Sustainability

A for At the Beginning

Whether you want it or not – as a company, you are always compelled to it: Corporate social responsibility. We, at ViscoTec, also do our best to live sustainability.

• We are not only active in this area because social, ecological, business ethics or human rights issues are extremely important to us.
• Or because we want to comply with the “UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights”.
• We are not only active here because we are guided by the UN’s “Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.”
• And we are not just doing it because we want to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We are doing it all because we want to, and because we can. And because we know that as a company, we can only improve things if we do more than the law requires of us. As a company, of course, we also like to make a profit – but in the only way that is right for us: Responsibly.

B for the Best Team

We can only achieve this because every single one of us does his or her part. This is already evident in the human resources department and among the employee representatives. It extends all the way to ViscoTec’s occupational safety officers, who stand up for the best working conditions and unconditional compliance with the rights of the individual – in Germany and beyond national borders. In addition, we have created a “Green Conscience” working group in which, together with the hazardous materials officers and REACH experts, everything is done to protect the environment and act in an entrepreneurially wise manner. The executive board and IT management are very much engaged in this by making ethics a tangible part of the company. Far-sighted thinking in favor of the environment also requires top performance from purchasing, whose planning and negotiating must always focus on sustainable sourcing and at the same time take economic concerns into account. Whenever the framework conditions allow, those responsible strive for purchasing locally on a regional or national level. The idea behind it all: As a company, we want our production and products to have a positive impact on our employees, on customers worldwide and on the environment – measurable, verifiable, and tangible. For example, we fully subsidize the kindergarten and daycare fees for the children of our employees. We make it a little easier via flexible working time models without core hours and we also offer the option of working from home – and not only for the parents among you! There is also more than just one advantage in favor of ViscoTec as an employer and as a strong brand. Here we describe why it is particularly worthwhile to be part of our team.

C for Chance: Sustainability and the environment

What we can do, we do: At ViscoTec, we strictly adhere to environmental guidelines and use resources such as water and energy carefully. Everything that leaves our plant has been manufactured and developed according to the highest environmental standards. For example, our purchasing department only uses reusable packaging and only receives catalogs from external suppliers electronically. Our goal: To use sustainable materials, to avoid chemicals where possible, and to have a waste management concept of the highest standard. Our recycling strategy is based, for example, on the use of RoHS- and WEEE-regulation-compliant products. We take a holistic approach to the design of our value chains: This starts with supplier selection, continues with sophisticated warehousing strategies, includes well thought out logistics concepts and even includes cross-company communication. We reject the use of questionable materials such as gold, diamonds, cobalt, coltan and tantalum from the Congo and Rwanda and condemn in the strongest possible terms the inhumane working conditions sometimes associated with their extraction. Where we can exert influence, we exert influence.

G for a Green Conscience

Our “Green Conscience” working group focuses on possible improvements in an interdisciplinary manner and defines these in a company-specific environmental guideline. For example, we obtain most of our electricity from renewable sources wherever possible. To make this increasingly successful, we are making roof areas available for photovoltaics, for example. Throughout the company, we are gradually switching from conventional lighting to LED technology, which we control according to demand. Another aspect that speaks for our conscious use of resources is the installation of a central air conditioning system for the building.

R for Resolute: Fair Working Conditions and Human Rights

We are doing well. To ensure that more employees around the world can soon say the same, we are committed to human rights and dignified working conditions – in every country and for every employee. With the awareness that human rights are more important than value chains, we manage our company, negotiate with partners and fly the flag with our customers: Only when we are sure that each party lives up to, and is committed to the personal rights to physical integrity, freedom of expression, equal rights or even freedom of religion, are business relationships sustainable and solid for us. We pay special attention to the weakest among us, the children. We see protecting them as part of our corporate duty; knowing that it is not an easy task. It goes without saying that we comply with the applicable occupational health and safety regulations at our main headquarters and every subsidiary, as does the consistent implementation of diversity. For us, diversity and equal opportunities are at the heart of our daily activities, regardless of gender, skin color, ethnic origin, age, disability, or religion. We reject discrimination and pursue it, as well as harassment in the workplace, with consequences.

U for Unity: Ethics and Business

We change what we can change. This is particularly noticeable in corporate ethics, which we can and want to influence directly. Born as a small company and having grown well, normative principles of corporate governance have always been close to our hearts. We consistently reject corruption, bribery, or the acceptance of benefits. If there are conflicts of interest with partners and/or suppliers, we resolve them or decide against cooperation. We fight anti-competitive practices as well as fraud and money laundering. We invest in information security – both technically and in the training of our employees. For us, corporate ethics also stands for a kind of corrective to business ethics, which we can only influence to a limited extent. It is up to us to recognize cross-dependencies with economic contexts such as the market economy and competition and, together with other companies, to shape these economic framework conditions according to the highest moral standards. We do all this because our company, each individual employee and our common future are worth it to us.