About this report

GRI 102-10, 102-45, 102-46, 102-47, 102-48, 102-49, 102-50, 102-52, 102-54, 102-56

The uvex group seeks to reconcile its business activities with a three-pillar model of Ecological. Social. Economical. When we first set out on our sustainability journey, we tended to take measures aimed at saving energy or rethinking and reducing the use of resources. However, we now find ourselves in the second phase. The focus is now on manufacturing environmentally friendly products for our customers. With the protecting planet initiative, we have launched a label that offers maximum transparency and information on our sustainability activities. Each sub-group plays a part in this. The sustainable products offered by uvex safety, uvex sports, Filtral and ALPINA can be found here: Concept and product worlds protecting planet

In view of the significant relevance that sustainability has for society, it was only natural that this issue also provided the focus theme for the uvex safety group’s trade fair exhibition at the A+A 2021 in Düsseldorf. At the heart of the exhibition was the presentation of the protecting planet product system, which was launched in financial year 2020/21 and as part of which every SBU presented at least one sustainable or environmentally friendly product. All products use either recycled, organic or compostable materials. The provable durability of the products also helps to make them sustainable. A further focus has been placed on sustainable packaging concepts. Moreover, uvex safety integrated the core theme of sustainability into the A+A stand concept itself, with an emphasis on the use of natural materials and untreated wood, living moss as well as the exclusive use of hired furniture and reusable exhibition structures.

In terms of content, the sustainability report 2020/21 covers both the uvex group’s first sustainable products and activities at our own manufacturing plants in particular. The huge range of measures implemented, mainly at manufacturing plants in Germany and the rest of Europe, encompasses, for example, the launch of an Environmental Management System in accordance with ISO 14001 at SwedSafe in Sweden as well as the installation of energy-optimised plants and a photovoltaic system at the Filtral GmbH headquarters in Burgfarrnbach just outside of Fürth. The report is rounded off by the Social section, in which the uvex group presents a number of employee projects and new initiatives realised by the Rainer Winter Foundation.

An important goal defined in this Sustainability Report is climate neutrality. In the first step, we need an all-encompassing balance sheet that lists all of our emissions. This should include both emissions that are caused directly by the uvex group such as electricity and gas as well as emissions over which we have an indirect influence, such as those generated along our supply chains. These include waste disposal processes and the transportation of products. This gives us the opportunity to determine the specific need for action on the road to climate-neutral operations and to initiate and implement supporting projects and measures in order to systematically minimize greenhouse gases. Unavoidable emissions left over at the end should then be offset with the support of a certified climate protection project, in turn making an additional contribution to mitigating against negative climate impacts. In order to constantly keep an eye on our progress in relation to achieving these goals, we must continually review our actions. To this end, we use our established metric systems allied with the production and further development of the uvex group sustainability report.

Over the course of the reporting period (financial year 2020/21), no organisational changes of material importance occurred. The comparability of the data for the reporting period against the previous financial year is guaranteed by ensuring that data is specifically allocated to the relevant time period. Individual deviations from the previous report are explained in each case.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option.

External audit
The consolidated financial statements and group management report of the uvex group are audited in line with legal requirements by the auditing firm Rödl & Partner GmbH. The uvex group did not carry out a separate audit for either the Sustainability Report 2014 or the updates in 2015, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20 or for the Sustainability Report 2020/21.