An exclusive interview with Michael Langmann and Udo Pfeiler highlighting the path to success of overachieving our sustainability goals.
In a recent interview, our experts Michael Langmann, responsible for Strategy & Corporate Development, and Udo Pfeiler, Vice President Global QHSEE Management at voestalpine Böhler Welding, share their insights on the important sustainability rating from EcoVadis, the world's most reliable external sustainability rating for companies. We are proud to receive the highest possible EcoVadis Platinum rating for all our rated European production sites.
As a manufacturing company in an inherently resource-intensive industry, we have a special responsibility to the public, our employees, customers and suppliers to operate sustainable and to conserve finite resources.
We critically examine all processes in the value chain for their direct impact on resources and on our environment. Many activities have already been planned for our future, and we are working hard to become the most sustainable organization in our industry.
Our vision is a climate-neutral economy – this means that we as a company want to be CO2 net-neutral (Scope 1 and 2) by 2040, taking a holistic approach for all of our production sites. But we do not just want to become a net-zero company, we also strive to be an attractive workplace and the ensure health & safety of our employees and customers.
That is why we support our customers in achieving their sustainability goals by developing, manufacturing and supplying goods that have as little impact on the environment as possible.
EcoVadis is a sustainability rating agency with a network of more than 100,000 rated companies. The methodology of the sustainability rating is an assessment (questionnaire) of how well a company has integrated sustainability/CSR principles into its business and management system. The overall EcoVadis score reflects the quality of the company's sustainability management system.
We decided in favour of an assessment by EcoVadis because sustainability is an integral part of our business activities at voestalpine Böhler Welding and we are aware of the significance of this topic, especially along the entire supply chain. Together with our customers and suppliers, we take responsibility along the supply chain and the entire product life cycle from cradle to grave to develop, distribute and continuously improve sustainable products. Another reason for the decision in favour of EcoVadis was a series of customer requests to have us assessed.
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The high number of rated companies (more than 100,000) means that EcoVadis is not only a very good way for us to communicate with our customers and suppliers, it also allows us to work together on improvements.
Achieving this result requires good cooperation among all the colleagues involved, specifically those at voestalpine AG (Sustainability Report Team), the division, the group and the colleagues at the respective sites. Nearly every question asked has to be answered by providing evidence that serves as a basis for assessment.
Finally, the result is calculated as the sum of the individual assessments. The result can be summarized as team performance, but the most important function is the coordination and leadership function at the site.
Ecovadis awards four different levels of medals Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum for the sustainability goals.
The criteria for the award include four different sustainability pillars: the Environment, Ethics, Labor & Human Rights and Sustainable Procurement.
We are extremely proud to be one of the companies to have been awarded a platinum medal and certificate.
The following production sites in Europe currently have a Platinum rating: Kapfenberg in Austria, Cittadella in Italy and Hamm and Eisenberg in Germany.
The Platinum certification shows an exceptional achievement of our company and teams working on continuous improvements in terms of resource conservation.
Being rated as one of the TOP 1% of sustainable companies proves that we at voestalpine Böhler Welding also take our social responsibility very seriously. We are aware that our business activities have an impact on the environment. We are proud that our actions and strategic direction have been rated as above average.
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