Due to the global climate crisis, the topic of sustainability is omnipresent, but often the catchphrase does not quite live up to its meaning. To concretely grasp the implications and scope, in 2015 the United Nations defined 17 goals for sustainable development, the so-called SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) – also known as “Agenda 2030” – together with 169 targets.
The SDGs are aimed not only to governments or civil society but also the private sector. Sustainability is unavoidable in the corporate context due to certifications, regulations, customer specifications and costs, and Witte Technology, as a modern company, strives to meet its environmental responsibility as best as possible as well.
Against this background, we underwent a sustainability check on 2/6/2023 as part of the ÖKOPROFIT participation by B.A.U.M. e.V., the network for sustainable management, and were thus extensively sensitized to the breadth of the topic. After a general analysis of strengths and weaknesses, various areas of the company with 10 concrete target questions per SDG were interactively examined with all participants for their relevance to Witte and jointly evaluated.
The fact that Witte – with its claim to produce particularly durable and resistant self-adhesive products – already in itself makes sustainability possible was a positive finding. We are also continuously working on replacing certain printing materials, pastes, inks and outer packaging with more environmentally friendly alternatives. Besides a general inventory, the focus was naturally also on exerting a positive influence with a view to sustainability targets and recommendations for future action.
The group of participants discussed lively, honest but constructive measures like further optimization of the use or replacement of materials, continuous training strategies, the appointment and training of an energy officer, installation of charging stations, or the recording of the greenhouse gas balance as a basis for compensation – to name just a few. The results are now being incorporated into an overall sustainability strategy via our quality management.
On behalf of our Managing Director Udo Feldmann and Ludger Goldberg, Head of QM, as well as our representatives from Purchasing, Sales, Marketing and Operations Management, we would like to thank you for the structured and moderated analysis and the recommendations for action derived from it in the workshop. Many of the participants became aware of the many ways in which Witte is already pursuing sustainable goals and which measures will make a concrete contribution to enabling sustainable management.
