Activists from the environmental protection organization Greenpeace demonstrated on Friday in front of the Frankfurt headquarters of the Deutsche Bank fund subsidiary DWS. Among other things, they criticized the fact that the company paid its board high bonuses for achieving ineffective sustainability goals. DWS is thus pursuing systematic greenwashing, i.e. giving itself an ecological coat of paint.
Greenpeace members covered large areas of glass with stickers showing a laundromat. Your demand: Bonus payments must be linked to effective goals, such as binding investment rules for coal, oil and gas companies.
DWS rejected the criticism and accused Greenpeace of selectively and incorrectly interpreting their remuneration system. The absolute amount of the managed assets reported as sustainably invested is for the year 2020 and currently not a significant remuneration target for the management, explained a spokesman. The payment is published in the remuneration report, which corresponds to the applicable requirements. Whether it is customary in the market is regularly assessed by an external and independent consultant.
Last year, the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office began investigations against employees and those responsible at DWS on suspicion of capital investment fraud. The background was greenwashing allegations.
