Sustainability governance

Every material topic is led by a member of senior management. These managers form the Sustainability Steering Group together with the Managing Directors of the production and assembly sites, and the Regional Heads from the Services Division. The Sustainability Steering Group is responsible for implementing the sustainability roadmap and defining the topic-specific management approach.

Implementation is supported by designated experts in the field and key local individuals in the subsidiaries. They provide technical expertise and ensure on-site implementation. A designated sustainability manager leads and moderates the sustainability-related activities at Group level and, as a technical expert, supports all functions and subsidiaries with implementation of the roadmap.

A clear focus based on our materiality analysis

We use a materiality analysis to determine where our company’s activities have the greatest impact on society, the environment, and the economy. For this purpose, we conducted an impact analysis, where we assessed actual and potential positive and negative impacts of our activities along the value chain. The aspects of scale, scope, and likelihood of impacts were considered as assessment categories with a precedence of scale and scope. In this process, we gathered the views and concerns of our key stakeholders – investors, customers, employees, and suppliers – online and in person. We updated the analysis in this reporting period to reflect the updated requirements of the GRI Standards. Impact is now the only determinant for materiality definition, and water has been included as an operational topic.

For each of the eight material topics, we have appointed a topic leader as an advocate. Operational topics are important to us as well, but we do not pursue them with the same strategic approach as the material topics. They are integrated into the operational business activities at the departmental level. Other topics may be of greater relevance for a specific subsidiary, but not across the whole Group. We address these topics on a situation-specific basis.

Material topics 

Are included in our strategic approach to sustainability and are subject to extended reporting requirements for our Sustainability Report.

Operational topics 

Have an increased relevance in our business activities and are continuously integrated into our operations; communication takes place according to needs and opportunities.

Other topics 

May have increased relevance in a specific context but not on a Group level; management and communication take place according to needs and opportunities.

We appreciate our employees’ expertise and promote knowledge sharing. Personal training and development are part of the annual appraisal and performance review process and are financially supported by the company. To ensure the ongoing development of technological expertise and personal as well as managerial skills within the company, employees around the world participate in internal technical, product, and leadership training modules, which are conducted across the Group throughout the year with a range of programs. In the fiscal year 2024, we provided on average 14.8 hours of internal training per FTE and reached 98.5% of our employees with our offering.

We promote and support new talent at all levels and are committed to the Swiss system of apprentice training. We are a founding member of the initiative launched under the auspices of the Swiss Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology and the Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce to establish an apprenticeship system in India based on the Swiss model. The company is also a corporate sponsor of the AZW Training Center in Winterthur for vocational career pathways.