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Sustainability
With vision and responsibility
For us, sustainability means more than just protecting the environment - it means responsibility. Responsibility for people, resources, and a future that remains worth living. In an age of constantly changing social and business demands, we at NITRAS rely on clear principles: acting consciously, managing carefully, and continuously improving.
What counts today is not just the product, but also the attitude behind it. That's why we ask ourselves at every step: How can we optimize our processes, reduce our ecological footprint, and ensure fair conditions at the same time? That's exactly what we're working on – with commitment, vision, and the conviction that sustainable action is an integral part of corporate strength.
Find out here what sustainability means to us – and how we are putting it into practice step by step.
Sustainability begins within the company
Sustainable action is firmly anchored in our self-image. Our goal: to protect people's health, reduce environmental pollution, and make working life safer. We live up to this promise not only through our products, but also in our daily interactions with each other.NITRAS stands for quality with attitude. Our values should be evident in every detail - from design to communication. To live up to this claim, we regularly review and optimize our products in terms of sustainability.
Because we believe that responsibility, quality, and environmental awareness are inseparable - and that is exactly what we consistently implement at NITRAS.
Social commitment
As a company with regional roots, we take responsibility - for our employees, our partners, and society. Our social commitment is an expression of what drives us: providing concrete help where help is needed.Whether in education, health, disaster relief, or ecological projects, we support initiatives that offer real social added value. Over the past twelve years, we have donated over €170,000, supplemented by targeted product donations in acute emergencies and social campaigns. We are particularly committed to projects that enable participation, such as “Christmas in a Shoebox” or the work of the Varius Workshops. Regional reforestation measures are also part of our commitment – for strong communities and a healthy environment.
In 2015, the international community adopted Agenda 2030 – a roadmap for the future. It sets out 17 goals that the international community aims to achieve by 2030. These goals serve as an international framework for evaluating issues in a structured manner, making developments measurable, and further developing our long-term orientation.
At NITRAS, we expressly support these goals and are already trying to reflect them to a greater extent in our sustainability strategy.
Code of Conduct
Respectful cooperation is the basis of all business relationships at NITRAS. With our Code of Conduct, we establish clear rules that promote trust, honesty, teamwork, and mutual appreciation - both internally and externally. The NITRAS Code of Conduct is an integral part of every supplier agreement and defines clear expectations with regard to human rights, working conditions, environmental protection, integrity, and the prevention of corruption.The code is supplemented by binding standards, including those based on the ILO core labor standards and the REACH regulation. In addition, we are guided by the amfori BSCI Code of Conduct, which reflects international due diligence standards and underlines our commitment to global responsible action. Our codes are regularly reviewed and further developed in order to meet increasing regulatory and social requirements in the future. In this way, we create transparency, orientation, and reliability – in our daily cooperation with partners worldwide.
Our key sustainability issues
Sustainability at NITRAS is guided by what is most important for the environment, society, and our stakeholders. This is based on our updated materiality analysis, which identifies the environmental and social issues that are particularly relevant to us and our partners along the supply chain. We consider both the impact of our own actions and external influences such as legal requirements and market developments.The focus is on issues such as the circular economy, climate change, safe products, fair working conditions, and responsible corporate governance. This clear prioritization allows us to target our measures where they will have the greatest positive effect. At the same time, we also keep an eye on other relevant aspects and continuously develop our sustainability strategy - in a data-driven, structured manner and in line with European standards.
Sustainability Task Force
In order to embed sustainability in a structured and effective manner within the company, we launched our Sustainability Task Force in 2021. The interdisciplinary team brings together experts from areas such as marketing, product management, quality management, and sales - with the common goal of coordinating projects, further developing measures, and consistently implementing our sustainability goals.The focus is on integrating sustainability as a cross-cutting issue: across departments, in a practical and forward-looking manner. This enables us to identify relevant developments at an early stage, derive appropriate measures, and make targeted improvements in everyday operations. One example of this is our environmental guide, which was developed in 2023 with the task force. It supports employees in conserving resources, designing processes more consciously, and living sustainability in a very concrete way.
For us, it is clear that sustainability begins in the company – through cooperation, responsibility, and the courage to break new ground.
Production and end products
Sustainability is an integral part of our product development and manufacturing. Together with our production partners, we work to ensure social and environmental standards are upheld throughout the entire supply chain. We rely on partners who have proven through certifications such as BSCI audits or OEKO-TEX that they not only pay attention to product quality, but also to human rights, fair working conditions, and raw materials that are safe for human health.We take sustainability even further: Together with GAIA circulair, we close the loop and give PPE a second life. The innovative take-back system collects used PPE, recycles it, and returns it to the recycling cycle - efficiently, resource-conserving, and without much effort. This means that every return makes an active contribution to the environment and the future - and is another step toward a functioning circular economy. Learn more about our take-back system with GAIA.
NITRAS NOW
With NITRAS NOW, we are combining our commitment to sustainable products, social responsibility, and active environmental protection. Our sustainability label identifies items that are made entirely or partially from recycled materials and meet defined social standards.The aim is to conserve resources, avoid waste, and actively promote the circular economy. Products with this label make sustainable decisions visible and traceable.
NITRAS NOW stands for transparency, responsibility, and concrete solutions. And we invite you to set a visible example for greater sustainability with every decision you make in favor of one of these products.
Member of amfori BSCI
Since April 1, 2023, NITRAS has been an official member of amfori BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative). This demonstrates our clear commitment to social responsibility in the global supply chain – going beyond the minimum legal requirements. The amfori BSCI Code of Conduct is an internationally recognized framework that commits companies and their partners to greater respect for human rights, fair working conditions, and environmental protection.The focus is on continuous dialogue with our suppliers: Together, we want to improve processes, strengthen social standards, and identify risks at an early stage. With the help of independent audits and transparent criteria, progress is documented in a measurable and traceable way. Even though we, as a medium-sized company, are not directly affected by the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), we are already focusing on its implementation – proactively and with an eye to the future.
Find out more about our measures, goals, and progress in detail in our sustainability report.
Thinking ahead together – facing the future responsibly
For us, sustainability is not a trend, but part of our corporate strategy. Projects such as our ISO 14001 certification, repeated silver rating by EcoVadis, and long-standing membership in amfori BSCI show that we don't just talk about responsibility – we consistently live it. Product labels such as NITRAS NOW also make ecological and social standards visible and comprehensible for our customers.
In addition, we are constantly developing our commitment - for example, by expanding circular concepts with GAIA circulair or by integrating our sustainability strategy even more deeply into corporate management.
The current sustainability report is only a snapshot: what matters is what we do with it. And we are ready to continue on this path consistently - step by step, with system, commitment, and genuine conviction.
We are acting today for tomorrow – and invite you to be part of this movement.
Potential incidents along the supply chain and/or environmentally relevant issues can be reported anonymously via the AS Arbeitsschutz GmbH reporting portal. More information and the exact procedure can be found here.
