CORPORATE
SUSTAINABILITY
REPORT
REPORT CONTENTS
Message from the CEO
2020 Highlights
Selected Financial Figures
A Leading Innovator
Our Commitment to Sustainability
■ A Systematic Approach
■ Horizon 2030
Reducing our Environmental Impact with Sustainable Solutions
■ Sustainable Manufacturing
■ Responsible products and innovation
Our Role in Society
■ The Pandemic in the Community
People of Jacob Holm
■ Protecting our people during a pandemic
■ Employee Health and Safety
GRI Index
Key Performance Indicators
Jacob Holm & Sons AG
Picassoplatz 8 4052 Basel Switzerland
This report provides the status of the sustainability work done by Jacob Holm & Sons AG for the fiscal year of 2020, covering the period from January 1st 2020 to December 31st 2020.
We welcome feedback, including suggestions, comments and questions.
Please direct any feedback to Carmelo Carrubba, Corporate Vice President of Strategy and Sustainability, at [email protected].
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58SUSTAINABILITY
At Jacob Holm we are committed to making a positive impact on the world - fostering the well-being of people, protecting the planet and contributing to the prosperity of our communities.
In 2020 the global pandemic affected everyone's lives and tested the cohesion of our societies in ways we had not experienced before. However, amid the unique challenges of 2020, our employees and our business demonstrated how strong we are as a team. I would like to thank all our people for their continued support for each other, for Jacob Holm and for our customers when it really mattered.
Both our people and our products played a role in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020. We are humbled to see our products leave converting facilities as personal protective apparel to become part of the first line of protection for emergency response workers around the world. To amplify our efforts, Jacob Holm collaborated with local non-profits and business partners to produce protective face masks and isolation gowns for health care workers, first responders, adult care facilities and others in need.
We have always believed that the success of our business depends on our people. Their health and safety must remain a top priority as we pursue our business goals. In 2020 we continued our efforts to eliminate accidents and enroll employees in our health care program. As we create shared value for business and society, we build on more than 226 years of Jacob Holm history and our heritage in combination with cutting-edge products,
the Jacob Holm process and the legacy of the Sontara® Technology. I am encouraged to see the growing interest in sustainability risks and opportunities from investors and the engagement from all stakeholders in creating a sustainable world. Moving forward, we will continue to raise the bar and set new and higher sustainability targets. Achieving these will help us mitigate sustainability risks to the business that are amplified by increased pressure on natural resources and climate change.
The health of our commercial business enables us to act on our commitment to sustainability and corporate responsibility. In 2020 we delivered top line organic growth of 16% and an EBITDA at DKK 314 mill, a 135% growth compared to 2019.
Being engaged in our communities is an essential part of who we are at Jacob Holm. In 2020 we invested in local communities, supported charities worldwide, and our employees volunteered through our outreach programs, e.g. Asheville employees donated school items to children in need and Sontara collaborated with the “Ciudad Para Todas” program to help training and finding jobs for people with special needs.
In parallel to our focus on the people dimension of sustainability, I am encouraged by seeing the growing commitment in the world to sustainability. As pioneers in natural fibers and leaders in sustainable solutions, we take on the responsibility to be part of the solution to environmental problems and climate change. As an example of recent achievements, the share of recyclable or biodegradable products from our production site in
Achieving these goals will require new technologies, new partnerships and new ways of working. Some of these innovations will have to be developed in partnership between public and private stakeholders, while some are already available and need to be fine-tuned and implemented with speed and efficiency in coming years. To make sure that we stay on track and make continuous improvements, we will communicate updated 2025 sustainability targets and strategies during 2021. I am convinced it will help us create value for our people, for customers, for communities, and for society at large. Soultz, France, has doubled every year for the past 3 years
while the same site is leading the way with zero waste to landfill. With the launch of project BOOST, we are increasing our operational efficiency even further. This enables us to reduce our consumption of energy and water and bring down our environmental footprint even further per unit of production.
Sustainability challenges are too wide and deep for anyone to solve them in isolation. Therefore, Jacob Holm is partnering with our customers to generate sustainable solutions through co-innovation. In support, we continued in 2020 to promote the Jacob Holm sustainability
eCO2quation app that empowers customers to make informed decisions and reduce the carbon footprint of finished products.
As we move forward, we are aligning our sustainability ambitions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (the SDGs) and the Paris Agreement’s 1,5 °C climate goal. In doing so, we are setting the course towards a 2030 horizon with the aspiration to become carbon neutral, eliminate waste from our operations, grow our 100% recyclable or biodegradable product portfolio and continue to create sustainable value to people in the communities that we are part of.
SUSTAINABILITY IS
A GLOBAL EFFORT
AT JACOB HOLM
MARTIN MIKKELSEN
CO
2
60MM
ESSENTIAL WORKERS PROTECTED BY SONTARA® GOWNS2,500
MEALS PROVIDED TO ESSENTIAL WORKERS& LOCAL FAMILIES
22%
DECREASE IN RECORDABLE INCIDENT RATE (RIR)*
48%
INCREASE IN RATIO OF WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT POSITIONS*6%
DECREASE IN TOTAL CARBON EMISSIONS PER KG PRODUCT*13%
INCREASE IN NUMBER OF FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES25%
DECREASE IN WATER CONSUMPTION PER KG OF PRODUCT*2020
HIGHLIGHTS
SELECTED FINANCIAL
FIGURES
FISCAL YEAR
2020
2019
2018
Revenue 2.638 2.271 2.287 Ebitda 314 134 140 Organic Growth 16% -1% 1% Total Assets 1.621 1.586 1.686 Total Equity 272 278 317Number Of Employees (FTE) 772 673 682
Units = Dkk Mill. / Source = Annual Report
SUSTAINABILITY
A LEADING
INNOVATOR
Jacob Holm is a leading innovator of nonwoven fabrics and finished goods. We manufacture nonwoven products for performance applications in personal care, hygiene, health care, beauty care and critical cleaning, as well as high performance material for protective equipment and other highly technical applications.
As a manufacturer of nonwoven products, we use natural and synthetic raw materials and hydro-entangle them to a nonwoven fabric. Our fabrics are sold as roll goods to converters who produce the finished product sold to end users. We perform converting activities for critical cleaning applications at some of our production sites.
For generations, we have been highly focused on maintaining and developing sustainable products and operations that minimize the environmental impact. Today, we offer sustainable solutions with fibers made from natural and bio-degradable resources and free from chemicals and adhesives.
SELLER
■ global brand leaders and
leading retailers
CONVERTER
■ transforms roll goods into
finished product
■ sells under own brand or as
MANUFACTURER
■ produces nonwoven roll
goods from staple fiber and other raw material input
RAW MATERIAL
■ natural material from
cellulose / cotton / pulp
■ synthetic material from oil
■ pulp and paper producers ■ fiber producers ■ chemical suppliers
END USER
■ private consumers or industrial customersSUPPLIER
HEADQUARTERS SALES OFFICE PRODUCTION SITE
Jacob Holm serves customers all around the globe with our fabrics and solutions. Our primary markets are North America and EMEA.
We organize our business in 3 business units:
Sontara® Professional provides superior performing products for critical cleaning applications, a full value offering and
new product innovation to essential industries.
Health and Skin Care is a trusted partner to long term customers in Medical and Skin Care. We offer solutions compliant with existing regulatory requirements, superior performance and brand value.
Personal Care is the leading co-innovation partner for global customers in consumer wipes, dispersible wipes and hygiene products, enabling growth in sustainable solutions and circularity.
STRONG PURE CERTIFIED
DISPERSIBLE BIODEGRADABLE SOFT ON SKIN
HIGH STRENGTH HIGH OPACITY NATURAL
LIGHTWEIGHT STRETCH & RECOVERY MANAGEMENTLIQUID
strong web formed by hydraulic entanglement of various fibers
sustainable and ultra-pure, no binders, chemicals or adhesives
filtered water of drinking quality and our manufacturing environment and air quality adhere to the highest standards
patented dispersible wipe material with best-in-class dispersibility
100% biodegradable material, which is made of custom-designed fiber blends from sustainable natural resources
softer and loftier than other commercially available offerings with higher wet strength
best fit in substrates for liquid handling and cleaning efficiency best in class opacity, with a wide range of available basis weights 100% biodegradable and sustainable fabrics
a fabric with basis weights as low as 15 gsm, providing high performance and soft comfort needed by end-users
the key features of SoftLite include excellent stretch and recovery, ultimate softness at required strength, and skin sensitivity
our fabrics are engineered to meet the demands for wicking and fluid distribution in disposable Hygiene products
Jacob Holm commercializes four brands that are used for many different applications:
OUR PRODUCTS
Jacob Holm Headquarters is located in Switzerland.
We manufacture nonwoven fabrics using proprietary technology in France and Spain as well as in the US in Tennessee and North Carolina.
Our French facility in Soultz has been a zero waste-to-landfill site since 2013, and the most versatile plant able to serve all our markets.
In Asheville, we have a high-speed line together with our latest brownfield investment - a proprietary, patent granted air-lace line.
In our facilities in Old Hickory, TN, US and Asturias, Spain we manufacture roll goods for Health and Skin Care, Industrial
and High-Performance material applications leveraging the unique Sontara® technology and we have the capabilities to
convert them into finished goods for Automotive, Aerospace, Printing, and other critical cleaning industrial applications. Finally, we have sales offices located in every major market, including Asia and Latin America, to ensure proximity to our customers and close connection to local needs.
Our operational footprint reflects an optimal balance between local presence, diversification, and economies of scale.
OLD HICKORY INC - US
ASTURIAS S.A.U. - SPAIN
AMERICA INC. - US
JAPAN G.K
NONWOVENS CO. LTD • CHINA
SOUTH ASIA SDN. • MALAYSIA
ARGENTINA S.R.L
KOREA CO. LTD. MEXICO S.A. DE C.V
AG - SWITZERLAND
INC. US & SØNNER A/S - DENMARK
INDUSTRIES INC. - US
INDUSTRIES SAS - FRANCE
& SONS AG - SWITZERLAND
& SØNNER HOLDING A/S - DENMARK
GLOBAL PRESENCE
SUSTAINABILITY
LIFE AT JACOB HOLM
To develop unique nonwoven fabrics that meet customers' challenges, you need exceptional people with strengths that combine extensive know-how with an entrepreneurial spirit. That is why at Jacob Holm we nurture an open, multifaceted and diverse culture. We encourage our people to contribute innovative ideas that drive the direction of our company and market segments.WE ARE PIONEERS
We want to conquer new markets,always. We developed SoftFlush®
FAST, a dispersible wipe that breaks up like toilet paper and has the strength of a wet wipe, and SoftLite, a high performing hygiene fabric with basis weights as low as 15gsm. Such developments are a testament to our entrepreneurial spirit. We are also committed to exploring new segments. This dedication makes us the pioneers of the nonwoven industry.
We are young in spirit. In spite of our long history, we continue to evolve and take risks. We continuously strive to add value to our products. We are agile as we constantly reinvent ourselves and adapt to ever changing markets.
WE ARE YOUNG
WE ARE DARING
WE ARE HUMAN
We dare, experiment, and try our hand at every challenge brought to us. We take risks, test and learn from our mistakes. We innovate to be at the forefront of our technologies.
We are human, giving us the ability to adapt to the expectations of end users. Our products are part of everyday life; We listen to the needs of end users to bring the smartest solutions to market.
The Jacob Holm Way
Today, the Group remains privately owned by the Mikkelsen family who has guarded our values and culture through generations.
To be a pioneer and develop unique sustainable nonwoven fabrics and solutions that meet customers' and society’s challenges, Jacob Holm employs more than 700 people with exceptional ability.
Our people combine extensive know-how with an entrepreneurial spirit and sustainability as a core value in everything we do, day in day out, and we have a young, daring and human spirit. This enables us to continue to evolve, despite our long ancestry. This also allows us to take risks, to test and learn from our mistakes which in turn helps us to innovate and be at the forefront of sustainable technological developments. All this gives us the ability to learn and quickly adapt to the ever-evolving expectations of all our stakeholders and the needs of society.
Our values represent the foundation of every choice we make as we strive to realize our vision. We refer to them as 'The Jacob Holm Way': S-SPEED.
OUR
CORE
VALUES
Jacob Holm is more than 226 years old. We have a proud legacy of innovating and adapting to new needs of our customers and society as we combine valuable lessons from centuries of Scandinavian heritage with pioneering products and process technology.
Our founder Mr. Jacob Holm opened a grocery store in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1794. Over the years, he ventured into shipping and ships’ fittings, including the production of ropes. Over more than 2 centuries of evolutions, in the 1950’s the company started the manufacturing of synthetic fibers.
As a natural extension to fiber production, the company established its first nonwovens operation in France in 1995. In 2005, this was followed by the expansion to North America with the establishment of a first nonwoven production line in North Carolina.
Later, in 2014, Jacob Holm acquired the Sontara® business from DuPont. This expanded our global reach, more than
doubled our footprint in the nonwoven industry and extended our portfolio with new, high tech segments and products.
■ Launch of baby wipe program with regen cotton ■ Sontara® Spain kicks off initiatives in support to "Una Ciudad para Todos"
■ Launch of cotton top sheet
■ Soultz becomes zero
waste to landfill site
■ Obtained GOTS (Global
Organic Textile Standard) certification
■ First SoftFlush® nonwoven line (patent granted) offering unique dispersible and compostable solutions
■ IDEA award for SoftLite, a solution that enables reduction of basis weight of nonwoven substrate
■ Launch of
award-winning sustainable substrate for Baby Care Branded player
■ Launch of eCO2quation app
■ Maria Curran is named site
manager in Candler and is the first female Jacob Holm plant leader in the US
■ Jacob Holm is rated by
Sustainalytics and ranks #1 in the textile sub-industry
■ Jacob Holm wins 2020
Index Innovation Award
■ Jacob Holm is the first
spunlace nonwoven manufacturer to join the UN Global Compact as participant
■ Jacob Holm issues
the first Corporate Sustainability Report
2010
2012
2013
2015
2016
2017
2020
2021
OUR COMMITMENT
TO SUSTAINABILITY
Despite our long history, we remain agile and constantly reinvent our business, while being mindful of global sustainability challenges that impact markets, environment, people and communities. We are determined to do our part in solving these challenges.
Our fundamental approach is to ensure that sustainability is an integral part of our business, and that we truly engage with our stakeholders on the matter. It is building on the firm belief that what is right for the people and the planet is right for the business. As such, sustainability is guiding us to take responsible decisions in every aspect of the business — from the innovative design of new, plastic-free or recyclable products, to the environmentally friendly use of water and energy in our manufacturing facilities that are working tirelessly to make responsible use of raw materials and reduce waste.
The Mikkelsen family, owners of Jacob Holm, run a diverse forestry and agriculture business in Denmark and Sweden. The sustainability efforts on this land have taken shape over the past 3 decades and have led to an increase of the forested area of 19%, doubling the wetlands portion on former farm and forestry lands, PEFC certification for all forests, registering 7.5% of forests for biodiversity as primary objective and reserving 5% of farmland for fauna-improvements.
Being actively engaged in the communities that host our facilities is a given for us. Wherever you find a Jacob Holm office or factory you will see that our people are involved in enhancing human well-being and helping those in need through donations or volunteering. Throughout it all, the health and well-being of our people is a key priority. Consequently, the enforcement of a zero-accident culture will forever be a core element in our approach.
Since technologies and ways-of-working need to be upgraded or innovated to achieve the Horizon 2030 vision, we rely on our culture of speed, innovation, and our ability to dare trying new things to succeed. Hence, to measure progress and hold ourselves accountable to make visible progress, we are setting specific mid-way targets for 2025. These will be strengthened annually, as we develop and implement sustainable solutions and improve our performance inside our business and across our value chain.
Our 2030 vision and 2025 targets are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development goals focusing on those areas where we have the most impact.
Recognizing that sustainability challenges outside our facilities are best solved together with external stakeholders, we will scale-up existing partnerships with our customers and build new ones with suppliers, NGO’s, industry associations and authorities.
■
A Systematic Approach
In 2020 we formalized our sustainability program and created a Group Sustainability Steering Committee with our CEO and senior management representation that covers material sustainability issues. The Committee is instrumental in translating group wide strategies into local action, with the sharing of new and best practices. Locally, site managers are engaged together with representatives from Human Resources departments as well as Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) leads. In this way, we leverage our global capacity to scale the reach and the impact of sustainable solutions. At the same time, our approach enables local entities to engage in local issues. By taking a dual approach — maintaining a global perspective and taking local actions — we ensure that Jacob Holm remains a relevant and value-adding corporate citizen in every one of our host communities, and we simultaneously share the benefits of our global presence and scalability with stakeholders across borders.
In 2020, we took our sustainability strategy to the next level in order to mitigate business risk caused by sustainability issues and amplify our role in tackling global challenges such as climate change, plastic waste and human well-being.
Building on our past, strong performance we will, starting in 2021, accelerate our sustainability impact under the banner of our new Horizon 2030 sustainability strategy.
The purpose is to create a positive, sustainable impact on markets, environment, people and communities. With Horizon 2030, we are enhancing our sustainability efforts with the aspiration to be a zero carbon, zero waste and zero accident business that is offering a reusable, recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable alternative for 100% of our portfolio and creating shared value for the business, our people and communities.
10%
Energy Reduction*15%
GHG Reduction*5%
Water Reduction*30%
Landfill Reduction*0%
Manufacturing Waste to Landfill100%
Portfolio Available asReusable, Recycled, Recyclable or Compostable
100%
Carbon Neutral Manufacturing
2025 Goals – Leading The Journey 2030 Goals – 100% Sustainable ■
2030 Sustainability Visions and Goals
We lead the nonwoven industry sustainability journey through uncompromising commitment to run the most sustainable
manufacturing process, offer the most sustainable portfolio, be the most attractive employer and the most admired business in our communities.
Sustainable Manufacturing
We pioneer sustainable solutions in our operations,
and we commit to partner with key stakeholders to lead
the change.
Sustainable Solutions
We develop solutions for our customers that enable the creation of
sustainable products.
Community Prosperity
We enhance the quality of life in our communities
through pro-active engagements with social
progress.
People & Responsible Business
We promote diverse, healthy & safe working
conditions supported by corporate culture, governance, processes, data
& management tools.
HORIZON 2030
■
What Matters
In line with our colleagues in the nonwoven industry, our business model is associated with a number of inherent sustainability risks as well as positive impact opportunities. Sustainability is a global effort for Jacob Holm and keeping focus on what matters in that perspective is fundamental for our business success and our stakeholders. Based on our skilled employees’ analysis, science, stakeholder dialogue, and management prioritization, we continuously validate and determine what sustainability issues are material to Jacob Holm and our stakeholders by applying criteria and filters of risk, responsibility, and strategic opportunity assessment. Further, we apply external ESG-ratings and other third-party analysis of Jacob Holms’ sustainability performance in our determination of material issues to manage.
Another important modifier in the process of determining materiality are the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The goals provide a frame of reference in our strategy and a perspective on the business opportunities and risks that lie within our sustainability work.
In 2020, we conducted a materiality assessment according to our guiding principles.
TOPIC ABOUT
Manufacturing Waste Continuing our efforts to minimize Jacob Holm’s environmental impact by reducing waste
generation from operations and products and integrating circular waste processes.
Carbon Emissions Taking the needed steps to reach carbon neutrality by reducing carbon emissions from our operations and products.
Water Use Using water responsibly and protecting the finite resources of freshwater.
Sustainable Products Pushing the limits for sustainable nonwoven fabrics and solutions through tireless innovation,
experimenting and promoting the exceptional ability of our people
Human Rights
Ensuring a solid and appropriate foundation of policy commitments and processes that help us prevent and mitigate adverse impacts on human rights, i.e., health and safety, labour rights, rest, and leisure.
Diversity And Inclusion Promoting diversity and inclusion o ensure the best possible development of both business and collegial relations. Human Rights
(Supply Chain)
Ensuring that our work on responsible purchasing prevents adverse impacts on human rights and complies with globally recognized principles and guiding industry standards.
Community Engagement Engaging in local community activities where we operate to increase Jacob Holm’s social value creation and stand out as a good corporate citizen. Responsible Business
Relationships
Ensuring a solid and appropriate foundation of policy commitments and processes that help us prevent and mitigate adverse impacts on anti-corruption, environment, and human rights when we interact with business relations, including customers, suppliers etc.
Sustainability Governance Maintaining a systematic approach to sustainability in Jacob Holm through appropriate policy commitments and effective management systems and processes.
■
Our Key Stakeholders
Managers and employees across the Group engage with multiple stakeholders in their daily work, and the feedback is important for determining relevant material sustainability issues.
We are in continuous dialogue with multiple key stakeholders through Jacob Holm’s management, marketing, sales, and production departments, and we also engage with external stakeholders such as raw material suppliers, customers, end-users, and product developers within the nonwoven industry. The aim of our engagement is to uncover expectations to Jacob Holm’s sustainability work and provide input for the determination of our material issues.
Resulting from our stakeholder dialogue and supporting analysis, we have identified the following stakeholder groups to be relevant for our sustainability work and our material issues:
END-USERS EMPLOYEES LOCAL COMMUNITIES INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS BUSINESS TO BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY
Being a global enterprise that develops, manufactures, and distributes nonwoven fabrics and solutions to customers around the world is inevitably associated with the risk of causing or contributing to adverse impacts on human rights, the environment and anti-corruption.
An external ESG (environment, social, governance) audit by Sustainalytics in 2020 concluded from an internal and external scan that Jacob Holm is a “low risk” company, and they confirmed that Jacob Holm continues to deliver best-in-class performance in ESG matters.
Some of our risk perspectives include:
■ Health and safety risk regarding the well-being, safety and security of our employees in a fast-paced environment,
especially during COVID-19 which significantly increased demand of several Jacob Holm products.
■ Environment risks due to non-compliance with environmental regulations and directs emissions to air and water, and
waste to landfills and incineration.
■ Climate risks due to challenges with reducing carbon emissions in our operations in order to meet our goals of
carbon neutrality and customer expectations.
■ Human rights risk due to immature systems for identifying, preventing, or mitigating actual and/or potential adverse
impacts on principles defined by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights or OECD’s Guidelines. Both regarding Jacob Holm’s operations and those of our business relationships.
■ Product risks due to unintentional quality defects or other errors that may result in the product being discarded
or redone.
Consequently, we are especially focused on maintaining and developing an agile organization that adheres to sound practices and continuously strengthens its resilience to avoid adverse impacts on our business, our customers and society at large. We aim to hedge risks through strong management, leading industry certifications, strategy, policy commitments and practices that align with globally recognized principles for responsible business conduct and industry standards.
HEALTH AND SAFETY RISK
ENVIROMENT RISK
CLIMATE RISK
HUMAN RIGHTS RISK
PRODUCT RISK
PERSPECTIVES
■
Managment System
The Group’s sustainability efforts are being guided by a range of policy commitments and management systems that ensure a solid and appropriate foundation for our work.
All the Group’s plants have a management team and EH&S committees in charge of driving the sites' initiatives on safety. In 2020, we expanded the charter of these teams to embrace Health Safety and Sustainability through the creation of our Jacob Holm Sustainability Committees.
■
Certified Offerings
Sustainability, innovation and quality are nobility marks of Jacob Holm and as the global industry and innovation leader in spunlaced nonwoven fabrics, we are proud of being able to offer a wide range of sustainable, plastic-free, and biodegradable products, based on plant-based resources.
To ensure integrity in our product offerings and operations, Jacob Holm maintains a wide range of globally
recognized certifications that support a systematic approach to sustainable product innovation, product safety, quality, environmentally friendly operations, and the well-being of our employees. We value the environment so we maintain eco-friendly certifiied fabrics, processes and products. We are innovative and open to more certifications as needed or requested.
Directors and managers in the Group are responsible for implementing and maintaining our certifications with support from process managers and staff in general.
SUSTAINABILITY
SUSTAINABILITY STEERING COMMITTEE
■ Provides guidance and strategic direction on sustainability
■ Approves vision and goals
■ Ensures progress towards goals and vision ■ Foster the Sustainability culture throughout the organization
ROLE
■ Chair: CEO
■ Corporate VP of Strategy and Sustainability
■ COOs
■ Business Units Presidents
■ Corporate Vice President Research and Development
MEMBERS
CVP STRATEGY AND SUSTAINABILITY
■ Under the guidance of the steering committee, sets company vision, goals and milestones ■ Drives Sustainability agenda of the Company, setting priorities and resources needs
■ Ensures effective resource allocation to support execution of strategic initiatves
■ Provides tools and leads the processes necessary to drive the company towards attainment of the sustainability goals
ROLE
■ Oversees the sustainability data aquisition, analysis and reporting
■ Maintains relationship with external stakeholders, including customers, international bodies, suppliers and other supply chain partners as required to advance the Sustainability agenda of the Company
■ Drives engagement of all Jacob Holm employees ■ Is an ambassador of JacobHolm Sustainability Leadership
PLANT-LEVEL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEES
ROLE
■ Chair: Site manager
■ Lead: Sustainability advocate
■ Enginerering, HR, EH&S leader in each plant
MEMBERS
■ Sets the plant vision, goals and milestones consistent with the Company’s goals
■ Drives Sustainability agenda and engagement of plant employees
■ Ensures effective resource allocation to support execution of key initiatves
■ Is an ambassador of Jacob Holm Sustainability
Leadership in the local communities S538
Organic Certify by Ecocert Greenlife – F32600 135102/1093417/1 OEKO-TEX® CQ 1142/1 IFTH Fine to Flush® WIS 4-02-06:2019 FF/045/0221 Enviromental Management System ISO 14001 PEFC™ 10-31-2482 FSC® Soultz : FSC-C001586 Candler : FSC-C116044 OK bio-degradable SOIL Quality Assurance Management System ISO 9001
Health and Safety Management System ISO 45001 Good Manufacturing Practices ISO 22716 SFI® SFI-01 724 H E A LT H A ND SAFETY MAN AG E M E N T 45001 Q U A L IT Y A SSUR ANCE M ANA G E M E N T OO G D MA NU FACTURING P R AC T IC E S 22716 www.fsc.org
■
How We Measure Progress
We continuously work to develop and ensure a high-quality standard of our sustainability data and thereby a robust basis for monitoring and reporting on our policy commitments, our efforts, and results. We base our calculations and reporting principles on leading standards and methods.
This is the Group’s first sustainability report. The report has been prepared with references to Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards. In the coming fiscal years, we will broaden the scope of our data collection and add more KPIs and GRI standards to our reporting to increase transparency and systematically report on the developments of our sustainability vision and Horizon 2030 strategy.
■
We Support the UN Sustainable Development Goals
With the Group’s commitment to leading sustainable development, we seek to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the best possible way. The global goals give us a frame of reference in our strategy and a perspective on the business opportunities that lie within our sustainability work.
Our Horizon 2030 strategy will increase the Group’s positive impact on the climate and environment as well as our employees, the local communities we serve, and not least the health and safety of our end-users.
The Group’s commitment to leading sustainable development in the nonwoven industry is supported by a range of policy commitments that guide our business decision making at all levels of the organization and provide a frame of reference for how we want to conduct our business, both in relation to creating targeted developments and improvements as well as to counter risks.
Our general commitment and the underlying policies are applicable to all of the Group’s processes, products, and organizational units and we encourage our business relationships to follow the same principles that we hold ourselves to which we hold ourselves accountable. Our top management and Board of Directors review our policies yearly and update them as needed. In addition, we have introduced the Jacob
Holm PolicyApp®, which provides all of our employees with instant
user-friendly guidance to our compliance policies.
Our policies and codes cover areas such as human rights, equality of treatment, animal testing, environmental protection, anti-corruption, whistleblower schemes, working environment, quality, responsible global supply chain management, product development and more.
Key Messages In Our Policy Commitments
Rule Of Law We respect the rule of law and comply with national regulations in all countries inwhich we operate.
Anti-Corruption We do not accept any form of bribery, corruption, or fraud and we commit to being open and transparent about our business activities.
Human Rights We respect the human rights of our employees and provide our employees with a professional, safe and secure working environment.
Environment
We are committed to conserving natural resources and promote and support environmentally sustainable practices. All our companies fully comply with or exceed the local legal requirements for environmental protection. We will continuously work to reduce our own adverse environmental (including climate) impacts by developing climate and environmentally friendly products and operations.
Business Partners We are committed to developing greater transparency in our supply chain and to promoting high ethical standards among our suppliers.
Local Community We are committed to being a good corporate citizen and contribute to the well-being of the local communities where we operate.
OUR FOCUS
SUSTAINABLE
MANUFACTURING
SUSTAINABLE
PRODUCTS
COMMUNITY PROSPERITY
PEOPLE AND RESPONSIBLE
BUSINESS
REDUCING OUR ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT WITH SUSTAINABLE
FABRICS AND SOLUTIONS
C
HA
PTER O
N
■
Our Approach
Jacob Holm’s vision is to be a zero-impact manufacturing business in terms of our footprint on climate and the environment in the next decade. In a journey towards the 2030 vision, we commit to pioneer more sustainable solutions in our manufacturing sites and continue to innovate cutting-edge fabrics and materials.
Our environmental commitment is supported by our Code of Conduct and has a particular focus on greenhouse gas emissions, energy, water and waste from our production sites. Our policies commit all the Group’s production sites to take a precautionary approach to environmental risks and carry out programs to reduce our environmental footprint and lower our greenhouse gas emissions.
To implement sustainable production, we take action in five areas: Maintenance, Process Optimizations, Raw Materials, New Technologies and New Product Design. In support of our systematic approach, we manage our production sites according to best practice management systems. These are certified according to global standards as described earlier in this report.
SUSTAINABLE
MANUFACTURING
HOUSEKEEPING OPTIMIZATIONPROCESS RAW MATERIAL SUBSITUTION TECHNOLOGIESNEW NEW PRODUCT DESIGN
Improvements in work practices and maintenance Making adjustments to processes to increase efficiency Shifting to more enviromentally sound inputs Enabling lower resource consumption, waste generation, and emissions Minimize impact throughout product lifecycle
In everything we do, we rely on the world-class expertise and strong engagement of our people. As a natural consequence, we promote environmental consciousness among our employees through virtual and on-site
sustainability working groups and integrate environmental considerations in our activities. This includes, for example, the development and use of sustainable production processes and products as well as a reduction of the consumption of both raw materials and natural resources. Lowering consumption of raw materials, energy and water as well as lower production of waste nets a smaller climate impact. These considerations apply to decisions both internally in the Group and in the ongoing dialogue with our business partners.
We acknowledge the many challenges in delivering short term improvements and turning our 2030 vision into reality. New technologies, new partnerships and new ways-of-working need to be invented. To make the process as fast and efficient as possible, we invite stakeholders up and downstream to work with us and implement new sustainable systems across the value chain with speed and impact.
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2025 Targets
To drive continuous progress, we have set ourselves environmental targets for the year of 2025. Compared to a 2018 benchmark, we will reduce our environmental footprint from our production sites in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, energy consumption and waste-to-landfill. For every environmental indicator, performance is measured relative to total production volumes.
These targets cover the environmental footprint from our production sites. The reduction targets for greenhouse gases, include scope 1 (direct emissions from owned or controlled sources) and scope 2 (indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling consumed by our production sites).
Emissions from other sources from upstream and downstream activities are excluded in the group targets as is.
However, we will include more emissions data from scope 3 (indirect emission from up- and downstream activities) and set reduction targets in due course when the scope 3 baseline is complete.
Sustainability is a key driver in our culture and behaviors, and we will continue to improve our performance everywhere in the business, for example by encouraging our people and partners to adopt a sustainable lifestyle in and outside the workplace with responsible use of products and services.
CO
2 reduction in GHG emissions15%
reduction in energy consumption10%
30%
reduction in waste to5%
reductionnet water use
2020 Achievements
Of the Jacob Holm manufacturing plants, the Soultz facility boasts the lowest environmental impact, leading the way within our corporate family and across our industry. The share of recyclable or biodegradable products from the production site has doubled every year for the past 3 years. At the same time Soultz is leading the way with zero waste to landfill and sustainable sourcing of water and the ability to recycle the vast majority of it.
Key Performance Indicators (KPI) relative to production volume (year 2018=100)Index numbers
Name 2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020
Production Total KG 105,569,781 99,250,084 124,434,765 100 94 118
Gas Kwh 97,912 99,464 122,268 100 102 125
Electricity Kwh 172,110 175,589 197,953 100 102 115
Energy Kwh (Gas + Electricity) 270,022 275,053 320,221 100 102 119
Water M3 510,176 460,992 451,261 100 90 88
Waste KG 7,916,131 7,892,720 9,983,624 100 100 126
Waste to landfill KG 6,393,341 6,523,837 8,564,627 100 102 134
Gas Kwh per Production Total Tonnes 0.927 1.002 0.983 100 108 106
Electricity in Kwh per Production Total Tonnes 1.630 1.769 1.591 100 109 98
Energy Kwh (Gas+Electricity) per Production Total Tonnes 2.558 2.771 2.573 100 108 101
Water M3 per Production Total Tonnes 4.833 4.645 3.626 100 96 75
Waste Kg per Production Total Tonnes 74.985 79.524 80.232 100 106 107
Waste to landfill Kg per Production Total Tonnes 60.560 65.731 68.828 100 109 114
Scope 1 emission, KG CO2e per Production Total KG 0.171 0.185 0.181 100 108 106
Scope 2 emission, KG CO2e per Production Total KG 0.594 0.631 0.543 100 106 91
Scope 1 and 2, KG CO2e per Production Total KG 0.765 0.816 0.723 100 107 95
Scope 3 emission, KG CO2e per Production Total KG 0.040 0.044 0.033 100 111 84
Total emission, KG CO2e per Production Total KG 0.805 0.860 0.756 100 107 94
Scope 1 emission, tCO2e 18,019 18,360 22,482 100 102 125
Scope 2 emission, tCO2e 62,736 62,668 67,513 100 100 108
Scope 3 emission, tCO2e 4,192 4,364 4,127 100 104 98
Total emission, tCO2e 84,948 85,393 94,124 100 101 111
We are pleased to report our environmental performance improvement from 2019 to 2020 on carbon emissions, energy and water consumption, which bring us closer to the achievement of our 2025 targets and put us on the right course towards the 2030 horizon. Although we took a step back on waste to landfill, we will renew our focus and leverage the experience of our team in Soultz France, where we have been zero-waste-to-landfill since 2013. To keep momentum, our priorities for 2021-2023 are to:
■ Set science-based GHG targets (includes scope 1, 2, 3 accounting)
■ Implement initiatives to reduce carbon footprint incl. renewable energy
■ Optimize manufacturing sites to improve asset efficiency and reduce our environmental
To continue lowering our carbon emissions in 2021 and onwards, we will be implementing operational efficiency programs (see below) and developing a plan for renewable energy solutions. Recognizing that systemic changes take time, we will engage in carbon off-setting schemes when necessary to achieve short term goals.
We believe that “what gets measured gets done.” Consequently, we will continue to drive our action plans with ambitious targets and continuous performance measurements. Furthermore, in 2021-2023 we plan to commit to the science based targets initiative (SBTi) – a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
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Increasing Operational Efficiency
The use of energy and water and the disposal of waste is a significant driver of financial cost and our environmental footprint. Our operational efficiency programs address these challenges by reducing our use of utilities and raw materials, thereby bringing down manufacturing cost and sharpening our competitive edge. In this way, operational efficiency programs benefit the business, the environment and reduce climate risk.
Equipment upgrades and process improvements are key drivers in our operational efficiency programs. To give a few examples, the Candler site installed more energy efficient dryers on production lines in 2020. The production site Old Hickory concluded the installation of new chillers and the elimination of approximately 1200 meters of poorly insulated piping by placing the chillers beside the building. On the same token, the Asturias production site installed a new HVAC system (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) with significantly lower energy consumption. Finally, during 2020 all production sites implemented energy efficient LED lightbulbs. In one of our production sites, TWIG, this resulted in a 30% decrease in energy used.
In 2020 we also launched the BOOST flagship program to increase operational efficiency and reduce the environmental footprint even further. It applies significant investments to upgrade all production, increase line efficiency and bring down the environmental footprint.
RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTS
AND INNOVATION
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Our Approach
Innovation is at the heart of Jacob Holm’s drive to grow sustainably. We continuously invest in new technologies and capabilities and work with and for our customers to develop the best solutions. The challenges in the Hygiene, Consumer Wipes, Dispersible Wipes, Industrial Wipes, Health Care and Beauty Care markets are our daily motivation. Each day we strive to improve the performance of our materials. In our innovation, we take a precautionary approach to handling environmental risks and opportunities and we strive to apply environmentally friendly technologies in our production.
In our relationship with suppliers and service providers the Group has implemented a Supplier Code of Conduct that clarifies the Group’s ethical expectations and requirements towards our suppliers, as well as internal guidelines to our employees on avoiding corrupt practices and safe-guarding the environment and human rights. We conduct regular compliance trainings of all employees and we assess suppliers via self-assessments to ensure compliance with the Group’s code of conduct. When qualifying new suppliers, we collect all certifications a company has, we test fiber materials and products according to our quality guidelines, and we communicate the Group’s Supplier Code of Conduct to them. In addition, the Group has provided our employees with an app on their mobile devices that provides easy-to-understand behavioral guidelines in high-risk situations, internally and when dealing with our business relations, including suppliers. The Group also operates a web-based whistleblowing hotline that allows employees and other stakeholders to report cases of corruption or other unethical behavior anonymously. Any reports made are sent to two separate parties for review to further limit the possibility of corruption.
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A Pioneer in Natural Fibers
Jacob Holm uses both 100% plant-based and all-natural fibers for our nonwoven products. Our plant-based fibers include Viscose, Lyocell, PLA and Cellulose Acetate. For customers whose needs include all-natural raw materials, we offer cotton, organic cotton, hydrophobic cotton, pulp, flax and hemp. Additionally, we can produce nonwovens with recycled polyester.
Using these products, our customers can certify their finished goods to various OK Biodegradable and OK compost standards, as well as GOTS and Oeko-tex. It is our mission to enable our customers to meet their end-users’ strictest environmental standards.
For years we have collaborated with our customers to co-innovate new high-performing products. We are inviting existing and new commercial partners to accelerate these partnerships to launch first-to-market sustainable solutions in consumer products.
Today, about 50% of our input fibers are plant-based or all-natural fibers. Our vision for 2030 is to offer a sustainable alternative for 100% of our stock-keeping units. This is our humble way of supporting sustainable consumption patterns and making a sustainable life-style possible for all.
Project Boost
Project Boost was launched in June 2020 in response to the needs of our partners across the globe for increasing capacity, providing more sustainable substrate choices and continuing to uphold our position as an innovation leader in nonwovens. The investment program is significant in scope, affecting all production lines across all production sites globally. The investment will lead to the creation of at least 57 new full-time positions across the group’s global manufacturing footprint. True to Jacob Holm’s commitment to sustainability, the investment will target a clear upgrade of the capabilities for utilizing renewable raw materials. Additionally, the upgraded production methodology will further reduce waste and improve production efficiency, thus lowering the carbon footprint of the entire Jacob Holm and Sontara® product portfolios. To give some examples of the expected impact
from Project Boost, the installation of pre-drying equipment is projected to reduce natural gas consumption by 25% in the Asheville, US, site and electricity consumption by 10-15% in Soultz, France.
As an additional next step, we are planning to integrate cradle-to-cradle principles in our production design and innovation process. We do so to decouple economic growth from the depletion of the environment and to make our products ready to enter circular material streams. We acknowledge the many challenges that need to be overcome, but through cross-industry collaboration, innovation and partnerships, we are determined to accomplish our goals and turn our 2030 vision into reality.
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Products Improving the Quality of Life
To Jacob Holm, sustainability is both about doing things right – e.g. reducing our environmental footprint – and doing the right things by making products that enhance people's quality of life. We are proud that most of our products help protect human life in critical situations or improve well-being. To give some examples, face mask components and medical apparel are critical to protecting human life against viruses or other infections. Furthermore, our personal care products and components for personal hygiene and critical cleaning products are essential to maintain human well-being.
RESPONSIBLE
PRODUCTS
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Art Partnerships Reduce Waste
Jacob Holm embraces sustainability on all levels — including the artistic. By partnering with French eco-designer Gérard Dumora, we can contribute our non-woven fabrics to industrial and urban art projects through an initiative Dumora calls Vortex-X. Up-cycling Jacob Holm nonwoven fabrics, Vortex-X creates sculptures of intricate, gossamer strands. Our material is sliced into strings, then stretched and tied in precise angles, gracing public spaces and industrial sites with sculptures called “wipe webs.” In this way, we are not only providing raw materials for artists, but also finding value for the public in industrial waste. Through these art installations, Jacob Holm and Vortex-X hope to inspire viewers and encourage the practice of upcycling. To find out where you can view a Vortex-X exhibition, www.vortex075.com has
Celebrating 150 years of the Mulhouse Zoo. The ephemeral work from Vortex-X settled in the Park! This work illustrates the link between the textile industry behind the zoo and sustainable development.
Forming new partnerships to increase
recycling
Sontara® Old Hickory produces medical drape and gown
products. Our external partner on the product line performs the coating of our material with a moisture barrier, then slits and rewinds our material for our final customers. This coating makes the material impervious to liquids (blood, body fluids), protecting the health care provider. Unfortunately, this coating makes any waste (edge trim, butt rolls, stripped waste) less desirable for the by-product and recycle markets, and for some time excess materials ended up as waste going to a landfill. Thankfully, we have entered an agreement with a new recycling partner. As a result, 75 metric tons a month are recycled into new products instead of going into a landfill.
OUR ROLE IN SOCIETY
SUSTAINABILITYC
HA
PTER TW
O
SUSTAINABILITY
300 kg of Fabric for Face Masks
Our Sontara® employees in Asturias, Spain,
expanded their roll donation program to meet the needs of a particularly vulnerable population: residents of private long-term adult care facilities. Right away, we were able to release 300 kilograms of material, which dedicated local volunteers turned into enough masks for 45 different care facilities covering a total of 1,952 site locations.
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Our Approach
Jacob Holm is committed to being a good corporate citizen and contributing to the well-being of the local
communities where we operate. Ensuring healthy and sustainable relations with our local communities allows us to build better relations with employees and customers, and facilitates the creation of local community cohesion through active participation in and support for local associations, initiatives, and institutions.
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The Pandemic in the Community
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Jacob Holm Group has been deeply engaged in defending the safety and well-being of those in our communities. People, communities, and associations were dealt a hard blow and a lot of uncertainty when the pandemic struck in Spring 2020. Consequently, our executive management decided to dedicate resources from each of the Group’s plants to impact those emergency personnel, restaurants, local business partners and neighbors who were severely challenged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Examples of our Efforts to Combat Covid-19:
Helping out Hospitals
In Soultz, France, we were able to gather and distribute FFP3 and FFP2 face masks, hair nets and protective suits to regional hospitals and pharmacies.
Protecting our Business
In Old Hickory, Tennessee, a product development technician located 600 Biosecurity Kits, which include antiseptic spray, disinfectant cleaner, a spray bottle, 30 surgical masks, 1 digital thermometer, and 2 pairs of nitrile gloves. This was enough to fully protect all three of our regional facilities and one of our American suppliers, another local essential business.
Supporting Drive-By Virus Testing
At the height of the pandemic, when limited PPE was available, a Sontara® Old Hickory production
team member located 60 N95 Masks and over 350 unopened surgical gowns. We partnered with Meharry Medical College, a HBCU in Nashville, to donate these plus additional Sontara® fabric
material to lend our support for their contributions to drive-by virus testing.
162 Seamstresses in Action
Sharing the experience, our team in Soultz, France, were inspired to provide material to the Alsace Citizens Movement against COVID-19. This group includes 6 material cutters and 162 seamstresses divided into 14 teams that have been able to create duck masks according to AFNOR recommendations of different filtration levels and gowns for the Mulhouse Sud-Alsace Regional Hospital Group to protect nurses, doctors and local government workers.
Restos Du Coeur
The Group’s site in Soultz donated 3,000 facial masks, 100 bottles of hydroalcoholic gel and sanitizing sprays and wipes to "Restos du coeur" to help people and students who cannot afford facial masks or gel.
Other Examples of our Engagement Include:
Kwera
Kwera was created by Jimmy Scavenius in 2017, a few years after he decided to leave his corporate career and move to Malawi.
Kwera finances higher education for students enrolled at local universities in order to develop their employability and entrepreneurship skills. Today, Kwera consists of a global, diverse team from eight different countries. They are all dedicated to making a difference for the youth in low and middle income economies.
Jacob Holm is proud to support the Kwera mission.
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Our Daily Engagement
Besides combating the pandemic, we support a range of other community initiatives. In 2020, our employees engaged in nothing less than 72 activities internally and in our communities.
As part of these initiatives, we seek sustainable solutions for our production waste that benefit our local communities. We’re proud to say that one of our solutions is the donation of fiber and fabric from our converting site in Madison, Tennessee, to a local company that up-cycles the materials for use as stuffing in teddy bears.
PEOPLE OF
JACOB HOLM
C
HA
PTER THR
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Our Approach
Jacob Holm’s most important resource is our employees. Therefore, we continue to take responsibility for creating a safe, healthy and progressive working environment in which all employees can unfold their professional and personal potential in the best possible way. However, Jacob Holm is responsible not only for regulating employee conditions in a proper manner, but also for promoting a culture in which employees consistently act responsibly towards customers, colleagues and society in general.
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Protecting our People During the Pandemic
Throughout 2020, Jacob Holm Group and especially our Sontara® brand were part of the solutions to stop the spread
of COVID-19 as we supplied personal protective apparel including face masks and disinfecting wipes to the first line of protection for emergency response workers around the world.
During the year, we experienced a 65 % increase in demand for medical-grade non-woven fabrics. Our 24/7
manufacturing quickly adapted and prioritized the momentous increase in personal protection equipment orders for masks and surgical gown components and disinfectant wipes. To keep pace with demand, we hired 67 new employees and counted more than 2,000 hours of overtime during the first couple of months of the pandemic. The dedication from our manufacturing employees has been truly staggering.
The pandemic is both a physical and a mental challenge causing anxiety in most of us. In response, we ensured that all our employees had access to telehealth services for mental healthcare, which are covered by our corporate insurance plans in the U.S.
Category Indicator Unit 2018 2019 2020
Governance Reports via whistleblower website
(number)
Number of reports N/A 5 2
Health and Safety
"Total Recordable Incident Rate ((nr of incidents x 100000) / nº of working hours)"
"Incidents per working hour ratio TRIR = (nr of incidents x 200000) / nº of working hours"
3.00 3.64 2.34
Diversity
Share of women in executive management positions (%)
% of executive management positions
11% 20% 20%
Share of women in management positions (%)
% of all management positions 27% 40% 40%
Women employees (FTE number) Number of women 122 150 167
Employees
Full-Time Equivalents (FTE number) Number of FTEs 682 673 772
Non-permanents workforce (FTE) number of people)
Number of FTEs 48 35 51
Permanent workforce (FTE number) Number of FTEs 634 638 721
Share of non-permanent staff (%) % of total workforce 7.0% 5.2% 6.6%
Employee turnover (%) % of total employees 15.2% 16.6% 15.2%
Seniority (average years) Number of years at Jacob Holm
group
10.8 10.9 10.8
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Employee Health and Safety
The health and safety of our employees is a prerequisite for attracting employees, increasing efficiency and mitigating reputation risks. Our vision is zero accidents and high well-being of our employees and therefore we are highly focused on continuous improvements in this area.
The Group’s health and safety management is anchored in our executive committee and made operational via our local site-managements, function heads, and not least the daily actions of our employees. On all the Group’s sites, employees meet regularly with management and function heads to coordinate health and safety issues, manage potential risks and conduct trainings. In addition, the Sontara plant in Asturias, Spain, maintained the ISO 45001 certification in 2020. We also conduct an annual well-being tracking through HR surveys and revise efforts and goals based on the results. Resulting from a group-wide internal safety audit in 2019, a new behavior-based safety system was developed and implemented group-wide during 2020. All managers and employees were involved in the process and all went through a training program before the end of 2020. Further, relevant government agencies or other outside resources were proactively invited to conduct additional safety audits, and additional measures were taken based on the outcomes of these external audits.
Following the implementation of the new safety system, we implemented an automated training program at plant-level through a new IT platform. The system makes way for many types of safety training and communication about health and safety. In 2021, we will continue our safety training via the IT platform in accordance with our training schedule that includes all employees.
We continue to communicate and stress the importance of knowing and complying with the Group’s 10 defined Safety Core Values that outline areas with higher potential risk of injury. The core safety values address matters such as use of machinery, safety equipment, ergonomic techniques, participation in safety training, and working at heights.
1.
Failure to report injuries, incidents, and property damage to the immediate supervisor within 1hr of the incident willresult in a suspension.
2.
Full Energy Isolation (LOTO) procedures will be followed at all times.3.
Cut resistant PPE will be worn when using knives, blades, and other sharp instruments.4.
Careless or reckless behavior resulting in injury or significant property damage will not occur.5.
Ergonomic techniques and equipment will be used at all times.6.
Required PPE will be inspected for reliable condition and worn properly for each task when working in themanufacturing, warehouse, and shop areas.
7.
All employees will be receptive to safety training and instructions to prevent unsafe behaviors.8.
Safe work practices will be used at all times when working at heights (use of man lifts, ladders, catwalls, and silos).9.
All employees will maintain an orderly, clutter-free, clean work area.10.
Unsafe behaviors or conditions will be brought to the attention of a supervisor.Quality of Life at Work:
The Wellness Challenge
On four continents, Jacob Holm fosters a work environment that supports our employees’ health. Business and social sustainability depend on nurturing the physical well-being of our workers. In our plants in Soultz, France, and across our three plants in the U.S., our employees are offered workshops and challenges to improve their own physical health. Specifically, in Soultz, workshops are offered on themes of smoking cessation, achieving quality sleep and a balanced diet, and physical wellness practices such as yoga and pilates. At our Candler plant, employees may choose to participate in the annual Wellness Challenge, engaging in fun competition toward the goals of healthy eating, increased exercise and creating a work environment that supports healthier habits.
“We spend many hours of the day together,” says Candler Human Resources Manager Amy Taylor. “That’s why I want to make sure that our workplace helps us maintain and even improve our health.”
We believe diversity is beneficial for developing both business relations, collegial relations and recruitment opportunities. It follows from this that prejudice and discrimination based on gender, age, skin color, religion, sexual orientation, physical appearance or ethnic origin is a barrier not only to developing our business, but also to ensuring a healthy working environment and a good reputation.
The Group has a responsibility for and an interest in being a stimulating workplace offering good career opportunities for new as well as existing employees. Consequently, we are making dedicated efforts to promote internal mobility among our employees, and we have defined fully transparent guidelines, which specify the efforts and results that may lead to
upgrading to another pay bracket and bonus payments. Hence, we continued to provide compensation and bonus advantages for all employees as part of the Group’s global “Pay for Skill” pay-model. This means that all employees can get a pay raise according to our skills validation process. The program was implemented in 2018 to recognize that the most valuable employees are employees that can operate the most equipment or complete the most tasks. This is both an advantage for our business agility and efficiency and for our
employees who improve their conditions for personal and professional development.
In line with the Group's Code of Conduct, we continued to enforce the protection of internationally proclaimed
human rights and the commitment to prevent causing or contributing to adverse impacts on human rights. This is reflected in particular in the labor policies of the Group’s subsidiaries.
We repeated the Group’s yearly review of Human Rights related issues as part of our internal legal and compliance audits across the Jacob Holm Group. Our human resources managers and selected employees are also requested to report on individual cases of unlawful harassment and the measures taken to prevent them. To mitigate the impact of travel restrictions due to the COVID pandemic in 2020, the Group Legal Department conducted its annual legal and compliance audits of selected Group companies via online interviews of the local management and function heads.
The human rights assessment showed no severe adverse impacts on human rights. However, we identified minor local pay disparities between men and women. Further, we are aware that the Group has no affinity groups, mentoring programs or trainings easing the inclusion of minority groups of employees in the Group. We will work to mitigate these issues in 2021 and ensure a harmonized approach across the group.
In Europe and the Americas, we offer activities that provide employees with opportunities to become more financially aware, so they can be more comfortable with their finances in the future. In addition, we provide financial counselors to help our employees improve their overall financial well-being.
EQUALITY AND
HUMAN RIGHTS
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Diversity
The nonwoven industry has traditionally a high ratio of male employees as exemplified by 78% of our total workforce in the industry being male. The representation of women in executive positions in the Group was 20% in 2020.
Opportunities for expanding diversity in senior management positions even further will be pursued in future recruitment processes. At 40%, the representation of women in other management positions in the Group is above the nonwoven industry averages. Moving forward we will prioritize diversity at all levels in the organization.
SUSTAINABILITY
Family Matters
We continue to support breastfeeding at work. Jacob Holm values family as an integral part of our business and our social sustainability efforts. This empathy comes from the top: CEO Martin Mikkelsen has four children and takes pride in the fact that Jacob Holm is a family-owned business. Hence, we have a global policy in place to support breastfeeding at work. We make accommodations for anyone who would like to breastfeed at work, for as long as they would like to breastfeed at work.
