Siemens boss Kaeser calls climate protests "almost grotesque"

Siemens boss Kaeser calls climate protests "almost grotesque"
Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser has expressed incomprehension about the protests by climate protectionists against the Munich industrial group. It seemed "almost grotesque that we have become the target of numerous environmental activists through a signaling technology project in Australia," said Kaeser on Wednesday before the Annual General Meeting in Munich.
Numerous environmental groups have announced numerous actions around the shareholders' meeting, including a human chain around the Munich Olympiahalle. They are opposing the fact that Siemens is supplying a signaling system for a railway line via which the Indian energy company Adani will transport coal from a planned huge mine in Australia to the port. The coal is said to be burned in power plants in India.

Kaeser disagreed with the activists' assumption that a cancellation by Siemens could bring down the entire mine project. The signaling technology supplied was "irrelevant for the commissioning of the controversial mine".

However, the Siemens boss described the handling of the order as a mistake: "If we were again in the situation in which we could freely decide, it would certainly be different."

Right to speak for Fridays for Future
Environmental, social and good corporate governance (ESG) issues will also play an increasingly important role for large investors in the future. That must be reflected in the strategy.

The shareholders' meeting started at 10 a.m. Up to 300 people protested in front of the hall against the Group's coal project in Australia. The demonstrators, who belonged to various environmental protection groups, carried posters with inscriptions such as "Australia is burning" and "The earth has a fever".
The youth movement Fridays for Future also took part in the protests. A group activist from Australia, 17-year-old Varsha Yajman, came to the AFP news agency about the project, saying the mine is destroying the aboriginal habitat. "Adani is ruining your country, Adani is taking your country."

Large demonstration at 2 p.m.
Yajman accused Siemens boss Joe Kaeser of spreading false information about Aboriginal attitudes to the project. Contrary to what Kaeser claims, most of them would not have voted for the project. "You demonstrated against it four times."

Discussions about Siemens 'contract with Adani are also expected at the shareholders' meeting. The activist Helena Marschall from Fridays for Future will also speak in the hall in front of the Siemens bosses. The group of critical shareholders had given up their right to speak to the climate activists. A large demonstration is to take place at 2 p.m.
Activists from Greenpeace climbed onto the roof of the corporate headquarters in Munich yesterday. There they rolled out a banner saying "Bush fires start here" and set up tents on the roof. CEO Joe Kaeser will also be able to hear a lot from investors. Most recently, Vera Diehl from Union Investment described the contract for the coal mine as a "communicative disaster for Siemens".

Green Group leader Anton Hofreiter called for the end of the technology group's controversial coal project in Australia. "I very much hope that Siemens shareholders and management today will assume their responsibility for protecting the planet and refuse to support the coal project in Australia," said Hofreiter on Wednesday.

"This would be a small step financially for Siemens, but a huge win for the global climate," he added. Siemens boss Joe Kaeser justifies the adherence to the controversial order in Australia with contractual obligations. The German company signed the contract for the rail signaling system for a huge coal mine in the Australian state of Queensland in July.

Habeck calls on business to be sustainable
Greens chairman Robert Habeck expressed understanding for Kaeser's stance. "I take it from Mr. Kaeser that he did not take the decision about the signal system for the coal mine in Australia lightly," he told the "Augsburger Allgemeine". "Still, I think it would have been better to forego some money to stay true to social goals."
The Green politician also called for new legal regulations in this context. The stock corporation law should be changed so that "the bonuses of the managers of all Dax groups are linked to social and ecological success criteria", he demanded. "That would help to suppress short-term profitability at the expense of people and the environment and finally create more incentives for forward-looking and responsible business."

Probably the last general meeting for Kaeser
Before the shareholder meeting began, Joe Kaeser said that the new fiscal year had "started somewhat subdued". Sales in the first quarter of the Siemens fiscal year (December 31) increased slightly by one percent to 20.3 billion euros, with net profit of just under 1.1 billion euros slightly above the previous year's level. However, new orders fell by 2 percent to 24.8 billion euros. Among other things, this was due to the continuing weakness of the auto industry and mechanical engineering, two important customer groups for Siemens.
However, the group still has to process a large number of orders from previous quarters, so that the order backlog has reached a record level of 149 billion euros. Kaeser's contract as chairman of the board expires at the end of the year. So it is expected to be his last general meeting at the top of Siemens. The most likely successor is his vice Roland Busch.
Kaeser sees the greatest need for entrepreneurial action in the energy business. The wind energy subsidiary Siemens Gamesa posted red figures in the first quarter. Siemens announced on Tuesday that it would take over the shares of the minority shareholder Iberdrola, with whom there had been repeated disputes in the past. Kaeser now hopes that "the management will have more capacity to take a closer look at the improvement in profitability".