METAL BECOMES ENVIRONMETAL

Transcription

1 METAL BECOMES ENVIRONMETAL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT PROTECTING PEOPLE, PROPERTY, AND PROCESSES.

2 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT CONTENTS 1. TROAX BUSINESS MODEL AND STRATEGY 2. TROAX FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 3. FOCUS AREA 1: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 4. FOCUS AREA 2: GOOD WORKING CONDITIONS 5. FOCUS AREA 3: BUSINESS ETHICS PROTECTING PEOPLE, PROPERTY, AND PROCESSES TOGETHER FOR A SAFE FUTURE

3 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT TROAX 2017 TROAX BUSINESS MODEL AND STRATEGY At Troax we work to make your world safe by developing innovative safety solutions that protect people, property, and processes. For over 60 years we have developed high-quality, metal-based mesh panel solutions with the vision of meeting the demands within property protection, machine guarding and warehouse partitioning. We are currently market leaders within our area. Troax is represented in 36 countries around the world and has approx. 670 employees. WE BASE EVERYTHING WE DO ON OUR BUSINESS CONCEPT: We develop innovative safety solutions that protect people, property, and processes. Our business concept contains three clear areas where we particularly focus on development and quality, and work towards specific goals. These are also our three business areas.» MACHINE GUARDING: Products and solutions that protect people from machinery and robots in industrial environments, and guard automated manufacturing processes from unauthorised use.» WAREHOUSE PARTITIONING: A wide range of protection solutions that are used for conventional and automated logistics handling, such as, for example, storage cages, warehouse partitions and anti-collapse panels for pallet racks.» Ethical guidelines for the Troax Group» Whistle blowing policy» Financial guidelines» Quality and environmental policy» HR policy» Equality policy Our stakeholders are the groups that are able to influence, and are affected by, the company s operations. The most important stakeholder groups include owners, employees, customers, suppliers and society as a whole, and the group s companies interact with their respective stakeholders in several ways. We have identified three focus areas for the group s sustainability work, which is also important for the group s stakeholders. These three areas support Troax s strategic goals and focus on the business.» Environmental impact» Good working conditions» Business ethics We follow the development of sustainability work by followingup the goals set within each area. The ambition is to continue the development of our internal sustainability program in the coming years. This will, among other things, be done through further investment in training and by setting up additional goals that are regularly followed-up within the business.» PROPERTY PROTECTION: Customised mesh panel solutions for basements, attics and rental warehousing. Our mission is to meet our customers expectations when it comes to developing innovative safety products that protect people, property, and processes. Our vision is to be the first choice for innovative safety solutions and the world-leader in supplying mesh panels with a global presence in all the important areas. In our work to make the everyday safe, we follow three core values, both in the long-term and on a daily basis.» CUSTOMER FOCUS: We are responsive and committed to putting our clients at the centre, and we offer solutions, products and services of the highest quality.» RESPECT: We are dedicated, and we care about people. This helps us act with high ethics, integrity and professionalism in everything we do.» COOPERATION: We always have our minds set on cooperation, between colleagues, as well as with present and presumptive clients and suppliers. TROAX FOCUSES ON SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Our ambition is to run operations in a responsible way and to promote sustainable development. We work to reduce the environmental impact of the business, to ensure good working conditions in the workplace, and maintain good business ethics. Troax has worked with sustainability matters for many years and has integrated these as a natural part of Troax s business, partly through the introduction of different kinds of policies within the area of sustainability, and partly through the enforcement of active environmental work in accordance with ISO Troax global policies within the area of sustainability apply to all companies within the group and consist of: FOCUS AREA 1: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT In order to contribute to a better environment, we follow established legislation and standards, and work internally and externally with measures that contribute to this. It is therefore important that our employees are committed to contributing to the improvement work, so that Troax can continually develop. We work to check and measure our environmental performance, and eliminate/reduce pollution, material consumption and emissions to air and water. This is continuous major and fundamental work:» Work with a comprehensive action plan that has been established in response to analysed environmental aspects.» Active environmental work in our projects with new or changed products.» Active work with our internal environmental work to achieve a good social and healthy environment.» Active work with internal fire protection control to prevent property damage and personal injury. We constantly strive to minimise the company s environmental impact and do this through comprehensive initiatives and commitments. An important part of our sustainability work is to increase energy efficiency. Therefore, a report is issued to the management every quarter, and to the authorities once a year. Since 2015 we have been a reporting company in Sweden, and our manufacturing units in China, Italy, England and the United States comply with their respective legislation and standards. Troax AB runs an environmentally-friendly production process and has been certified according to environmental standard ISO since Our mesh panels are environmentally-friendly because the majority of the product is made of recyclable steel and can be 99% recycled.

4 SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT GOOD WORKING CONDITIONS BUSINESS ETHICS MAKING YOUR WORLD SAFE As a result of previously run operations within Troax AB, some impact on the groundwater has occurred, also see section "Risks and uncertainty factor - Environmental risks" in the annual report s management report. The environmental impacting factors of Troax AB s operations are, for example, energy consumption, emissions to air and water, waste, contaminated water from washing processes, noise and transportation. The work to reduce material waste, steel and energy consumption, is to optimise the manufacturing process, and this work is ongoing. The 2016 energy survey forms the basis for further improvements in our energy consumption. We use both electricity and natural gas in our operations, where the electricity supplier supplies carbon dioxide-free electricity, which is a mix of electricity from nuclear power and hydropower. Natural gas is used for production and heating premises. For financial year 2017, energy consumption was 1.41 kwh per kg, and for 2016, energy consumption was 1.53 kwh per kg. Examples of other measures that benefit the environment are, for example, heat recovery of air and hot water from compressors, as well as adjustment of the operating hours for general ventilation. As armatures are replaced, we have introduced energy saving LED strip lights. Troax is also part-owner of a local wind farm. Source sorting is important within the business, and, for example, cardboard and plastic is recycled, wood and combustible waste is reused to create energy and smaller residual metal waste is transported directly to the smelters for recycling. Environmentally-hazardous waste from the processes mainly consists of contaminated washing water from vacuum evaporators and residual powder from painting. Water is retrieved from our own source, and outgoing waste water is cleaned in our treatment plant before it is released to the recipient. Dust from metal machining and welding is cleaned in two stages via compressed air cleaning cartridge filters and bag filters before the clean air goes to ventilation with heat recovery. Water vapour from pre-treatment is routed out to the surrounding area via internal heat exchangers. Air from paint booths is cleaned via cyclones and porous layer filters, and this air is returned to the production premises. The vacuum evaporator cleans contaminated water from pre-treatments and it is reused in the process, which is a closed system. Noise from transport and operations, primarily regarding supply and exhaust air fans, is within approved limits. FOCUS AREA 2: GOOD WORKING CONDITIONS Equally important as having good working conditions within the group s companies is that our suppliers also maintain good working conditions. We want to be an attractive and responsible employer, where our employees want to stay. Therefore, the pursuit of good working conditions within our companies and suppliers is essential. The following, among other things, is included within the framework of our approach to good working conditions:» It is vital to follow local legislation regarding the employment of people younger than 18 years of age, according to the ILO convention no. 138 regarding minimum age. We will cancel all collaborations with those parties who repeatedly violate existing child labour laws.» We respect human rights, which means that we support, follow and respect international human rights conventions in business and that all of our direct or indirect employees are treated with respect according to basic human values.

5 » We do not accept the use of forced labour or unregistered labour. It is also completely unacceptable for workers to be subjected to physical or psychological punishment or harassment.» No worker may be discriminated against because of age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, political view or ethnicity.» The group s companies respect the right of employees to organise themselves and to negotiate collective agreements, but also respect the right of employees to refrain from joining a trade union if they wish. Troax is open to offering collective agreements to employees in markets where this is possible.» The group pays fair salaries and benefits in accordance with relevant standards in the countries where the respective operations are run. Troax s companies work to offer a healthy and safe working environment. As producing companies, it is important to reduce the risk of accidents and work-related injuries. Within the Troax group, each company is responsible for ensuring a safe workplace that meets the local regulations. Troax AB s operations continuously compile reports of employee statistics, such as sick leave, incidents and accidents. 7 minor accidents were reported to the Swedish Social Insurance for financial year The corresponding figure for 2016 was 8. Abnormal sick leave, as well as incidents, are investigated and accidents are reported to the authorities in accordance with applicable legislation. In 2017 the total average sick leave for the production unit in Hillerstorp was 2.5%, which has not changed since Employee development within Troax s different companies is an important aspect of the group continuing to grow. The prospect of building a career and receiving further training and education is crucial to attracting and retaining employees. Within the Troax group, employees hold development meetings with their respective managers. Internal and external training is offered and the group usually recruits internally for new positions. Troax Group AB s management promotes gender equality and diversity in its recruitment process for new members of the board, which currently consists of 25% women. For Troax as a manufacturing company, it is important to ensure that the different aspects of sustainability are considered, throughout the entire supply chain. Therefore, Troax s responsibility also extends to ensuring good conditions in the company s supplier chain. The group s companies have suppliers with operations in Europe and the USA, which reduces the risk of child labour for example. Currently each company within the Troax group has its own guidelines and policies that regulate the requirements placed on suppliers. Troax AB maintains regular dialogue with its most important suppliers about different sustainability aspects, for which suppliers are required to inform Troax AB where all parts are produced or will be produced. As far as is possible, Troax AB reserves the right to make unannounced visits to sites and factories where individuals work for Troax, directly or indirectly. Troax AB also reserves the right to allow independent parties to carry out inspections, which is a condition of our agreements. FOCUS AREA 3: BUSINESS ETHICS TROAX S VIEW ON BUSINESS ETHICS CAN BE SUMMARISED IN TWO DOCUMENTS: The group s ethical guidelines and the Whistle blower policy. We base our business on nine central and very important values, both ethical and moral. To help our employees, suppliers, partners and other parties, we have collated our thoughts and views on these values in the document, Troax ethical guidelines. Everybody within the group has received and participated in discussions regarding the content. The guidelines require high business and personal ethical standards of Troax employees and entail that:» Honesty, integrity and legal compliance are an important part of Troax s company culture and daily operations, for employees and those representing Troax.» Troax expects employees to avoid contact with persons who may lead to, or may have, a conflict of interests between those individuals private activities and the employee s professional role at Troax.» Troax has zero tolerance regarding all forms of bribes and corruption. This means undue gifts or payments to or from employees.» It is the responsibility of each subsidiary s manager to ensure that local legislation is followed and respected. Employees must carry out their work with a high level of business morals and ethical conduct, in order to respect and follow the internal ethical guidelines. Employees are also representatives of Troax, and must therefore act with honesty, integrity and in accordance with applicable legislation. All employees of the Troax group are responsible for following the internal ethical guidelines, as well as reporting violations, or suspected violations, of these. If a problem regarding the group s business ethics occurs in one of the group s companies, a system exists for the employees to report these issues. Either directly to the business management or to a member of the board. Guidelines on how and when the procedure for reporting violations of internal ethical values or fraud should be used can be found in the Whistle blower policy. No known cases of corruption or fraud have been discovered within the group over the year. The group has a system for evaluating each subsidiary s internal controls regarding financial reporting, which has been developed during the year to be more comprehensive than in previous years. We want a good reputation, from the inside and out, which permeates all our units and companies. As employees it is therefore important to understand the importance that events within and outside the business reflect Troax. Our employees must therefore take responsibility for their personal beliefs and views. We have already started work on creating a common code of conduct within the group, which is based on our ethical guidelines and core values. During 2017 we worked on developing this further, and we hope to complete and implement the code of conduct during The code is based on the group s ethical guidelines, and our core values: customer focus, respect and cooperation. The company management rests on important fundamentals, such as the business plan, financial management and environmental and quality work, and our goal is that the code of conduct will also have a place among these. It is therefore the responsibility of the management to stand by these values and follow-up how the code is followed and respected.

6 99% RECYCLABLE STEEL TROAX AB Box 89, Hillerstorp Tel: EN