SIG Combibloc announces first Corporate Responsibility Report
Corporate responsibility is built into SIG Combibloc’s business strategy. The concrete sustainability goals which the company aims to achieve are set out in the ‘Way Beyond Good’. This is what SIG is calling its roadmap to becoming a ‘net positive’ company. The company will be regularly reporting on the progress made towards meeting these goals, and has now published its first Corporate Responsibility Report. The Report follows the requirements of the internationally recognised Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines.
The CR Report for 2016 provides information on the background to SIG’s corporate responsibility and the Way Beyond Good, identifies the management approaches to the SIG material issues, and reports on data and facts from the company’s performance in 2016 relating to society and the environment. The relevant activities cover the entire value chain, including topics related to the company’s employees, responsible sourcing, responsible production and sustainable products. At the same time, the document sets out how the issue of ‘corporate responsibility’ is organisationally embedded to extend across departments – for instance, in addition to SIG’s top management level, the Responsibility Steering Group also includes senior management members from the company’s main functional units.
Rolf Stangl, CEO of SIG Combibloc: “Our first Corporate Responsibility Report is a major and important milestone on our Way Beyond Good. In this report, we provide comprehensive information on our ambitious goal of being ‘net positive’ – meaning we want to give back more to society and the environment than we take. We are dedicated to running a responsible company, with responsible products made from responsible sources. We will report annually, in a transparent way, on our progress and on the measurable performance indicators of all material issues of our business which have an impact on society and the environment. The reporting is a good foundation to enable us to continue improving”.
Binding guideline: GRI G4
The framework for the topics covered in SIG’s Corporate Responsibility Report 2016 is provided by the G4 guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Michael Hecker, Head of Corporate Responsibility at SIG Combibloc: “We’ve opted for this internationally recognised, binding guideline in order to make it clear how strongly we feel about representing our key business figures in a transparent manner. We aim to report not only on our highlights, but also on those aspects in which we still have room for improvement. We want to offer all interested readers the opportunity to obtain comprehensive information about what’s really important to SIG, how we understand corporate social responsibility, and about our business conduct. Reporting in accordance with GRI G4 shows where we can improve, and enables us to compare our own performance with that of other companies which report according to the same guidelines. The reporting system we’ve chosen is not just about collecting data and facts, but also about how we manage the key issues in our company”.
The main figures in SIG’s CR Report were checked and verified by independent auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers. This also helps SIG to further optimise the data collection processes.
The initial basis for reporting was a comprehensive materiality assessment, from which a specific roadmap was developed. On the one hand, this roadmap established the priorities of the CR Report, and on the other hand the company’s further journey along the Way Beyond Good is planned around it. Rolf Stangl: “Our policy is to take action precisely where it matters most for society and the environment, and thus also for all stakeholders and for the healthy growth of our company. For this purpose, it was particularly important to us, in addition to support from external specialists, to bring in the expertise of our colleagues from a variety of functional units, to give the roadmap a common basis and well-grounded content”.
It’s not just within the company that cooperation is a game-changing issue for SIG. SIG is also a member of the ‘Net Positive’ project, a partner of the ‘Forum for the Future’, supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and joined the UN Global Compact. For these commitments too, SIG’s Corporate Responsibility Report helps provide information on progress.
Rolf Stangl: “We know there will be challenges to overcome along the way, but we are determined to go Way Beyond Good. Because we’re confident that we are on the right path, along which we’ve already taken steps that have left their mark”.
SIG Combibloc’s ‘WAY BEYOND GOOD Corporate Responsibility Report 2016’ can be accessed here.
