About this report
The uvex group seeks to reconcile its business activities with a three-pillar model of Ecological. Social. Economical. When we first set out on our sustainability journey, we tended to take measures aimed at saving energy or rethinking and reducing the use of resources. However, we now find ourselves in the second phase. The focus is now on manufacturing environmentally friendly products for our customers. With the protecting planet initiative, we have launched a label that offers maximum transparency and information on our sustainability activities. Each sub-group plays a part in this. All products use either recycled, organic or compostable materials. The provable durability of the products also helps to make them sustainable. A focus has also been placed on sustainable packaging concepts. The sustainable products offered by uvex safety, uvex sports, Filtral and ALPINA can be found at
At present, sustainability is becoming a hot topic on the back of radical societal and technological changes. The uvex group is aware of its responsibility and intends to proactively support and shape this transformation process. Our mission protecting people obligates us to protect the environment as well. For this reason, we have set ourselves the target of holistically integrating sustainability considerations throughout our business processes. In the first step, we identified four specific focus areas based on our materiality analysis. These relate to ecological transformation, social responsibility, the circular economy as a driver of innovation and, finally, a commitment to not harm the environment or human health. Quantifiable, group-wide goals were developed for these respective focus areas to ensure that they are consistently anchored in our strategic approach.
In terms of content, the Sustainability Report 2021/22 covers both the uvex group’s first sustainable products and activities at our own manufacturing facilities in particular. The list of measures implemented, mainly at plants in Germany and throughout the rest of Europe, encompasses numerous steps: from the re-certification of the Environmental Management System in accordance with ISO 14001, to recycling polyurethane (PU) waste from safety shoe manufacturing processes in Ceva, Italy, all the way through to our factory in Lederdorn, Germany, purchasing its first electric plastic injection moulding machine. The report is rounded off by the Social section, in which the uvex group presents a number of employee projects and new initiatives realised by the Rainer Winter Foundation.
Organisational changes occurred during the reporting period (2021/22 financial year). We have adjusted the organisational anchoring for the systematic integration of sustainability aspects into the business strategy and the business model. A new CSR Strategy Board was set up for this purpose, which is made up of all the Managing Directors of uvex Winter Holding and the subgroups. In order to ensure consistent implementation of the sustainability strategy, a CSR Implementation Board was additionally established to coordinate operational implementation. The comparability of data from the reporting period against that of previous financial years is guaranteed by ensuring that the data is specifically allocated to the relevant time period. Individual deviations from the previous report are explained in each case.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option.
External audit
The consolidated financial statements and group management report of the uvex group are audited in line with legal requirements by the auditing firm Rödl & Partner GmbH. The uvex group did not carry out a separate audit for either the Sustainability Report 2014 or the updates in 2015, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, or for the Sustainability Report 2020/21.