The team behind the strategy

Sustainable management is an ongoing process. With the aims of lowering carbon emissions, reducing production waste, selecting materials according to recyclability, and maintaining and optimising decent working conditions, the ASSMANN sustainability team builds on existing successes while keeping an eye on economic impacts. Thanks to technological innovations and social developments, the basis for the objectives of a sustainability strategy has evolved since ASSMANN's last Sustainability Report was published three years ago. Issues such as “advancing digitalisation” and “energy efficiency” are just some of the achievements that have been accelerated in the recent past and that open the door to new opportunities for companies. Our tried-and-tested approach, whereby sustainability management is closely integrated with corporate management, enables ASSMANN to react quickly so we can realise the resulting potential and respond flexibly.

The title of this report, #go_further, is also the guiding principle of ASSMANN's sustainability team. In order to closely monitor changes and link future successes with new goals, our nine-strong sustainability team meets every quarter. It is the most senior committee involved in steering our sustainability strategy and is led by company owners Dirk and Karla Aßmann. Important groundwork is carried out here, taking into account our entire value chain from purchasing to sales, which also sets the course for the company management. The implementation and validation of the double materiality analysis and the resulting materiality matrix are the basis on which we develop our sustainability strategy, which is also incorporated into the management board’s annual business planning. “The strategy lays the foundation for the key areas of action that we need to address,” explains Dr Julia Koch, Sustainability Manager at ASSMANN. The team’s measures and projects derived from this are the next steps for continuing to position ASSMANN as a sustainability pioneer in our industry.

As our Sustainability Manager, Dr Julia Koch coordinates the interdisciplinary team and is in close contact with all those involved, each of whom brings both their own expertise and their experience from business processes to the group. The other members of the team are Jens Lebelt, Director of International Sales, Product Management, Service and Assembly; Michael Vogel, Director of National Sales and Managing Director of ASSMANN Digital; Dr Frank Quirll, Commercial Director; René Urbigkeit, Head of Purchasing; Alexander Epping, Head of Human Resources; and Andreas Fipp, Head of Industrial Engineering. At regular meetings, the participants share and discuss their views on the current situation, recent successes, critical observations and new impetuses. They use these insights to develop and prioritise the next target-oriented measures and define responsibilities. The resulting project groups push ahead with implementation and manage the necessary resources.

In addition to the continuous output from the sustainability team, in which management itself is actively involved, there is also close dialogue between our corporate management and the Environmental, Energy and Quality Management Officers. The contacts for occupational safety, IT security and data protection are also consulted. This results in a holistic view of the company and its structures, which enables us to combine both sustainability and economic considerations.