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SUSTAINABILITY

SUSTAINABILITY AT NITRAS

For months now, a term has been circulating not only in the press that is causing great uncertainty among many companies: „Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz“ (the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act). The law, colloquially known as the Supply Chain Act, regulates corporate responsibility for the observance of human rights in global supply chains. 

Although we are not yet subject to the law (as of 2023), we are already implementing many of the requirements that are placed on companies and are working to do everything necessary to soon fully implement the due diligence obligations regulated by law. We have been a member of amfori BSCI since April 1st, 2023. This association supports companies in establishing an ethical supply chain. We have set ourselves the ambitious goal of working exclusively with BSCI-audited (or equivalently recognised standards) suppliers in the Far East by 2025.

We are pleased to present you with our latest sustainability report. Our current report is being published for the third time in 2023, this time in a completely new look and, as usual, will inform you on the coming pages about all the topics that concern us as a company with regard to sustainability and environmental protection.

When AS Arbeitsschutz and the NITRAS brand were founded, the focus was already on the sustainable development of the company. In the past, as today, the premise is: Quality before quantity. With this basic idea, we have grown continuously and healthily. The topic of sustainability is thus also firmly implemented in our company and we have defined the basic idea behind it in our vision „Our goal is to protect people‘s health as well as the environment and to make life easier“. The focus is therefore not only on high-quality products at a price-performance ratio in line with the market, but also on how!

On the following pages, you can read about the other sustainable issues that are important to us. We report transparently and comprehensively on what we have already achieved, what we are currently working on and what our goals are for the future.

We hope you enjoy reading the new NITRAS sustainability report 2023

On behalf of the entire NITRAS TEAM
Jens Thome | Ingo Kielholtz | Tim Kielholtz
Managing Directors

Here you can find the complete sustainability report.

Code of conduct:

Crucial to our Code of Conduct is our will to create uniform rules to build our business relationships with all suppliers on the basis of trust, teamwork, honesty and respect for all involved. We believe that all companies are made up of different people with individual needs. Businesses must value individual diversity and needs and should therefore work to provide equal opportunities for all employees. Our NITRAS Code of Conduct is primarily based on the four principles:

✓ Management practices that respect the rights of all employees.
✓ Providing a safe and healthy workplace for all employees.
✓ Providing safe products for all partners
✓ Minimising negative impacts on the environment.

We summarise our guiding principles and core standards in a Code of Conduct.

You can find the complete "Code of Conduct" here.


Certified quality and environmental management system according to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001:


We have had our management system certified according to ISO 9001 - the international standard for quality management systems - for many years.
Furthermore, we are pleased to announce that we have also been certified according to the environmental management standard ISO 14001 since 2023.


Member of amfori BSCI:


In addition to the NITRAS Code of Conduct, the amfori BSCI Code of Conduct, which we have implemented in our company through our membership of amfori BSCI, also applies without restriction. The amfori BSCI Code of Conduct is a much more comprehensive commitment document for amfori members and their business partners to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence in their global supply chains - in line with internationally recognised principles such as:

✓ Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations (UN)
✓ Conventions and Recommendations of the International Labour Organization (ILO)
✓ UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP)
✓ OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
✓ UN Principles on Children‘s Rights and Business

We summarise our guiding principles and core standards in a Code of Conduct.

You can find the complete "Code of Conduct" here.


Awarding the Silver Medal by EcoVadis:


AS Arbeitsschutz has once again been measured and assessed by EcoVadis, the world's leading provider of sustainability ratings for companies.

EcoVadis evaluates companies based on four areas: environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. By the end of 2022, we had already achieved an above-average result, placing us in the top 25% of the most sustainable companies. The silver medal was the reward. The assessment by EcoVadis was changed on 1 January 2024. The new and much more demanding medal award is no longer based on the number of points, but is measured in a comparison of all assessed companies. With the silver medal, this time we are even in the top 15% of the most sustainable companies.

Our environmental protection policy:

AS Arbeitsschutz GmbH has expressly set itself the goal of acting in harmony with our environment in all entrepreneurial activities and thus making a decisive contribution to protecting and preserving it. In order to realise our claim, we have defined environmental guidelines as binding contents of our business policy.

Here you can find the complete environmental protection policy.

Our core standards:

In addition to our guiding principles, which form the cornerstone for close and trusting cooperation, we have developed and specified core standards that complement and build on them. These can be divided into three areas:

✓Social ethical aspects
✓Banned and/or restricted substances and allergens
✓Ecological sustainability

SUSTAINABILITY AT THE PRODUCTION SITES

We attach great importance to working with production partners who can demonstrate certifications and audits that respect the human and labour rights of the employees and ensure the health safety of the raw materials, such as the BSCI audit, SA8000 and OEKO-Tex. In addition, we also look at the company's infrastructure to determine how, for example, water is treated or how energy is provided to the company. These are all parameters, in addition to the quality of the product, which flow into the evaluation of the company.

In all quality control and sustainability measures, our main goals are to protect people's health as well as the environment and to make life easier. Every product, whether clothing, protective gloves, safety shoes, etc., is subject to strict quality requirements, which are constantly checked by a multi-stage quality control system.

What you can rely on with NITRAS:

✓ Certified and / or audited productions
✓ Quality inspection
✓ Sustainability

Exemplary procedure:

→ Inspection of raw materials and starting materials
→ Quality check of the finished goods
→ Transport of the goods to the central warehouse in Bedburg
→ Incoming goods inspection by product management
→ Goods are released for sale

 
COMPANY

Our goal is to protect people's health as well as the environment and to make life easier. With the NITRAS brand, we want to give people a promise in terms of properties and quality: Our brand value is to be made tangible and a distinct brand awareness is to be developed. We do not take this promise lightly. Our products have always been subject to strict quality guidelines and controls and are regularly checked for sustainable optimisations.

Further measures to act even more sustainably in the company:

- Reduction of plastic waste through the elimination of individual packaging
- Introduction of a new hangtag with natural fibre instead of plastic tag for fixing
- Reduction of paper waste for information brochures
- Digital catalogues as an alternative
- Digital archiving
- Switching off equipment (PC, printer, forklifts etc.) when inactive
- Avoid plastic bags and mailers, reuse cardboard boxes
- Print on both sides of unofficial paper, reuse as scratch paper

NITRAS articles are only available for purchase after a multi-stage quality check.

NITRAS products - sustainably and safely packaged:

We are constantly on the lookout for ways to produce and package our products more sustainably. We took a big step towards more sustainability in 2019 when we decided to do away with all individual packaging for protective gloves (with the exception of chemical protective gloves). With this voluntary measure, we are able to eliminate enormous amounts of plastic waste and actively contribute to reducing the production of plastic. Even if one plastic bag doesn't seem to make much of a difference, as is so often the case, it's the mass that makes the difference.


ENGAGEMENT

As a medium-sized, Rhineland-based company, we not only create jobs in the region, but also support regional, national and global projects. Our heart beats for people and actions that want to change something. Our commitment here ranges from the local food bank to the donation and aid campaign for Ghana. Every time we are impressed by the great ideas and the self-sacrificing commitment of the people for their projects and are happy to support them with donations in money and in kind. 

[...] " for your donation [...] which we have received and the regular support of our house, we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You give us great pleasure every time. We appreciate it very much that you have stood by our side for many years." [...] Förderverein Kinder- und Jugendhospiz Düsseldorf e.V.


WE SEE OUR FUTURE GREEN

Sustainability is on everyone‘s lips and affects every single one of us - whether privately or professionally. A change in thinking has taken place, which does not stop at the market. Users are often not only interested in the product, but also in its origin, the conditions under which it is produced and the company through which it is sold. It definitely takes more effort to work in a resource-saving way. But it benefits both the environment and the people and helps to leave a livable earth for future generations. Therefore, we gladly accept the effort.

The sphere of influence does not end at our own premises, but we want our measures to make a difference along the supply chain. With our ISO 14001 certification, our participation in the EcoVadis sustainability assessment and our membership in amfori BSCI, we have initiated many projects that we would like to integrate more and more into our company. All memberships and certifications are only as good as the people in them who fill them with life and commitment.

Our vision sets the path for us. We consider sustainable action to be just as essential as economic action. Every goal, every new product and every innovation in the company is examined not only for its economic impact, but also for its ecological impact. New suppliers are not only assessed for their ability to deliver and the quality of their products - if they have not implemented a corresponding sustainable and social standard (see page 13), they cannot do business with NITRAS. 

The Sustainability Task Force continues to keep an eye on all areas of the company and explores where there is still a need for optimisation. It then talks openly with the management about the issues and their implementation. 

Our sustainability report provides you with a detailed overview of our measures and goals in the area of sustainability. For us in particular, this report was a comprehensive review of our current status, which we would like to use as a starting point for our future sustainable projects. On the following page, we have summarised for you once again what is particularly important to us and what we will continue to work on. Take us at our word.

Thank you very much

Your NITRAS team 




The AS Arbeitsschutz GmbH reporting portal can be used to anonymously report possible incidents along the supply chain and/or environmentally relevant issues. More information and the exact procedure can be found here.
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Phone: +49 2272 9060 800 | Email: info@nitras-safety.com

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