page 6 of 19

GRI	Disclosure	UNGC
	Paper consumption by division
	in tons

RTL Group

Penguin Random House

BMG

Arvato Group

Bertelsmann Marketing Services

Bertelsmann

Education Group

Bertelsmann

Investments

Corporate

Total paper before consolidation

Consolidated

Total paper after consolidation

2023	2022
16,512	25,006
275,171	291,267
3	2
58,724	39,600
596,896	837,642
66	3
9,206	13,331
74	72
956,652	1,206,923
-49,085	-57,992
907,567	1,148,931

The year-on-year development of paper quantities used varied from division to division. Bertelsmann Marketing Services recorded declines in paper quantities of 240,746 tons, primarily due to the closure of the Prinovis gravure printing sites and a decline in demand of print products. Penguin Random House also reported lower paper consumption due to reduced print volumes, constant efforts to reduce the paper grammage and the sale of stocks. The decline of RTL Group's paper consumption is due to lower sales in the magazine business of RTL Germany. The paper consumption of Arvato Group increased due to growing activities in logistics. The increase in paper consumption of Bertelsmann Education is due to the first-time inclusion of Afya in 2023.

301-2 Recycled input materials usedVIII

Paper consumption and share of recycled and certified paper by division in tons

RTL Group

Penguin Random House

BMG

Arvato Group

Bertelsmann Marketing Services

Bertelsmann Education Group

Bertelsmann Investments

Corporate

		Total paper			of which
				recycled
		16,512		1,307
		275,171		4,559
		3		0
		58,724		23,915
		596,896		125,590
		66		1
		9,206		8,426
		74		48

of which		of which
certified		other
15,189	16
259,822	10,790
1	2
6,951	27,858
410,608	60,698
0	65
685	94
25	1

Bertelsmann Environmental Report 2023Page 7 of 19

GRI	Disclosure																		UNGC
		Total paper before				956,652				163,847				693,280				99,526
		consolidation
		Consolidated			-49,085		-5		-48,370		-710
		Total paper after consolidation				907,567				163,842				644,910				98,816

In the 2023 financial year, 89 percent of the total paper quantities used was either recycled paper or certified fresh fiber paper. Paper that meets the requirements of FSC®, PEFCTM, SFI®, or similar standards is shown under "certified quantities." The remaining 11 percent of the total quantities of paper procured did not meet the above criteria and is reported as "other". The majority of this was supplied by customers outside the Group for the printing of books, magazines, catalogs, and brochures ("provisions").

Share of sustainably sourced paper - own purchases

in percent

	2023
Share of recycled fibers	18
Share of certified fresh fibers	78
Share - own purchases	96
Total share	89

2022

24

70

94

87

For quantities of paper purchased by Bertelsmann companies on their own account and not provided by third parties, Bertelsmann has set the target of sourcing 100 percent according to the paper standards described above. Bertelsmann uses the shares of recycled paper and certified fresh fiber paper in the total quantity of paper purchased as indicators of responsible use of natural resources and protection of forests.

The share of sustainably sourced paper on own account increased slightly from 94 to 96 percent in the 2023 financial year. The increase is mainly attributable to Penguin Random House and Bertelsmann Marketing Services. The share of recycled fibers has decreased as major customers of Bertelsmann Marketing Services switched from recycled paper to certified paper in 2023 financial year.

302 Energy

Management approach

VII-IX

Energy, as a major factor influencing the "Bertelsmann Climate Neutral 2030" strategy, is a focus topic for the Group. Although increasing digitalization lowers the company's dependency on finite natural resources, it simultaneously leads to a higher energy consumption caused by data use. Besides improving its energy efficiency, Bertelsmann relies on increasing the use of renewable energies across all corporate divisions and among its external IT service providers. The Group-wide specifications on energy management are codified in the Bertelsmann Energy & Climate Policy.

As the most important lever for reducing its own emissions, Bertelsmann pursues the target of procuring 100 percent of the electricity purchased from renewable sources. Alongside electricity purchasing, local on-site generation of own electricity and heat using renewable energies still makes up only a small share but is to be expanded and contribute to the transformation of local energy markets. Bertelsmann does not use lignite or anthracite in its

Bertelsmann Environmental Report 2023	Page 8 of 19
GRI	Disclosure	UNGC

own energy generation and expects its energy suppliers to gradually phase out fossil fuels. Increasing transparency about energy consumption thanks to the "green.screen" IT platform supports energy data management at site level and enables cross-site exchange. At this point, energy data from more than 100 national and international sites is compiled and visualized on a daily or monthly basis in "green.screen."

Information on the general management approach for environmental matters: see introduction.

302-1	Energy consumption within the organization	VII-
		VIII
	Use of fuels and propellants

in megawatt hours (MWh)

Natural gas

Diesel

Gasoline

Heating oil

Other

Total

2023

604,200

28,000

12,700

4,400

19,500

668,800

2022

834,900

29,000

10,400

6,700

16,200

897,200

Natural Gas is the most important fossil fuel used in Bertelsmann's operations. Natural gas is used in combined heat and power plants to produce electricity and heat to generate process heat in printing plants and in heating systems for the company's own heat generation. In the 2023 financial year, a total of 604,200 MWh of natural gas was used for the company's own energy generation, reflecting a year-on-year decrease of 28 percent. The closure of the Prinovis gravure sites is contributing significantly to the decline in consumption of natural gas. Only a small proportion of heat is generated using heating oil. There was again a decrease in the volume used as compared to the previous year. In the 2023 financial year, 28,000 MWh of diesel were consumed, equivalent to a 3-percent decrease compared to 2022. 82 percent of the diesel was used for company cars, with the remainder used for emergency generators and forklifts. Gasoline consumption by company cars increased by 22 percent, due to a significant increase of travel activities. The remaining energy quantities subsumed under "other" comprise fuels for fleet vehicles, company jets, and renewable fuels. Here, a 20-percent increase occurred, primarily due to the use of liquefied gases for heating purposes. In accordance with the Bertelsmann Energy & Climate Policy, no coal is used in the in-house generation of energy.

Generation of solar energy

in megawatt hours (MWh)

Generation of energy through photovoltaics

Thereof own consumption

20232022

21,90016,900

14,3008,400

Bertelsmann Environmental Report 2023

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GRI

Disclosure

UNGC

Bertelsmann also generates a growing amount of energy from renewable sources.

Electricity generation from solar power increased from 16,900 MWh in 2022 to 21,900

MWh in the 2023 financial year. 65 percent of this was consumed by the company itself

and the remaining amount was fed into the power grid. The increase in solar energy

generation is primarily attributable to Bertelsmann Education's Afya sites, which are

reporting in full for the first time this year.

Procurement of electricity and heat

in megawatt hours (MWh)

2023

2022

Purchased electricity

446,300

446,600

of which from

437,000

337,900

renewable sources

Purchased heat

73,100

91,100

of which from

3,100

5,500

renewable sources

Total purchased

519,400

537,700

energy

In addition to the fuels and propellants used, Bertelsmann records the procurement of electricity and heat. Besides grid purchases, this also includes energy volumes at rented properties that are provided by landlords. Total purchased energy decreased by 3 percent in the 2023 financial year, while Bertelsmann was able to significantly increase its consumption of renewable energies with certificates of origin.

Bertelsmann has defined mandatory criteria and recommendations for the renewable electricity purchases of its sites worldwide. These criteria cover exclusivity, periodicity, regionality, additionality and type of renewable technologies with reference to the technical criteria of RE100. Bertelsmann is not a member of RE100 but acknowledges the work of the initiative that aims to grow corporate demand for renewable energy and to accelerate the transition to a zero-emission economy.

In the 2023 financial year, about 98 percent of green electricity purchases of all Bertelsmann sites and 99 percent of all sites with more than 100 megawatt hours (previous year: 76 percent) were aligned with RE100 technical requirements as published in 2021. In 13 African and Asian countries no local sourcing solutions were available and renewable energy certificates were sourced in other grid-connected or nearby countries instead.

Energy consumption by division

in megawatt hours (MWh)

			2023		2022
	RTL Group	95,700	110,900
	Penguin Random House	82,800	92,400
	BMG	2,600	2,700
	Arvato Group	316,500	323,400
	Bertelsmann Marketing Services	642,800	877,600
	Bertelsmann Education Group	32,800	5,000

Bertelsmann Environmental Report 2023Page 10 of 19

GRI	Disclosure						UNGC
	Bertelsmann Investments	10,100	12,900
	Corporate	19,200	18,200
	Total energy consumption		1,202,500			1,443,100
	Total energy consumption includes the fuels and propellants used, self-generated energy,
	and energy volumes purchased. In the 2023 financial year, Bertelsmann Marketing
	Services accounted for by far the largest share of total consumption at 53 percent.
	However, due to production declines and the aforementioned closure of Prinovis sites,
	consumption fell by 27 percent year-on-year. The Arvato Group followed with 26 percent
	and RTL with 8 percent. The remaining 13 percent were distributed among the other
	corporate divisions. The Bertelsmann Education Group recorded a strong increase due to
	the first-time full integration of Afya in the reporting year 2023. Total energy consumption
	decreased by 17 percent compared to the previous year.
	The decrease at RTL Group is driven by energy savings at all business units and a
	challenging market environment. Part of the decline is also attributable to RTL Luxembourg,
	which has discontinued some of the activities at their locations.

302-2	Energy consumption outside of the organization	VII-
		VIII
	Mobility

in millions of kilometers

Employee commutes

Business travel

Total mobility

2023

676

169

845

2022

637

122

759

Employee mobility increased in the 2023 financial year, mainly due to the continued return to pre-pandemic travel activities. The number of kilometers traveled by employees commuting to work and on business trips increased by 11 percent compared to the previous year. Increased working from office throughout the year raised this share by 6 percent. Likewise, the number of kilometers traveled on business trips increased by 39 percent.

302-3	Energy intensity	VIII
	Energy intensity, the ratio of the sum of the recorded total energy consumption values in
	megawatt hours to the total revenues reported in the consolidated financial statements (in
	millions of euros), was at 60 in the 2023 financial year. Compared to the previous year (71),
	this represents a further decline by 15 percent.
302-4	Reduction of energy consumption	VII-IX
	See GRI 302-1.

	303		Water and Effluents
			Management approach	VII-
			Data on water consumption and effluents are also recorded Group-wide as part of the	VIII

annual environmental data survey, using the "green.screen" IT platform. Based on this