Acting sustainably, conserving resources, rethinking processes in an energy-saving way, establishing environmental measures, raising environmental awareness, eliminating sources of error, assuming responsibility for the future – these are all frequently read or heard buzzwords or goals that belong to the overarching theme of "Corporate Sustainability". Sometimes they remain empty phrases, sometimes they are profitably filled with life; that's how we do it.
In the past, it was often considered a contradiction that a company should create financial value and at the same time provide social and environmental benefits. This has changed fundamentally and more and more companies have developed a sustainability DNA that creates long-term stakeholder value.
ISO 14001 is a globally valid, industry-independent standard for the introduction and continuous improvement of an operational environmental management system (EMS). Successfully passing the audit for ISO 14001 certification is, of course, no small task for a company with many energy-intensive services, such as those offered by REISSWOLF, from document destruction to scanning services and numerous solutions for digital data management. It is great that this task is succeeding and that further environmental measures can now be tackled. Some of our market competitors have not yet taken this path so consistently, although we are all really called upon to act quickly to mitigate the climate crisis and preserve our habitats. Perhaps we have a role model function for them?
There is no doubt that ISO 14001 certification will offer great advantages in the future:
- We can communicate our environmental standards clearly both internally and externally.
- Legal certainty within the company increases.
- Our brand is strengthened through improved stakeholder and customer relations.
- Possible environmental risks and incidents are prevented or can be controlled at an early stage in the event of an emergency, thereby also reducing accident and liability risks.
- Shared values have been further deepened along the entire process chain.
- And of course, active sustainability management also improves employer branding and employee loyalty.
The last point has been particularly noticeable at REISSWOLF from the very beginning. As part of our environmental management system, we have defined key performance indicators, constantly scrutinized them and sought innovative ways to continuously improve our own environmental performance. In addition to day-to-day business, this was a challenging task that everyone in the company took on.
The decision to finally submit to an independent auditor from DQS, one of the most renowned management certification companies in Germany, and to have the various company areas audited according to sustainability aspects, has released a lot of motivation in the entire REISSWOLF team and given rise to further ideas. The certificate is the official proof of the sustainable willingness to perform in the entire company - but it is certainly not the end point yet. The next environmentally relevant projects are already being planned or implemented - we will be happy to report on these again.
Do you have suggestions for even more sustainability at REISSWOLF? Please simply email us, we look forward to hearing from you.