Sustainability
Our CSR Management
Our business activity and strategic goals are consistently oriented with regard to their effects on the environment and the people around us. We always act with an awareness that we are responsible for our actions and aim for sustainable commercial success. We thereby consider CSR a part of our business strategy. Because corporate responsibility is not a separate area of business but should instead be anchored in all business sectors. In order to have an established CSR management, we formulate clear measures and measurable values so as to monitor our goals and to make them transparent.
The CSR team is comprised of ten employees who respectively represent a department as well as management. There is thus at least one appropriate expert on a team for each sustainability aspect and the entire company is covered, including all of its departments.
Definition of Sustainability
For us, sustainability with regard to our raw materials means that the systems in question are not damaged by cultivation, harvesting, and processing of the original plant or our raw material. The use of resources must also not lead to their loss. Based on this principle, we consider behaviors to be sustainable if they ensure that resources are conserved or that all involved parties do not suffer any disadvantage or damage. Using the same approach, we also apply the basic idea of sustainability to social and economic aspects.
Company
Our Code of Conduct
The good reputation of Kahl and the trust granted us by our business partners, customers and the authorities depend decisively on the conduct of each individual employee. In order to achieve the basic requirements for responsible corporate management, all employees must follow the guidelines of the internal code of conduct, in addition to laws and ethical standards. This code serves continually serves as a guide and equally as a binding pledge for all of the concerned parties. The code of conduct includes, among others, guidelines on the following points:
- Mutual respect, integrity and compliance with law
- Data protection
- Protection of company assets and trade secrets
- Work, health and environmental protection
- Anti-corruption
- Ombudsman for anonymous and non-anonymous reporting
- Continual improvement
Sustainability of our products
We procure our raw waxes from around the world. We care about our relationship with our suppliers and commit ourselves to sustainable production. The traceability of our goods thereby assures quality and a stable supply chain.
Most of our raw materials that are used for natural waxes are by-products of other industries; thus we engage in upcycling to a great degree. Upcycling is a form of recycling of materials. Useless by- or waste products are converted into new raw materials with the aid of upcycling. Differing from recycling or downcycling, upcycling results in a material appreciating in value. The process of recycling of available material reduces the need for newly produced raw materials and thus functions to preserve resources. Examples include beeswax, tea wax, sunflower seed wax, rice bran wax, orange peel wax, jasmine wax and rose wax.
Our Commitments
United Nations Global Compact
The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) is the world’s largest and most important initiative for sustainable and responsible corporate governance. Kahl participates in the Global Compact initiative since 2021 and is committed to its 10 principles in the areas of human rights, labor standards, the environment and climate, and corruption prevention.
EcoVadis
EcoVadis provides holistic corporate social responsibility ratings to companies through a global cloud-based SaaS platform to help companies better manage and communicate their company’s CSR performance in a clear and trackable way. Each company is rated on issues relevant to its size, location, and industry. For our customers and business partners, we have had Kahl evaluated by EcoVadis since 2018. We were able to steadily improve on the rating and received a silver medal for it in 2023.
Initiative for Responsible Carnauba
As a member of the Initiative for Responsible Carnauba (IRC) founded in 2018, Kahl pursues the goal of overcoming the social and biodiversity problems of the carnauba value added chain. A large portion of carnauba production takes place in the northeast region of Brazil, in Piauí and Ceará, which belong to the poorest regions of Brazil. The country suffers under difficult conditions and the inadequate management of the local habitat. The IRC promotes collaboration for human rights and biodiversity practices in the carnauba value chain in Brazil, in line with the requirements of the 'Union for Ethical Biotrade' (UEBT). The goal is to help carnauba processing companies improve the working and living conditions of workers. In addition to Kahl, Brazilian as well as international stakeholders, the government and civil society institutions, among others, are part of the project, and must all adhere to certain commitments, such as not being listed on the Brazilian government's slave labor company prosecution list, providing traceability, or annual third-party audits. We only source carnauba wax from suppliers that are also participants in the IRC as well as members of the Union for Ethical Biotrade.
Sustainable palm oil products
We are a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, which promotes sustainable cultivation methods for palm oil and thus to limit environmental damage. Producers are examined during the certification to ensure that palm oil is being produced in correspondence with these criteria. We are certified according to the Mass Balance supply chain system model.