Im Geschäftsjahr 2022 verabschiedete POLYTEC eine neue Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie. Im Zentrum: acht Strategiefelder, in ­denen der Konzern verstärkt Nachhaltigkeitsinitiativen setzen möchte. Sie umfassen alle Ebenen von ESG, also Ökologie ­(Environmental), Soziales (Social) und Unternehmensführung (Governance).

Sustainability that goes further
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The POLYTEC GROUP further concretised its sustainability strategy in the 2022 financial year not least for those reasons. Under the title “Go Neutral 2035”, the company will completely convert its production to achieve carbon neutrality in the next twelve years. And POLYTEC will go even further: as part of the POLYTEC SOLUTION FORCE the group is pooling all its expertise in order to also optimise its products with a view to sustainability – from their development to production and long-term use.
 

The collection of sustainability data in the POLYTEC GROUP is not new. Customers have asked for sustainability data in tenders for many years. Such data has therefore been available at POLYTEC for a long time. However, maintenance of this data was transferred from the plant level to a central department as part of the ONE POLYTEC initiative in 2020. This makes the group’s sustainability reporting much more efficient and closes the last gaps in data collection.​​​​​​​

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Definition of strategy fields …
 

Revised in 2022, the POLYTEC GROUP’s sustainability strategy now comprises eight strategy fields, which were derived from the group’s activities in analyses and workshops under the leadership of the new sustainability department and address POLYTEC’s most important fields of action in sustainability matters at all ESG levels. Consequently sustainability now goes far beyond ecology at POLYTEC and also focuses on the social and governance criteria.
 

In all eight strategy fields, the POLYTEC GROUP defined indicators and targets. To achieve these targets, the sustainability strategy has been incorporated into POLYTEC’s existing processes and systems and a new department for sustainability, which reports directly to the Board of Directors, has been established. Moreover, sustainability has also been integrated into the engineering activities of the POLYTEC GROUP to ensure that the company’s sustainability goals are given substantial consideration in every development project.
 

… and focus fields
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In order to be able to achieve its overarching goal – carbon-neutral production by 2035 – POLYTEC will concentrate on three of the eight strategy fields in the coming years: People, Energy and Production. The group identified the main levers on the way to carbon neutrality in the fields of Energy and Production. Meanwhile, the focus field People is particularly important insofar as skilled workers with the right mindset, expertise and commitment are indispensable for the implementation of the necessary measures. POLYTEC subsequently developed a roadmap for these three focus fields featuring specific milestones to be passed before achieving complete carbon neutrality in 2035.

Focus field People
 

In the focus field People, initiatives have already been underway for several years. Given the current skilled labour shortage, they have become even more urgent in the short term. ­POLYTEC needs to become even more attractive as an employer, and employee retention, employee development and attracting new employees have been designated as focal points. In the medium to long term, POLYTEC aims to strengthen employees’ loyalty to the company, increase the health rate and reduce employee turnover. To realise these goals the company will implement a variety of measures in training and education, onboarding and offboarding, employee satisfaction and many more. In addition, POLYTEC deliberately encourages personal initiative and engagement of its employees. At sustainability workshops, for example, the company takes up employees’ ideas and implements them where possible.

Focus field Energy
 

In the focus field Energy, POLYTEC pursues long-term goals because the conversion to energy from renewable sources is not possible everywhere at this stage. In Austria, Germany and the Netherlands, production has already been switched to carbon-neutral electricity. At some locations, for example at the plant in South Africa, this is currently not possible due to a lack of supply. Nonetheless, the aim is to gradually increase the share of green energy in the energy mix of the ­POLYTEC GROUP. Concrete targets have been set: POLYTEC aims for a full conversion to completely carbon-neutral energy supply by 2030 in Europe and by 2035 worldwide. The company’s own power generation – for example through photovoltaic systems – and a significant reduction in energy consumption will contribute to achieving this goal.

Focus field Production
 

POLYTEC has also defined long-term goals for the focus field Production. This field concentrates on the areas of energy, operating materials and reusable materials, where POLYTEC primarily strives for more efficient use. In addition, measures to reduce energy consumption and to substitute natural gas as well as the conversion to operating materials with better ecological compatibility are on the agenda. While not all of this is currently feasible due to economic reasons, the overall situation is likely to change in the years to come, as the supply of alternative materials and energy is increasing.
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But even today POLYTEC can point to a successful track record: energy has already been very successfully saved over the past years, for example by switching to LED lighting and by reduced heating. And in the 2022 financial year, gas consumption for steam production – steam is used for heating up pressing tools at POLYTEC – was lowered significantly. A project to cut gas consumption in the group’s paint shops is currently being implemented. POLYTEC aims to consistently pursue this line of approach in the coming years.

​​​​​​​The concentration on these three focal points does, in fact, not mean that the other strategy fields are less relevant. However, POLYTEC is convinced that the topics People, Energy and Production offer the best leverage for changes for the benefit of the environment, society and businesses in the short to medium term.  
 

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The 2022 financial year was not only marked by major strategic decisions in terms of sustainability at POLYTEC. Especially in the second half of the year, the company achieved massive savings thanks to a large-scale energy saving initiative while maintaining its operating performance constant.

​​​​​​​Overall, the group consequently consumed approximately 5 percent less electricity in the second half of the year than in the same period of the prior year, while gas consumption was even reduced by about 15 percent. Extra­polated to a full year, this corresponds to a decline by 2.6 million kilowatt hours in electricity consumption and a ­decrease by 6 million kilowatt hours for gas. These savings are equivalent to the electricity demand of nearly 900 average Austrian households and the gas demand of nearly 600 households.
 

This success not only has a positive impact on the footprint of the POLYTEC GROUP, but also helps to cushion the soaring energy costs considerably. And finally it also has an integrative effect – because achieving such high savings in such a short period of time was only possible thanks to excellent teamwork. As part of the energy saving initiative, all processes within the company were reviewed for their energy efficiency – an effort that required the creativity and engagement of every single employee.