About AGRAVIS – AGRAVIS Sustainability Report

About AGRAVIS

AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG is a modern agricultural trade company in the business segments of agricultural products, animal nutrition, plant cultivation and agricultural technology. It also operates in the sectors of energy and Raiffeisen Markets including trade in construction materials and project construction.

Our self-image

With a turnover of 6.4 billion euros and around 6,700 employees, the AGRAVIS Group is one of Germany’s largest agricultural trade and service companies. The company’s self-image is based on a cooperative spirit. As part of a cooperative association, the company continues to offer its customers excellent and complete solution concepts so that they can be more successful than others. AGRAVIS supports cooperative distribution partners, agriculture and people in rural areas in the business fields of plants, animals, machinery, retailing (including trade in construction materials), energy, and project construction.

To the group website www.agravis.de

Board of Directors

Johannes Schulte-Althoff, Maria-Johanna Schaecher, Andreas Rickmers, Dirk Bensmann (from left to right)

The Board of Directors consists of four members once again since 1 January 2018. On 30 September 2017, our long-serving deputy board member Hans-Georg Bruns left the company. Maria-Johanna Schaecher was appointed to the AGRAVIS Board of Directors and started in this position at the beginning of January 2018. The Members and the Chairman of the Board of Directors are appointed by the Supervisory Board. The duties of the Board of Directors are divided into divisions by function. The Board of Directors generally meets once per week. The meetings are convened and headed by the Chairman of the Board.

The Board of Directors develops the corporate objectives and the Group’s strategic orientation, and coordinates these with the Supervisory Board. The Board of Directors also ensures operational implementation. The Supervisory Board is regularly informed of the progress of implementation. The Board of Directors is responsible for controlling and monitoring the Group, for business planning in the form of an annual and multi-annual plan, for preparing the annual and consolidated financial statements and for the Group’s financing.

The Board of Directors is also responsible for risk management and control, and compliance with legal requirements and internal company policies. The Board of Directors reports to the Supervisory Board regularly, promptly and comprehensively on all issues that are important to the company. Activities and transactions undertaken by the Board of Directors which are of particular importance to the company are subject to prior approval from the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board is immediately informed by members of the Board of Directors of any potential conflicts of interest.

The Board of Directors is supported in operative management of the company by the members of the executive committee, which has four area managers.

The members of the Board of Directors are:

Andreas Rickmers (Chairman of the Board of Directors)
Dirk Bensmann
Maria-Johanna Schaecher (since 1 January 2018)
Johannes Schulte-Althoff
Hans-Georg Bruns, Deputy Member of the Board of Directors (until 30 September 2017)

Supervisory Board

Franz-Josef Holzenkamp

The AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG Supervisory Board currently consists of 20 members. Ten members are chosen by shareholders at the annual general meeting, in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act, while employees elect the other ten under the provisions of the Co-determination Act. A term lasts five years. The duties of the Supervisory Board are governed by the Companies Act, the articles of association and the rules of procedure for the Supervisory Board. Periodic meetings of the Supervisory Board are held at least four times per year. In addition, the Supervisory Board will meet as frequently as required if this is imperative for the company. The meetings are normally convened by the Chairman.

The Supervisory Board appoints and advises the Board of Directors and monitors its business management according to the law, the articles of association and by-laws. In matters that are of particular importance to the company, the consent of the Supervisory Board is required in accordance with the law and with the rules of procedure for the Board of Directors. The current Chairman of the Supervisory Board is Franz-Josef Holzenkamp, Emstek.

Advisory Board

The AGRAVIS Advisory Board contains farmers, directors of Raiffeisen cooperatives and representatives of mutual societies, cooperative unions and agricultural organisations. This committee is advisory in nature and currently has 47 members. 39 members were appointed by the annual general meeting and eight are co-opted members from the Supervisory Board.

AGRAVIS operating area

The core business focuses on Germany – primarily large parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg, but also in other states like Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Thuringia, Saxony and Bavaria. AGRAVIS sees itself as a national agricultural trader. The focus is therefore clearly on the German agricultural market. AGRAVIS aims to be the company with the strongest customer focus. The company also operates internationally to consolidate sustainable and profitable growth, particularly in Eastern Europe with Danish partner DAVA. The corporate headquarters are located in Hanover and Münster.