Sustainability at SPIES: another chapter begins

I am Carolin Buddenkotte, Head of Transformation & Communications, and as someone who has been helping to shape SPIES' development towards a more sustainable company for four years now, I am delighted to take over the responsibility for our corporate blog "Mission: Sustainability" on an interim basis. I am taking on this role at a very important time not only for SPIES, but also for the global economy, as we face both internal changes and respond to the requirements of external regulations such as the CSRD and PPWR.

Internal transformation and strategical integration

Sustainability is experiencing an important transformation at SPIES, moving from the Transformation & Communication department to Quality Management (to my left my colleague Georg Schengber, Head of QM). This change emphasises our conviction that sustainable practices and quality standards must go hand in hand. By integrating into Quality Management, we are strengthening our commitment to excellence in all aspects of our work and emphasising the importance of sustainability as an integral part of our corporate philosophy.

Response to CSRD and PPWR

At the same time, we are facing the challenge of developing our approach and processes in relation to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) further. These directives require us to report more transparently on our sustainability efforts and to make our packaging processes more sustainable. These are the external drivers that motivate us to think outside the box and find innovative solutions which not only minimize our environmental impact, but also ensure long-term business success.

Ongoing commitment and the journey ahead

The last few years were characterised by the development of the sustainability department and significant progress, such as the improvement of our sustainability reports and the successful implementation of strategic projects. The organisational anchoring of sustainability is reflected in the diversity of approaches, both at SPIES and in other companies. In this observation of how other companies establish sustainability in their organisations - whether as a staff unit at management level, as part of controlling or in the department of People & Culture - it became clear that there are many ways to do justice to this important topic. At SPIES, we believe that integrating sustainability into quality management allows us to pursue our goals more effectively and integrate sustainability even more firmly into our daily activities. This development and the current change are signs of our ongoing commitment to sustainability.

For us, the path we see ahead of us is not a straightforward route, but a journey with challenges, learning opportunities and chances. I am looking forward to the progress we will accomplish together and to the dialogue with our SPIESers, customers and our network.

 

Finally, I would like to thank our former Sustainability Manager Nina Franke. Her work has created a strong and solid foundation for our future efforts. We are currently looking for a successor who will also take over this blog. Until then, I look forward to continuing this dialog with you.

With best regards,
Carolin Buddenkotte