Siegwerk releases new sustainable business strategy

The strategy combines the term Horizon in reference to the company’s New Horizons 2025+ business strategy and Now to indicate that sustainable development challenges require immediate action.

‘The packaging industry is under increasing pressure to provide more environmentally sustainable options for the future,’ said Nicolas Wiedmann, chief executive officer at Siegwerk. ‘As the sponsor of the HorizonNOW initiative, Siegwerk’s ambition is to conduct business with the next generation in mind while driving the latest innovations in safe, circular and digital packaging solutions.’

To ensure the success of HorizonNOW, the initiative focuses on seven measurable targets based on the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals  - to be realized by 2025. These include achieving carbon neutral scope 1 and 2 emissions globally, ensuring 100 percent of Siegwerk suppliers are committed to UN Global Compact Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) requirements, establishing product environmental footprint data for 100 percent of Siegwerk products. 

The company is also aspiring to be the trendsetter for the safest inks by proactively improving its products and setting new industry standards in consumer and environmental safety. Siegwerk also intends to manage its portfolio so that 75 percent of all products or services sold enable reusable, renewable or recyclable packaging and achieve a minimum gender representation at the executive level of 15 percent and ensure a Total Incident Rate of less than 1.0.

‘These are aggressive, industry-leading targets which will ensure Siegwerk’s actions will have a direct impact on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and society as a whole,” added Wiedmann. ‘To ensure our success, we are putting in place the proper organization and leadership to deliver on our promises.’

In addition, Siegwerk will pursue a certification by EcoVadis, one of the leading business sustainability rating providers, to externally monitor and verify the company’s performance.

‘To achieve our goals, we still have more homework to do, and this will require working together in tandem with our customers and other important business partners. To deliver, Siegwerk must build a sustainable business that remains economically viable. This was always going to be challenging, but the Executive Board and I strongly believe that HorizonNOW is the right strategic direction to take and that we will be successful in achieving this aggressive objective,’ concluded Wiedmann.