LEONHARD KURZ achieved excellent results in this year’s EcoVadis Sustainability Rating in all four areas examined – ‘Environment,’ ‘Labor and Human Rights,’ ‘Ethics,’ and ‘Sustainable Procurement’ – and received the silver medal from the renowned rating agency. The thin-film specialist is among the top 25 percent of all companies evaluated – and in an industry comparison, KURZ is even among the top 17 percent. “The company boasts a progressive management system in the Environment segment,” found the experts from EcoVadis.
Impressive proof of our consistent sustainability strategy
The evaluation also highlights that the total number of points achieved by KURZ has increased compared to the previous year. The reasons for this are listed as the implementation of additional measures and the introduction of further guidelines. For Dr. Andreas Hirschfelder, Chairman of the Board, this is clear proof that the company is on the right track: “There has been a lot of movement in the field of sustainability in recent years – new insights have been gained, goals have been set, and standards have been developed. This is also reflected in the assessment of the EcoVadis experts, who are constantly adapting their criteria. As a result, the requirements also increase from year to year. It makes us all the more proud that we are not only able to keep up here but also keep improving, as our silver medal shows. We scored eight points more than in the previous year. In the ‘Sustainable Procurement’ category, we even recorded an increase of 20 percent. This development underscores once again that we are pursuing a consistent sustainability strategy and successfully implementing it. We have always been committed to a sustainable approach to people and resources and, true to our motto ‘Be a green leader,’ we play a pioneering role in this respect.”
As part of the EcoVadis ranking, a total of 21 sustainability criteria are examined, which are compiled into the four categories ‘Environment,’ ‘Labor and Human Rights,’ ‘Ethics,’ and ‘Sustainable Procurement.’ The assessment is based on high standards and is monitored by an international scientific committee. The overall assessment includes not only aspects such as the raw materials used, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions, but also factors such as the responsible treatment of people, and commitment to greater diversity and inclusion.
Circular economy as a long-term goal
KURZ’s declared goal is to become the most sustainable company in the plastics industry. To this end, the company continually invests in the optimization of its own products and processes. Not only are KURZ’s high-grade finishings already 100 percent recyclable, but they are also increasingly made from renewable raw materials. After commissioning its own recycling plant, KURZ presented the further development of the recycling process used for production residues from the graphics industry in spring 2023. With RECOSYS® 2.0 innovative technology, transfer carriers can be recycled into recycled PET (rPET for short) for the first time. “Our long-term goal is the circular economy. We are already working on solutions that enable us to produce new, high-grade transfer carriers from production residues and thus close the loop,” explains Dr. Andreas Hirschfelder and adds: “With our commitment to more sustainability in the plastics industry, we not only meet our responsibility as a global company, but also support our customers along the entire process chain in reducing their own carbon footprint.” KURZ summarizes the company’s further successes in sustainability – as well as its own ethical standards in dealing with employees, customers, suppliers, government agencies, and authorities – in its recently published Sustainability Report for 2022.
KURZ has already demonstrated that transparent sustainability communication is particularly important to the company with its membership of the UN Global Compact Network and the associated voluntary commitment to publish a progress report. “As of this year, reporting will take the form of a publicly accessible questionnaire that we complete as a member of the network. This is the next step in our sustainability communication strategy,” says Dr. Andreas Hirschfelder. “In this way, we are clearly positioning ourselves, demonstrating our consistent commitment to achieving the goals of sustainable development, and clearly showing that our values always determine our actions.”
