Coroplast Group Sustainability Initiative Our sustainability strategy
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.
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.
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:
Environment On the way to climate neutrality
The area of environment and energy clearly shows how closely economic and ecological sustainability are interrelated. Therefore, these areas have a high priority for us as a manufacturing company.
Goals
Our overriding goal is to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality (Scopes 1, 2 and 3.3) at all our sites by 2050 at the latest, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. For the German sites, we would like to have achieved this goal by 2030.
Key figures
The Coroplast Group prepared a corporate carbon footprint (CCF) in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for the German sites for the first time in 2020 and for all sites worldwide in 2022. According to this, the CCF in 2022 was 30,787 t CO2e globally and 4,807 t CO2e in Germany (in Scopes 1, 2 and 3.3). The data have been updated annually since then and are used to review the success of our measures.
Measures
To achieve these goals, we have defined six fields of action in our climate strategy:
- Create framework: Establish and implement a successful climate strategy with annual calculation of the Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF) and review projects and measures per site by including them in investment and cost planning.
- Energy sourcing from green power: Further expansion of energy sourcing from renewable sources to exploit the high CO2 reduction potential of 50 - 60% of the CCF. The Wittener Straße site in Wuppertal alone was able to almost halve its CO2-footprint by switching to green power in 2019.
Green power in our Chinese plants
- Increase energy efficiency: Feasibility reviews at all sites to save energy as well as increase energy efficiency. (Savings potentials are identified annually).
- Own generation of electricity: Potentials for generation from photovoltaics, among others, are identified and implemented as required.
- Voluntary compensation: We compensate for unavoidable CO2-emissions by supporting projects that match our commitment (contribution claims).
- Climate impacts along the value chain: We communicate progress in the development of targets for the upstream and downstream value chain in Scope 3 annually in our Sustainability Report.
In implementing the measures, we proceed according to this hierarchy: "Prevent, reduce, substitute, compensate".
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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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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. -
Lifelong learning: The CoroAcademy with its wide range of courses gives our employees the opportunity to systematically qualify and develop themselves.
Culture eats strategy for breakfast. If you want to be successful and profitable, you have to cultivate a corporate culture that enables openness, tolerance and creativity. For us, doing business meaningfully also means putting people at the center, supporting them and creating an environment in which we can successfully work together.
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.
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.
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.
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.
„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.
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.
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.
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
Your Contact Sustainability – Social and Governance
Your Contact Person Sustainability – Strategy and Stakeholder Management
