CDR Initiative: our cooperation with the BMUV

How can businesses implement the digital transformation responsibly and for the benefit of society? How can advancing technological developments contribute to a people- and value-oriented exchange? How can digital tools promote sustainable development that strengthens social cohesion and participation?

We discussed these and many more questions since 2019 as part of the Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) Initiative of the Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection. The focus of the initiative was clear: to learn from each other.

Together with the federal ministry for consumer protection, the CDR initiatives office, representatives from other businesses and partners we worked on a number of pioneering projects. Among other things, important groundwork was carried out, for example to align on a standardised definition of the term “corporate digital responsibility”.

We also contributed intensively to drafting the CDR Code, which contains guiding principles and objectives to which all member companies of the CDR Initiative have committed themselves. The Code itself contains nine principles that are aimed at decision-makers in business, politics and civil society, as well as consumers. They provide guidance and help to anchor the topic of CDR in each organisation's culture and framework.

As part of our membership, we published CDR reports in 2022 and 2023, in which we transparently presented the results of our work, ongoing projects and progress in the field of CDR.

The CDR initiative and its members always aim to push CDR forward and discuss emerging topics. For example, Zalando provided and discussed insights into the ethical and data protection questions surrounding the generative AI-powered Zalando Assistant.

“With its work, the CDR initiative is making an evident contribution to creating awareness of corporate digital responsibility and thus putting digital transformation at the service of people,” summarises Darija H. Bräuniger, Senior Lead Public Affairs DACH, who has represented Zalando within the CDR initiative over the past few years.

We will be focusing on internal CDR work in the near future and would like to thank the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, the CDR Initiative office and all the other member companies for their trusting, constructive and goal-oriented cooperation.