At TAKKT profitable growth and sustainability go hand in hand. The company-wide SCORE 'Sustainable Corporate Responsibility' programme lays the foundation for coordinating sustainable business management measures across all segments and for implementing those measures in day-to-day operations. In 2016 TAKKT developed its sustainability strategy for the coming years. The focus areas of Sourcing, Marketing, Logistics, Resources & Climate, Employees and Society were originally defined in 2011 and reconfirmed in a stakeholder dialogue with employees, customers, suppliers, banks and shareholders. As part of the same process the key issues were identified, assessed and corresponding measures for implementation and progress developed. Having an established system of indicators is an important instrument to ensure that progress is measurable and transparent.

Employees: Social Commitment
TAKKT sees social commitment as an important component of corporate responsibility. The company sees itself as part of society and therefore feels it is important to support local projects. Alongside organisations and associations working on environmental and social issues, the company also supports volunteering on the part of its employees. Through paid leave, employees have the possibility to provide both material and conceptual support to projects on the ground. Around 65.7% of employees had this opportunity in 2017, with around 15.1% actually taking part in volunteering projects. The targets of offering paid leave for volunteering to 55-60% of employees by 2020 and of 8-12% of employees volunteering by 2020 have therefore already been achieved.

Value-added chain: Supplier Assessment
TAKKT develops long-term partnerships with responsible suppliers – as a foundation for shared growth. To transparently map the relevant aspects of sustainability in suppliers' business models and identify potential improvements, TAKKT cooperates with the internationally recognised EcoVadis platform. The four areas analysed by the EcoVadis evaluation are 'Environment', 'Social', 'Ethics' and 'Supply Chain'. Strengths under the 'Environmental' category might include environmentally friendly driver training, low-noise cars and appropriate disposal procedures. Low accident rates and the presence of trade union members, for instance, would be positively evaluated under 'Social'. Under 'Supply Chain', a negative point would include a case where the human rights respected in a supplier's production facilities are not also in place for its own suppliers. TAKKT's product managers can see the results in an online portal, make proposals for improvements to suppliers and draw up development plans. The evaluation programme was successfully tested in 2013 and has since been gradually expanded. The procurement volume from suppliers certified by EcoVadis was 46.8% in 2017. The objective is to increase this to 50-60% by 2020. TAKKT also uses the EcoVadis platform to assess suppliers for direct imports, with 39.8% being certified in 2017 and the objective being for 40% to be certified by 2020.

Innovation: Resource Efficiency
Printed advertising such as catalogues are a central medium for addressing customers in direct marketing. However, they also account for the majority of TAKKT's CO2 emissions. TAKKT therefore works exclusively with efficient, modern printing companies. To produce printed advertising, paper almost exclusively from sustainably managed forests (FSC/PEFC) is used. With the evolution of the business model towards a multi-channel company with an integrated offering combining traditional catalogue-based mail order with an online offering and, where appropriate, telephone sales and field representatives, TAKKT improves its marketing approach on an ongoing basis. The company is systematically expanding e-commerce, increasing the efficiency of customer-oriented marketing and saving resources by reducing the use of paper. In 2017, TAKKT used approximately 5.4 kg of paper per order, thereby already reaching its 2020 goal of 6.0-6.5 kg.

For further information, please see www.takkt.de/en/sustainability