Today, we need to take a closer look not only at what is happening within the company, but also at our external setting: Like any other organization, we are all embedded in an environment for which we, as acting individuals, aim to share responsibility. Anyone who trades on the international stage, as SIPRO does, should also have an overview of the impact of their activities at this level. In this respect, we are guided by three core factors in accordance with the ESG benchmarks:
Environment
The sustainability agenda is on everyone’s lips and no industry that supplies or transports energy-intensive products can be excluded from it. We should and must all ask ourselves how we can contribute to the active fostering of sustainability in the context of our businesses.
The SIPRO Group is part of a network in which production sites, transport companies, customer organizations and other partner entities work together to master the demanding task of steel production and supply. In this respect, everyone is also called jointly to work on improving the environmental situation. Steel production in particular, as well as global transportation, generates considerable CO2 emissions which we aim to reduce in all our joint efforts.
In agreement with all parties involved, we have surveyed our partner companies and suppliers on this topic. It is clear from this that all of them consider the issue of sustainability to be of great importance. The result is now reflected in various initiatives that we will implement in the near future.
As a first step, we intend to achieve full transparency, particularly with regard to the CO2 emissions currently generated, as this is the only way we can identify the key spots we need to address. This project extends from the steel mills where our steel is produced to the transport activities to get the steel to its destination. Thus, in this context, the whole supply chain has to be taken into account.
In the next step we will work specifically on the individual stages to efficiently reduce CO2 emissions “per ton of steel delivered to the customer”. We intend to use “green sourcing” to offer our customers the option of using more climate-friendly sources of supply and transport. By creating transparency across the entire value chain, we are taking the first big approach!
Social
Focusing on social responsibility, we strive to sensitively perceive social interdependencies, dependencies and interrelationships and to ensure that decisions are made with social justice and an ethical perspective in mind.
For us, this means on the one hand guaranteeing fair wages, equal pay and the payment of all social security contributions for the 1st and 2nd pension pillars – as standard from the age of 20. In addition, we emphasize healthy working conditions at ergonomic workplaces. We also bear our responsibility for reintegration after a longer period of illness. In addition, we enable a work-life balance with flexible working hours and home office for all.
We foster fair and cooperative teamwork on a regular basis, both internally and externally, in our dealings with customers and partners. With our training programs in the commercial and IT sectors, we contribute to the professional advancement of the younger generation.
Governance
The third aspect in the ESG context is the implementation of responsible corporate governance. By that we mean targeted initiatives to ensure that our business partners can rely on trustworthy and reputable business practices.
One of the key drivers of our efforts is an always up-to-date risk assessment that extends to all levels of our business. This includes the evaluation and management of our digital processes, which are exposed to particular risks in times of ubiquitous networking and multiple interfaces. Responsible management of our liquid assets contributes to the stability and reliability of our company.
The past few years have shown how fragile supply chains can be in the global market. As logistics processes are the focus of our service, we also continuously assess our logistics planning as well as our service providers and all interfaces to identify weaknesses and develop alternatives.
We also consider the well-timed planning of the generational handover in management to be a further central aspect. To this end, far-reaching preparations are already being made today and resources are being built up to ensure a smooth transition that will result in reliable and stable processes for all stakeholders.