Sostenibilidad WEICON
Quimica y sostenibilidad –
¿es posible?
Nuestra empresa, que opera a escala internacional, lleva más de 70 años fabricando productos químicos. Mantenemos en funcionamiento las industrias de todo el mundo con nuestros adhesivos y selladores, que se utilizan en producción, reparación, mantenimiento y prevención. Sin embargo, con razón, e inevitablemente, surge la siguiente pregunta: ¿Podemos, como empresa química, actuar de forma sostenible?
Nuestra respuesta es un sí rotundo. Hoy en día, todas las empresas tienen la responsabilidad de abordar seriamente la cuestión de la sostenibilidad. Y cada empresa puede tomar medidas dentro de sus posibilidades para que las generaciones venideras tengan un futuro esperanzador.
En esta sección, explicamos cómo abordamos en WEICON el tema de la sostenibilidad. Presentamos las acciones importantes que estamos tomando, tanto a gran escala como a pequeña escala, para contribuir a un presente significativo, y también destacamos cómo estamos emprendiendo nuevos proyectos con el objetivo de forjar ese futuro esperanzador.
„Cualquier empresa que en estos tiempos siga pensando que no tiene nada que ver con el tema de la sostenibilidad no ha entendido de qué va.“
ANN-KATRIN WEIDLING, DIRECTORA GENERAL DE WEICON
Qué hacemos
Evitar y reducir las emisiones de CO2
Uso responsable de la energía
Cartón en lugar de plástico
Leasing de bicicletas y movilidad eléctrica
Gama de herramientas sostenibles
Digitalización en lugar de papel
Recoger el agua de lluvia
Incluso las pequeños acciones cuentan
Renuncia a los materiales de publicidad
Empresa ecológica
Considerar la sostenibilidad en su totalidad
WE Care Informe de Sostenibilidad
Nos complace presentar nuestro Informe de Sostenibilidad 2024.
Social
La sostenibilidad es mucho más que la consecución de objetivos medioambientales. Las cuestiones sociales son también uno de los tres pilares (junto con la ecología y la economía). Llevamos apoyando a organizaciones benéficas de todo el mundo desde 2017. Entre ellas, se encuentran asociaciones que trabajan a favor del medio ambiente, las personas y los animales. El destino de nuestras donaciones lo deciden nuestros empleados.
¿Qué nos depara el futuro
Actuar de manera sostenible no es una tarea que pueda cumplirse en algún momento. La acción sostenible es más bien un proceso continuo.
Sabemos que no somos perfectos y que todavía hay numerosos ajustes que debemos realizar para actuar de manera aún más consciente con el medio ambiente.
Por eso estamos siempre en constante revisión y mejora de nuestros productos para cada una de las industrias en las tenemos presencia. Por ejemplo, actualmente estamos abordando medidas adicionales de eficiencia energética en edificios existentes. Esto incluye, entre otras cosas, el uso de nueva tecnología en cuanto a iluminación, climatización, calefacción, etc., o la ampliación de nuestras instalaciones fotovoltaicas.
La gestión de la sostenibilidad y el medio ambiente es compleja y requiere mucho tiempo. Por eso, en WEICON contamos con nuestro colega Henning Voß, quien como empleado de nuestro EHSC Management (Medio ambiente + Salud + Seguridad + Cumplimiento), lidera este movimiento.
„Como empresa química, también podemos hacer mucho en términos de sostenibilidad. Evalúo regularmente con compañeros y profesionales externos lo que es factible dentro de nuestras posibilidades.“
HENNING VOß, JEFE DE EHSC MANAGEMENT EN WEICON
„De la Aa la Z“ de la sostenibilidad
Anfangen (starting)
Just start! Can you do anything wrong when it comes to climate protection? For fear of being accused of greenwashing, some companies seem paralysed and remain hesitant regarding sustainability measures despite good intentions. But if you do nothing at all for fear of doing something wrong, you are definitely doing something wrong!
Balance
Our consumption (such as energy or fuel consumption) is converted to the CO2 equivalent using emission factors. This figure is the result of the emissions balance on which our climate protection strategy is based. One tonne of methane, for example, represents 25 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Corporate Carbon Footprint
Together with Fokus Zukunft GmbH & Co. KG, we measured our corporate carbon footprint in Germany in 2022 based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. The carbon footprint is divided into Scope 1, 2 and 3. Scope 1 includes all self-generated emissions (for example, emissions generated by combustion in one’s own facilities). Scope 2 includes emissions associated with purchased energy (for example electricity). Scope 3 includes emissions from services provided by third parties and purchased preliminary services (for example business travel, paper consumption, etc.). We have tried to calculate our carbon footprint in Germany as comprehensively as possible – Scope 3 emissions can only be partially accounted for, however, as not all processes along the entire value chain are known to us or can be influenced by us.
Chemicals
Many of our products are based on chemical substances that give them their specific properties, such as high adhesive strength or an especially high resistance to weathering. We pay close attention to the numerous legal requirements for our products and analyse and evaluate them further according to our own strict standards – also with regard to environmental compatibility.
Digitalisation
Many companies have now realised that the digitalisation of processes can significantly reduce C02 emissions in many areas. We have already taken several measures to digitalise our processes. For example, we have made our invoice filing or personnel administration paperless. We have also digitised processes in the warehouse and in the shipping process and replaced many face-to-face events with digital meetings.
Employer branding
Voluntarily reducing emissions and offsetting unavoidable emissions increases awareness among our employees, suppliers and customers for the way we use resources. Positioning ourselves as a sustainable employer is an integral part of our employer branding strategy.
Fahrrad (bike)
Thanks to our bike leasing offer, our employees can make their way to work pollution-free. Of course, colleagues who live far away are still dependent on their car, but many people from Münster arrive by bike – as befits our bicycle-friendly city.
Ganzheitlich (holistic)
Those who are serious about the fight against climate change do not merely rely on offsetting CO2 through climate certificates. Only companies who take a holistic view of the three main pillars of carbon neutrality – i.e. saving, reducing and offsetting CO2 – achieve more than mere damage limitation.
Home office (remote work)
Working from home makes it unnecessary for many of our employees to travel to work by car, thus reducing the burden on the environment and, additionally, on the wallet.
International climate protection
Climate change is global, so it does not matter where in the world CO2 is offset. The Kyoto Protocol, which is binding under international law, stipulates that climate protection projects that avoid or store greenhouse gas emissions should be located where they are most economical. Many projects are therefore carried out in emerging and developing countries, where they are also intended to contribute to improving the economic, social and environmental situation.
Junges (young) team
Many young people work at WEICON. The average age at our headquarters in Germany is 37. It is no secret that sustainability is becoming increasingly important, especially for the younger generations, and often plays a role in the choice of employer. All the more reason for a company to address this issue.
Kommunikation (communication)
Do good and talk about it. Many companies do not dare to speak openly about their sustainability measures for fear of greenwashing accusations. But honest and transparent communication can help inspire other companies and encourage them to take action themselves.
Long-term
We do not purchase our carbon neutrality for marketing purposes. By means of additional C02 reduction and avoidance measures, we wish to show that we are making a long-term and serious contribution to climate protection and to a world worth living in tomorrow.
Messen (trade fairs)
We have reduced our participation in trade fairs, thus saving many flights, nights in hotels and kilometres driven by car. We have currently scaled down our presence at domestic fairs to the most important four or five ones.
Nachhaltigkeitsziele der Vereinten Nationen (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals)
The United Nations has set 17 sustainable development goals. The goals take into account all three pillars of sustainability (environmental, economic and social) and include the fight against climate change. Here you can find more information on the 17 goals With our certification as a carbon-neutral company, we support a compensation project in Türkiye that includes three of the sustainability goals.
ÖPNV (public transport)
Despite our location in an industrial area, we are directly connected to the public transport system via a nearby bus stop. In various industry associations, we repeatedly advocate, for example, that the frequency of buses be further expanded to make public transport even more attractive.
People – Planet – Profit
These terms refer to the three pillars of sustainability. With these three, equally-important pillars, companies can specify guidelines for sustainable action. The aim is to ensure and improve the environmental, economic and social performance of societies in this way.
Quality
We attach the utmost importance to quality. This means that we pay attention to both high-quality materials and the usefulness of our products. We don’t include products that are especially harmful to the environment nor products that offer no additional technical benefit in our product range.
Reducing
We are reducing our CO2 impact in many areas along the value chain. Our specific measures for CO2 reduction are explained on this page.
Spenden (donations)
We have been supporting charitable organisations around the world since 2017. Among them are associations that campaign for the environment and the welfare of people and animals. Our employees decide on which organisations to support with our donations.
Treibstoff (fuel)
Our vehicle fleet requires a large amount of petrol and diesel. That is why we are gradually converting our vehicle fleet in Germany to regenerative drives.
Umverpackungen (repackaging)
We banned plastic blister packs from our tool range at the beginning of 2020. Since then, we have been packaging our WEICON TOOLS in recyclable cardboard boxes, thus saving around six tonnes of plastic every year. Read more
Corporate values
As a company, we hold certain values that guide our everyday actions. In addition to respect, openness, solidarity, communication and reliability, we also count responsibility and sustainability among our corporate values. Responsible and sustainable action is very important to us, which is why we continue to focus our actions on sustainability in addition to the measures we have taken so far.
Vermeiden (saving)
Saving CO2 should be part of any sustainability strategy. Because even if we offset a tonne of CO2 elsewhere in the world, it remains a tonne of CO2. That is why we regularly examine and evaluate existing processes at our company to find out whether they can be optimised further in terms of sustainability.
Work-life balance
For us, sustainability also means consciously paying attention to people (human resources), starting with the people in our company. For example, we ensure that our employees benefit from a good work-life balance.
Generation X, Y and Z
When WEICON was founded in 1947, environmental issues played a minor role for many companies. We were no exception in that respect. But for the following generations Y and Z, the topic of sustainability is increasingly gaining in importance – also at WEICON. Being a millennial herself, Managing Director Ann-Katrin Weidling represents the fourth generation of our family business. It is extremely important to her that WEICON makes its own significant contribution to climate protection.
Ziele (targets)
Sustainable action is not an item on a to-do list that you can tick off at some point, but a continuous process. We never stop setting ourselves new targets to reduce our CO2 emissions wherever we can.
