Sustainability Along the Supply Chain
With production sites in Europe, the Americas and Asia, WACKER procures goods and services from numerous countries. As a member of both the United Nations Global Compact and the chemical industry’s Responsible Care® initiative, we consider it vital to verify that our suppliers fulfill the generally accepted sustainability principles. Particularly important issues include working conditions, ethical standards, safety standards (especially for handling hazardous materials) and the management of local resources (water use, energy consumption, etc).
WACKER has been a member of the Together for Sustainability (TfS) initiative since 2015. TfS has developed a framework that allows member companies to audit and assess a supplier’s sustainability performance. Its uniform standards and processes ensure that results of supplier assessments and audits are credible and transparent to all TfS members; audit reports are shared within the TfS initiative. The head of our Corporate Procurement & Logistics is a member of the TfS Steering Committee.
Sharing Supplier Evaluations through Together for Sustainability (TfS)
Sustainable Logistics
Sustainability is at the heart of all our logistics activities. We work continuously to optimize and to eliminate shipments wherever possible. Major logistics chains, especially the supply of raw materials and also overseas shipping of containers, have been pivoted onto railway networks as far as possible. We have worked with our logistics service providers to develop sophisticated strategies that minimize deadheads and optimize vehicle loads. Analysis tools enable us to seek out optimization potential within the logistics network, to further enhance the transportation chain and to reduce emissions when transporting our products to customers.
Our specialist departments provide comprehensive training, information and monitoring services to ensure compliance with legal standards governing customs, export controls and the transport of hazardous goods. Some of WACKER’s internal standards even go beyond legal requirements.
We also coach our purchasers in sustainability topics. New purchasers undergo dedicated training as part of their orientation program. Especially since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, we have been increasing the number of online courses and information events for employees and suppliers.