Sustainability is not a onetime project, but rather a shared journey. Schulz & Sohn has now taken an important step forward with CheckN, a process based on the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We held a workshop with employees from various company sectors and our sustainability manager Henriette. The aim was to find out which sustainability issues are particularly important to us, where we are already well positioned and in which areas we would like to develop further in the future.
The result is impressive: Schulz & Sohn has been awarded the CheckN certificate. This is a powerful sign that sustainability is actively practised and further developed in our company.
All 17 of the United Nations’ global sustainability goals (SDGs) were examined and evaluated in the workshop. The result of this process is a materiality matrix that shows where we as a company can actually influence change.
Seven sustainability goals were identified as material:
SDG 1 – No poverty: We are already making an important contribution with our company pension scheme, collective agreement, flexible working hours and local involvement in schools and associations.
SDG 3 – Good health and well-being: Subsidies for the gym, fresh fruit, protective clothing, supplementary insurance and the Employee Assistance Programme show how much we care about the health of our employees.
SDG 4 – Quality education: Collaborations with schools and universities, internships and numerous training opportunities make it clear that learning never stops at our company.
SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth: Models such as core working hours, flexitime and trust-based working hours create flexibility and strengthen teamwork.
SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: We are continuously working to make our production processes more efficient and sustainable. Planned and possible measures range from switching from liquid to solid products to save water and transport costs, to purchasing energy-efficient machines, to optimising production lines and factory layouts.
SDG 12 – Sustainable consumption and production: Initial measures have already been implemented. These include the purchase of a cardboard shredder for the reuse of packaging material as filler, as well as initial steps to increase the proportion of recycled material in our packaging. Looking ahead, we would like to work with our customers to establish further sustainable packaging solutions, such as refill systems.
SDG 13 – Climate action: Concrete steps to reduce our carbon footprint have already been implemented. These include shading with films and blinds to reduce energy consumption, an almost complete switch to an electric vehicle fleet, and clear guidelines to avoid unnecessary idling times for trucks.
Of course, there are also areas where we can improve, and we have collected many good ideas for this.
Outlook: Over the coming months, we will gradually share the results and the measures derived from them with all teams. This will create transparency about the specific steps we are implementing together, whether in the areas of health, education, social responsibility or resource conservation.
The materiality analysis carried out as part of CheckN represents an important first milestone in this process. It forms a sound basis for strategically developing and targeting our sustainability activities. At the same time, we see this process as a starting point for voluntary sustainability reporting, which we aim to achieve by 2026.
We see sustainability as an attitude:
protecting the environment, empowering people and working together to create a sustainable working environment. With CheckN, we are making visible what drives us and working together to shape what remains.
