Netstal, a Swiss member company of the KraussMaffei Group, has been awarded the bronze recognition level on the EcoVadis sustainability audit platform. It was the first time the machinery manufacturer had applied for a rating from EcoVadis, the world's leading corporate social responsibility agency, and Netstal is proud to be among the companies whose sustainability performance has scored a “good”. Achieving bronze status puts the company amongst the top 17% of companies for special-purpose machinery - and in the top 30% of more than 120,000 companies from all industries assessed to date.
“This confirms to us that we are on the way to becoming one of the most sustainable companies in our industry," said Renzo Davatz, CEO at Netstal and member of the executive committee at KraussMaffei.
EcoVadis considers 21 sustainability criteria from the areas of environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. In the area of environmental protection, Netstal has made considerable progress in recent years. Compared to 2019, the company has reduced its CO2 emissions by 80%, an accomplishment mainly due to the switch to climate-neutral district heating supplied by the waste incineration plant in the nearby town of Bilten. As well, Netstal also switched the process heat required in production from gas to district heating.
"This means we have completely decoupled ourselves from gas. The remaining CO2 emissions are attributable to electricity consumption and the currently operated vehicle fleet. We will further reduce our energy consumption with additional measures," said Michael Rocholl, head of quality and process management at Netstal.
In addition, the company has reduced its water consumption from 200,000 m3 a decade ago to around 75,000 m3 last year. The target in 2023 is 60,000 m3. The company has launched a preliminary study to derive suitable measures, according to Rocholl.
In terms of sustainable procurement, Netstal already ranks among the top 7% of all evaluated companies in the special-purpose machinery sector. "By further concretizing our own guidelines, optimized risk assessments, internal training and intensified monitoring,
This first medal is recognition of Netstal’s efforts in sustainability, underscoring its commitment to environmental protection and society, while strengthening its own future viability. Looking forward, ‘we will continue to work on our sustainability’, said Davatz.
The company aims to continue to build on this foundation, setting new targets with renewed ambition to consolidate and improve its rating. "We want to further increase our overall EcoVadis score in the coming years," said Michael Rocholl.