Sustainability as a factor of success

Everybody is talking of “sustainability”. More and more often you hear this term in the media and it is also becoming increasingly important for our customers to purchase sustainable products or order from sustainable companies. What does this mean?

So what does this mean for MMM? Are we a sustainable company? With a view to the future, sustainable business means taking long-term ecological and social aspects into account. Our products should be as ecological as possible in their production and operation, and they should also be able to be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.

Since the term is not clearly defined, there are now a number of public and private sector organizations, initiatives and associations that offer certification or a label on this topic, such as the Blue Angel, the Fairtrade label, the Green Button, the FSC label (wood), OekoTex Standard 100 (textiles), EU organic logo (food), etc.

A good orientation is therefore the neutral standard DIN ISO 26000 “Guide to social responsibility”. On 149 pages, the standard describes social-ecological core topics such as:

• Organizational governance and labor practices (such as occupational health and safety, education and training)
• Human rights (incl. issues such as discrimination, child labor, etc.)
• Environmental protection (issues such as avoiding environmental pollution, sustainable use of resources, mitigating climate change, etc.)
• Fair operating and business practices (anti-corruption, responsible political participation, fair competition, social responsibility in the value chain)
• Consumer concerns (respecting consumer health and safety, customer service, complaint management, protection and confidentiality of customer data, etc.)
• Involvement and development of the community (educational and cultural activities, job creation and vocational training, developing and providing access to technologies, investing for the common welfare, etc.)

Not least because of customer inquiries, we had to deal with the topics intensively. If you then systematically deal with the aspects of the standard and see as a result how we at MMM are positioned with regard to all points of the standard, then we can rightly be proud of ourselves and our company. To mention just a few points: We have been training people at MMM for a long time and offer secure jobs. The working conditions are good, there is no child labor either at MMM or at our suppliers. We do not discriminate and MMM has employees from many different countries. We do not bribe anyone and deal fairly with competitors, customers and partners. We are politically and socially active, there is hardly a standardization committee in which we are not represented and contribute our know-how. We maintain a trusting partnership with our customers, customer satisfaction and customer service are our top priorities – no one is left out in the cold, all customer problems are solved. Last but not least, we develop new technologies and invest in resource-saving products or environmentally friendly operating facilities, such as a climate neutral woodchip heating system. We are certified according to ISO 14001 and ISO 50001.

Are we really a sustainable company? YES, you bet! And we can be proud of that.

Alexander Berdi, QM

DOWNLOAD: Sustainability policy