Customers and
suppliers

Active stakeholder engagement

Management approach

Vetropack understands that its business is influenced by numerous stakeholders, such as investors (equity and borrowed capital), customers (direct customers and retailers), suppliers and employees and their representatives. Other stakeholder groups include the general public and society in general, as represented by supervisory authorities, legislators, trade associations and non-government organisations (NGOs). Open and transparent dialogue and cooperation with interest groups are therefore crucial for ensuring Vetropack’s successful performance over the long term.

The Vetropack Code of Conduct and other internal guidelines such as the Business Ethics Policy serve as the foundation for active stakeholder engagement at Vetropack. Both the CEO and the CFO maintain relationships with investors and are responsible for responding to their questions and enquiries. Communication here takes place in meetings or during plant tours. However, Vetropack also communicates proactively on its strategic objectives and publishes a financial report twice a year. Other managers are also responsible for maintaining relationships with stakeholders – for example the Head of Procurement and the General Manager for Technology and Production at Vetroconsult oversee relations with suppliers.

Vetropack cooperates closely with business and research partners. Information of relevance and interest to internal and external stakeholders is published on our website and the intranet, in employee magazines, in brochures and in our customer magazine, and we also provide stakeholders with information via e-mail. Vetropack interacts daily with its customers and also conducts surveys every two years in order to learn more about customers’ requirements and their level of satisfaction. Customer requirements have become more customer-specific over the last few years. Sustainability has also become an increasingly important issue that is reflected in customer requirements as well. For example, we now receive orders that explicitly request a final product made exclusively out of used glass.

The management team at each Vetropack production site is responsible for ensuring proper treatment of customers, employees, authorities and members of the local community. Vetropack’s regulatory requirements are met through the provision of relevant information in annual reports and half-year reports, as well as disclosures made at annual shareholder meetings.

This page contains information on the following GRI disclosures: 102-40, 102-42, 102-43, 102-44.

Multi-supplier strategy

Management approach

Vetropack works closely with its suppliers to ensure the ongoing, cost-effective and reliable procurement of production equipment and raw materials. Vetropack’s multi-supplier strategy reduces the risk of interruptions to glass packaging production operations and thus also helps ensure reliable product deliveries.

The Head of Procurement and the General Manager for Technology and Production at Vetroconsult work together to improve and further develop the Group’s multi-supplier strategy. Vetropack’s Code of Conduct for Suppliers defines the systematic approach used by Vetropack when searching for, assessing and validating potential new suppliers. Relevant criteria here include financial performance, the supplier company’s history, its product portfolio, ownership structure, existing certifications and sustainability performance.

Long-term collaboration agreements are essential for ensuring that partnerships with suppliers are as effectively structured as possible, particularly when strategically important suppliers are involved. Vetropack considers suppliers of energy, transport services and raw materials such as used glass to be especially important.

Within the framework of its annual management review process, Vetropack evaluates the progress made with the multi-supplier strategy using key performance indicators (KPIs) such as the number of active suppliers per procurement category and the number of long term contracts in effect.

Health and safety of customers and consumers

Management approach

Vetropack supplies the food and beverage industry with products that are used by hundreds of thousands of consumers. It is therefore extremely important to Vetropack that the health and safety of all customers and consumers is ensured at all times. Any instance of faulty packaging that could pose a risk to the health and safety of consumers would result in significant financial losses and damage to the company’s reputation.

In order to ensure the consistent high quality and safety of its products, as well as compliance with all legal and customer-specific requirements, Vetropack takes measures to ensure that every glass container it manufactures is inspected. Such inspections are the responsibility of the Quality and Management Systems department, which conducts its activities in line with the company’s mission statement, strategy, and quality and safety policy. The management systems in place at all sites are certified in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 9001 quality management standard and the ISO 22000 food safety management standard (including the basic requirements for manufacturers of food packaging as defined in the TS/ISO 22002-4 technical specification). Nearly all production sites also meet the additional requirements for Food Safety System Certification 22000 (FSSC 22000).

Vetropack uses clearly defined quality indicators to evaluate the quality and safety of its products. These indicators are a trade secret, however, and are therefore not published by the company.

Disclosures

GRI 416 Customer Health and Safety
416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services

No incidents were reported during the period under review.