Bronze Medal: LEONHARD KURZ with Above-Average Result in EcoVadis Sustainability Rating

Fürth/Germany, September 20, 2022: LEONHARD KURZ has achieved above-average results in the current EcoVadis Sustainability Assessment Report in all four audited areas – environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. This puts the thin-film technology expert ahead of the majority of other companies in the industry with respect to sustainability, earning the company the bronze medal. The environmental experts at EcoVadis, a renowned provider of sustainability ratings, praised the fact that “LEONHARD KURZ is actively working on further improving its sustainability management system.”

With this award, the family-owned business underlines the importance of a green value chain, demonstrates further progress in the sustainable use of people and resources, and sends a strong message to its customers: KURZ is well on its way to becoming one of the most sustainable companies in the industry and is also a reliable partner in the manufacture of resource-conserving products.

“This award is an important milestone for us. With our vision ‘Be a green leader’, we strive to put our own products and production on a green foundation. This also signals to our customers that we are the right partner for meeting the increasing demands on sustainable surface finishing,” explains Ralph Hopfensitz, Senior Vice President at KURZ.

Comprehensive Analysis of KURZ’s Sustainability Strategy

As sustainable business management can be multifaceted, EcoVadis has defined four core issues to examine as part of its extensive company reviews. These are Environment, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. Within these four dimensions, energy requirements and emissions are reviewed, for example, and the materials used and product lifetimes are also analyzed. In addition, the focus is on protecting employees and their working conditions, on complying with anti-corruption regulations, and on other partners along the value chain.

Environmental aspects and human rights are particularly important in the EcoVadis ranking – they are given special weight and therefore have a significant impact on the overall result. In view of the numerous sustainability initiatives that KURZ has driven forward in recent years, it is not surprising that the rating here is particularly good – KURZ can clearly leave its competitors within the industry behind in the core field of environment. But KURZ is also above the industry average in the other dimensions examined and thus sees its ambitions in terms of sustainability confirmed once again.

KURZ Campaign for a Sustainable Future

As a family-owned company with locations all over the world, KURZ invests heavily in its sustainability strategy. The aim is to assume social responsibility and meet the increasing demands of partners and customers alike. To this end, products, processes, and the company itself are being made even more sustainable.

KURZ is committed to the ten principles of the UN Global Compact, among others, and provided information for the first time about the current status of their implementation in a sustainability report published in 2022. A new photovoltaic system was also put into operation this year at the company’s site in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Bavaria, following two years of planning and construction. In total, around 14 million kilowatt hours of electricity will be produced there in an environmentally friendly manner, which in turn covers a quarter of the local demand. Further photovoltaic systems are already being planned at the headquarters in Fürth.

In terms of its products, KURZ has only recently set a benchmark in environmental compatibility with the RECOSYS^® take-back and recycling program. This gives customers the opportunity to return any residual materials to KURZ, which are then processed into new raw materials in the company’s own recycling center. Another environmental innovation is RECOPOUND^®, a high-quality recycled granulate made from customer PET production waste. RECOPOUND^® not only impresses with its diverse application possibilities and robust character, but also with its excellent ecological footprint. By using the recycled material, up to 40 percent CO₂ can be saved compared to new material. The declared aim for the future is to reuse the recycled PET carrier for the production of new transfer carriers.