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Coroplast Group Sustainability Initiative Our sustainability strategy

Sustainable thinking and action have played a central role in our company since our foundation in 1928. In 2020, we set out to systematize and document our goals and activities. As an independent family-owned company, we have been facing up to our responsibilities ever since with the Coroplast Group Sustainability Initiative (CSI).

Structured and transparent We report according to the ESG topics

The reports on our sustainability activities are based on the topics Environment, Social and Governance.

Exemplary sustainable activities: charging cables from Coroflex, adhesive tapes made from recycled PET, wiring harnesses for e-motorcycles.
Sustainable since 1928: Whether it's products such as charging cables, adhesive tapes made from recycled PET, or cooperation on wiring harnesses for e-motorcycles - for us as a family business, the topic of sustainability has many facets.

With our Sustainability Initiative, we are demonstrating that German small and medium-sized companies are taking the utmost care in meeting the aspects of sustainability and living up to their environmental and social responsibilities.

Natalie Mekelburger | President & CEO of the Coroplast Group

Clear targets – concrete measures The materiality analysis as the basis for our actions

A sustainable orientation of our activities is one of the key tasks of the Coroplast Group in order to remain successful in the future. That is why we rely on a carefully thought-out strategy. Because we not only want to deal with topics correctly, we also want to deal with the correct topics.

Therefore we have developed a materiality analysis in which we assess our need for action in eight of the most important topics. The assessment considers both our internal view and external stakeholder perspectives, such as those of our partners, employees or customers.

The topics and projects are coordinated by the CSI Board, on which employees from all business units and departments are represented. The board regularly exchanges views and jointly prepares all landmark decisions that are submitted to the management board.

Currently, these four topics have priority for us:

Milestones of our sustainability strategy: Climate Strategy, Product Development, Energy & Resource Efficiency, Reporting & Ratings
All good things come in eights: In addition to the four most important topics presented here – Climate Strategy, Product Development, Energy & Resource Efficiency, Reporting & Ratings – we also focus on the topics of practical compliance, being a top employer, corporate social responsibility, and protecting the environment as part of our materiality.

Environment On the way to climate neutrality

In the area of environment and energy, it is particularly clear how closely economic and ecological sustainability belong together. That is why these areas play a central role for us as a manufacturing company.

We have set ourselves ambitious goals and have already made good progress in recent years. For example, we have almost halved our carbon footprint at the Wuppertal site in Germany by purchasing green electricity. However, we want above all to reduce rather than compensate: To achieve this, we will have to leave the well-traveled path and head out into uncharted technological territory. At the same time, we are constantly working on optimizing our data situation. After all, precise data collection and analysis form the basis for our decisions on the way to climate neutrality at our German sites.

Our charging park at the Wuppertal site

A graphic showing the results of the 2019 to 2021 carbon footprint in Germany
Detailed evaluation: In 2020, the Coroplast Group prepared a carbon footprint according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for the German sites for the first time - also retrospectively for 2019. All values are given in metric tons (rounded) Scope 1: direct greenhouse gas emissions from the stationary and mobile burning of fossil fuels and combustibles Scope 2: indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the creation of purchased electricity Scope 3.3: other indirect greenhouse gas emissions along the value-added chain of fuels and combustibles obtained

Resource Management Sustainable processes, products and solutions

At our German sites, we use natural resources mainly in the form of raw materials or materials for product manufacture and for energy generation. Thus, our processes pollute the atmosphere through directly and indirectly generated greenhouse gases, predominantly non-hazardous waste, which we recycle almost completely, and sanitary and, to a lesser extent, manufacturing wastewater.

Against this background, we develop innovative products and processes. Solutions that help our customers and us save energy, avoid waste, recycle – and advance sustainable technologies.

Here are some examples of our activities:

  • Cable set wrapped with Coroplast TapeTube

    TapeTube – Solutions for lightweight construction and logistics

    Adhesive tapes from Coroplast Tape as a protection and bundling system for cable harnesses in vehicles, on robots, etc. save material, transport volume, installation space and weight. In this way, we help our customers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

    More about Coroplast TapeTube

  • Ready for delivery, orange high-voltage cables from Coroflex

    High-voltage cable – Solutions for electromobility

    Coroflex high-voltage cables set standards: Optimized conductor designs, alternative conductor materials and the use of high-quality insulating materials reduce the installation space and weight of e-vehicles.

    More about Coroflex High-voltage cables

  • Charging cable from WeWire for electric cars

    Charging – Completely assembled charging cables

    Plug & Play: The newly developed WeWire charging cables for electric cars are particularly user-friendly, can be customized in a variety of ways, and are ready for use at wallboxes or charging stations.

    More about WeWire charging cables

  • Courier backpacks from the CoroUpcycling program

    CoroUpcycling – Upgrading scrap materials to create as-new products

    As part of our CoroUpycling initiative, we experiment with recycling product waste or surplus material. This results in high-quality utility items such as courier backpacks or laptop bags.

    Learn more about the topic

  • Title Tag bei hover angezeigter Text	Gaskessel Wuppertal, venue of the Circular Valley Foundation

    Foundation member – The Coroplast Group is committed to Circular Valley

    As a foundation member of Circular Valley, we drive the circular economy forward. The regional network brings together corporations, companies and science with resourceful start-ups from all over the world.

    More about our commitment

For a long time, sustainability usually meant “something about the environment”, but today the topic is much broader. This suits us very well, because as a responsible family business we have always thought and acted in terms of generations.

Stefan Erhard | Team Leader Occupational Safety and Environmental Protection

Human Resource Strategy 2030 Appreciation and promotion of all employees

The Coroplast Group is a highly attractive employer for all of our applicants and employees around the world. This is because we are a family-owned company with flat hierarchies and fast decision-making processes, which lives and breathes mutual appreciation, equal opportunities and participation. To keep it that way, we have developed our HR Strategy 2030 based on HR megatrends and internal needs.

We are concentrating on four focus areas:

  1. Employee Recruitment and Retention: Our employees are our most important brand ambassadors. That's why the entire Coroplast Group opens up opportunities for attractive specialist and management careers.
  2. Appreciative Management Culture: Our management style is individual and empathetic. Thus, under the motto "Entrepreneurship in the company", we encourage creativity and personal responsibility among our employees.
  3. Creative Structures and Collaboration: Collective intelligence beats expert knowledge. That's why we rely on multifunctional, autonomous teams that work together across sites and divisions.
  4. Digitalization and data-based decisions: We consistently leverage the benefits of digitization. We optimize our processes and rely on valid data to make personnel-relevant decisions.

We are a Great Place To Work

We are Top Employer 2022

  • Trainees and trainers at work
    Top training program: We have been expanding our training program for many years. We now offer training in a variety of digital professions, above-average remuneration and numerous other extras.
  • Two employees use a digital learning offer from the CoroAcademy
    Lifelong learning: The CoroAcademy with its wide range of courses gives our employees the opportunity to systematically qualify and develop themselves.

Engagement Responsibility for the health of our employees and commitment to the region

The Coroplast Group promotes the vitality and well-being of its employees. With numerous offers and activities, we ensure that they can carry out their work healthily and without complaints. We also offer assistance in coping with work-related or private stresses. We are regularly awarded the "Healthy Workforce" seal for our occupational health management (WHM) and the wide range of employee offerings.

And we not only take responsibility for our employees, but also for the region. We are rooted in Wuppertal and the Bergisches Land region as a company and would like to share our success and thus give something back.

More about our social engagement

Picture of a Coroplast employee training her back with a trainer
CoroFit training offers: for example for a healthy and strong back

Leading the way We live e-mobility and motivate people to use it

We supply the leading manufacturers of e-vehicles and also promote electromobility beyond this. For example, e-bikes and a large charging park are available to employees in Wuppertal, Germany.

Read more in the article

 

The charging park at the employee parking spaces of the Coroplast Group in Wuppertal

Governance Managing effectively and strengthening trust

It is important to us to manage the Coroplast Group as leanly and, above all, effectively as possible. For a company with 7,600 employees on four continents, this means a whole range of measures and tools with which we can successfully pursue our goals or take timely countermeasures if necessary.

In the financial area, these include business management reporting or the management and control of taxes. Other tools are used in the HR department or in the production areas of all business units - for example, our quality management systems or the energy and environmental audits at our sites.

As a company in the automotive sector, we have numerous certified management systems.

To our certificates

The Coroplast Group thrives on the trust of its customers, partners, employees and the public. Trust, fairness and reliability are key foundations for our success. That is why we have been relying on a globally valid compliance management system with our Code of Conduct since 2018.

More about compliance management

Picture of Coroplast Group employees in conversation.
Effective management: the team responsible for finance and controlling in discussion

„The “G” in ESG stands, in a broad sense, for good management, or corporate governance. This includes stringent, and preferably digital processes, secure IT systems but also practical rules of behavior.

Roland Merta | General Counsel & Compliance Officer

Supplier Management Responsibility in the supply chain

The Coroplast Group maintains trusting, fair and sustainable business relationships with customers, suppliers, service providers and business partners. Integrity and responsible action on the part of every employee is a matter of course for us and is formulated in our Code of Conduct. For a partnership-based cooperation with our suppliers, our purchasing department regularly reviews potential risks on the basis of the Supply Chain Act and other legal standards.

More about our supplier management

Coroplast Group warehouse

Digitalization State-of-the-art technology for sustainable targets

For us, digitization is much more than using computers, programs or data. We want to optimize business processes or introduce new forms of collaboration - always with the aim of conserving resources and developing sustainable business models.

Learn more about Digitalization at Coroplast Group

Two employees with tablet in conversation

Innovation Management Our path to marketable ideas

Innovative approaches are the key to entrepreneurial success. But technical change is happening ever faster, and product life cycles are becoming shorter. This requires well thought-out innovation management.

More in the interview about the innovation management

Nina Grevelhörster and Bastian Schäfer talk about innovation management

Sustainability Reports

Coroplast Group reports on sustainability strategy and ESG activities as part of the annually published sustainability report (CSI Report).

Here you can download our Code of Conduct and our Conflict Minerals Policy.

Your Contact Sustainability – Environment

Do you have any questions about our environmental sustainability strategy? Then please feel free to contact the Team Leader Occupational Safety and Environmental Protection of the Coroplast Group of Companies.
Stefan Erhard
Team Leader Occupational Safety and Environmental Protection

Your Contact Sustainability - Social and Governance

Do you have questions about our social sustainability or governance? Then please feel free to contact the Manager Sustainability and Innovation of the Coroplast Group.
Kerstin Häusler
Manager Sustainability and Innovation

Your Contact Person Sustainability – Strategy and Stakeholder Management

Do you have questions about our sustainability strategy? Then please feel free to contact the Head of Corporate Affairs of the Coroplast Group.