Sustainability Report 2020 Act today think about tomorrow www.hettic.com Contents Foreword 3 Hettich as an Employer 22 The Hettich Group 4 Occupational safety 22 Values and tradition 5 Health 24 Our products 5 Apprenticeships and further training 26 Starting a career 26 Jana Schönfeld Sascha Groß Sustainability Strategy 6 Further training 27 Responsible corporate management 6 Networking 27 Our priorities and goals 7 Corporate culture – new forms of teamwork 28 Technology for Furniture – Digitalisation - Award Digital Champion 28 Dear Reader, Process Management 9 Diversity and equal opportunities 28 As a family run company with more than 130 years of history, we are proud Responsibility 9 Involvement of our colleagues 29 of being able to sustain our position in a global market environment. Our Stakeholder participation 9 Hettich news internal 29 aim is to combine business success with ecological, social and civic respon- Innovation and product management 10 Sustainable projects of our colleagues 30 sibility. Research and development 10 Commitment to Society 31 Environmentally relevant substances 12 Our products are „long-lasting“ in the true sense of the word: They keep Foundation study funds „Studienfonds OWL“ 31 Rules and processes 12 furniture comfortably movable for a long time and thus ensure a long Promoting voluntary work 31 Compliance 12 furniture life. Which pleases our customers. This alone sets a clear signal for Working with schools and universities 2019 31 Quality 12 sustainability. Local commitment 32 Suppliers and purchasing policy 13 But for Hettich, sustainability means much more: We are committed to us- Worldwide production network 13 ing the natural resources entrusted to us as responsibly as possible in order Ecology 14 to preserve our planet for all of us and for future generations. Environmental policy 14 Of course we cannot master this great challenge alone, but only together The effects our activities have on the with our customers, suppliers, partners and many others. environment 15 Our commitment to sustainability begins by encouraging our colleagues at EMAS environmental management system 16 Hettich to take on more personal responsibility. After all, sustainable behav- iour begins with each of us personally. Only if we change ourselves, our Environmental programme and corporate environmental performance 16 own attitude and our behaviour can we expect the same from others. This is how we establish sustainable thinking and acting step by step in all our Buildings and properties 16 activities, without losing sight of economic efficiency. Transportation and traffic 17 This Sustainability Report summarises our activities and provides informa- Energy and resource management 18 tion on our priorities, on goals we have already achieved, and on the chal- Transparency through environmental lenges that we will be facing in the future. key figures 18 - 2 - - 3 - The Hettich Group Resident in Kirchlengern – At home the world over. Business development We are one of the world‘s largest manufacturers of furniture fittings. Every day, our colleagues in almost The Hettich Group turned over a total of € 1.1 billion 80 countries take up the challenge of developing in- in the financial year 2019. Compared to the previous telligent technology for furniture. As a family-owned year, this saw an increase in turnover of 3.2 percent. company, we concentrate on accomplishing long- The foreign share was 72 percent. In view of the he- term corporate objectives independently of outside terogeneous economic development on the global influences. markets in 2019, the achieved sales growth is of great importance. The increase in 2019 was only possible Management because the entire Hettich team is pulling together worldwide and we are very consistently serving the The Hettich Group is divided into independently needs of different markets. operating business units which are strategically Worldwide, the Hettich Group employed an average of managed by Hettich Holding at our headquarters in 6,700 colleagues in 2019. of which more than 3,600 Kirchlengern. On 1 January 2020, Dr. Andreas Het- in Germany. 219 training positions in the technical tich, shareholder in the fourth family generation, and commercial areas were offered and filled. Values and tradition Our products moved from the operational management of Hettich We create the perfect combination of intelligent Holding GmbH & Co. oHG to the chairmanship of the Family-owned company technology, functionality and design. It is with this Advisory Board of the Hettich Group. After almost Investments The Hettich Group is entirely family owned. We think claim that we develop and produce a variety of fit- 20 years in operative business, 13 of which as CEO, long-term in generations. Corporate freedom and in- tings for all sorts of different functions. From drawer Dr. Hettich will concentrate in future on the strategic In 2019, the Hettich Group has again invested around dependence are key principles that mean everything and runner systems to hinges and from folding door management of the Group and act as a link between 10 percent of its annual sales in the future. Key areas to the Hettich family. Our company has a history that to sliding door fittings. Because good furniture needs the Hettich shareholders and the Group. As of January of investment were the innovative drawer platform is defined by outstanding engineering achievements good solutions – for the home, working world and 2020, the Hettich Group is managed by Jana Schön- AvanTech YOU as well as the expansion of production and bold enterprising decisions, showing that herita- quality of life. Our Hettich products keep furniture feld and Sascha Groß, together with all Management capacities for the Asian growth markets: In Indore/ ge has a future. movable and comfortable for a long time. This is how Team colleagues worldwide. India a further production site with 28,000 square Family businesses are a mainstay of the German we bring long-term pleasure to our customers. - And meters of hall space was opened in 2019. economy. Already in 2016 the Foundation for Family by doing so, we are already setting a clear signal for sustainability. Worldwide presence Businesses (Munich, www.familienunternehmen.de) Prospects has named the Hettich Group as a top 500 family With subsidiaries and partner agencies as well as pro- business for its outstanding business achievements. duction sites in America, Europe and Asia, we are never At the time of publishing this Sustainability Report, far from our customers wherever they are in the world. we are in the midst of the most difficult situation Hettich stands for a strong partnership with the furni- worldwide for decades. The effects of the Corona The Hettich brand ture and white goods industry, specialist retailers and pandemic are currently neither health wise nor eco- Technology for furniture – that´s our passion. The the trades as well as the DIY sector. We are specialists nomically foreseeable. They will also have a signifi- Hettich brand stands for quality, innovation, reliabili- in every market segment, know the various demands cant impact on the course of business in 2020 for ty and closeness to customers throughout the world. and meet them in every product we develop. – The suc- the Hettich Group. However, we are confident that we The Hettich family vouch for this with their name. cess of our customers and partners is also our success. will overcome the challenges of the global crisis to- gether through the flexibility and commitment of all Hettich colleagues as well as through the partnership with our customers and suppliers and will also take advantage of the opportunities arising from the crisis. - 4 - - 5 - Sustainability Strategy Responsible corporate management everyday work and to sharpen our reaction to critical As a family business, our strategies are always aimed and questionable situations. at sustained existence and not short term success. In 2019, in view of our growing international acti- We understand lawful and ethical conduct at home vities, we have once again completely revised the and abroad to be the key to real, sustainable success. Hettich Code of Conduct. It also explicitly describes We set priorities in ecology, social and civic responsi- the protection of human rights, which is a matter bility as fields of action in which we aim to define a of course for us: We categorically reject any form of sustainable way forward that will give the company forced, compulsory or child labour, exploitation or economic prosperity. Decisive factors here are the discrimination. We do not do business with partners energy-efficient, resource-conserving production of who do not observe these principles. our high-quality and thus sustainable products, as Creating a sustainable foundation – Document Our priorities and goals well as the ability of our colleagues to assume more To promote awareness of Hettich‘s behavioural management system As part of our sustainability strategy, we place a long personal responsibility through new ways of working standards, we have developed a special e-learning To do this, sub-areas of sustainability are organized term emphasis on ecology, social and civic responsibi- together. unit for internal initial training as well as regular fol- in our document management system. The system lity as areas in which action needs to be taken: low-up training. In this way, we constantly remind provides support for all colleagues, because it maps Hettich Code of Conduct ourselves to adhere to the principles and values laid the essential corporate processes, tasks and goals of 1) Ecology: Every day our products reach many people all over the down therein. Our goal is: „Together we protect what the following areas: The efficient use of energy and resources in pro- world. This privilege also means a great responsibility is important to us“. duction and infrastructure is at the focus of our for us. At Hettich we are committed to ethical busi- - Occupational safety endeavours to protect the environment.