GoGreen250 Sustainability Initiative – next steps

Kurtz Ersa wins silver in the ESG rating!
Kurtz Ersa has come a big step closer to its sustainability targets with an excellent result: In a year-on-year comparison, the Group gained 13 points to 69 points – and after twice winning bronze, it has now been awarded a silver medal in the EcoVadis Sustainability Rating for the first time. The bottom line is that Kurtz Ersa is in the top 5% of our industry in this year´s overall ESG rating!
A number of measures have been and are being implemented to achieve this – for example in the area of energy efficiency with large-scale conversion to LEDs, the replacement of two heating systems and energy-efficient window refurbishment. We also made significant progress in generating our own electricity by installing and commissioning three PV systems with 1.5 GWp. The excellent result is flanked by additional measures in the area of occupational safety and the expansion of sustainability reporting towards increasing internationalization.
The first silver medal in the ESG rating marks a great milestone on the way to becoming a sustainably CO2-neutral* company. In this ESG rating, Kurtz Ersa scored up to 31 points above the industry average in all four categories (environment, labor and human rights, ethics, sustainable procurement). Particularly noteworthy: In the “Environment” category, Kurtz Ersa ranks in the top 4% of the rated companies in the industry with a score of 80 points, and even in the top 2% for labor and human rights!
“Many thanks for this strong result – this goes to our tireless ESG team as well as the entire workforce, who are strongly committed to sustainability. With persistent pragmatism, we are at the forefront of sustainability – in the top 5%! This shows that we take the issue seriously. Following the positive development in the ‘environment’ area last year, we have made great progress in the area of labor and human rights. This is a strong sign of our culture and values, which will continue to guide us,” said CEO Thomas Mühleck.
CDP Rating: In 2024, we took part in the CDP scoring for the third time. This provides participating companies with a snapshot of their environmental reporting and performance as well as indications for continuous improvement. The CDP questionnaire, which was expanded in 2024, covers topics including climate change, water, biodiversity, governance and the disclosure of risks and opportunities. We will receive the result in 2025.
*Related to emissions for Scope 1 and 2 as well as partially Scope 3.
International roll-out of our Integrated Management System
GoGreen250: Supporting Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) aspects with a lean and efficient management system
What is an integrated management system?
An integrated management system (IMS) brings together several management systems in a uniform and centrally controlled structure. This has the advantage that requirements from different areas can be bundled and synergies can be utilized.
What do we expect from this?
Our corporate processes have been becoming increasingly international and complex for years, and their number, interfaces and effects are growing all the time. For this reason, the management of Kurtz Ersa has decided to integrate the majority of all international workplaces via a standardized IMS – across the Group and regardless of national borders.
Specifically, at Kurtz Ersa this concerns the
- quality management (ISO 9001),
- environmental management (ISO 14001),
- occupational health and safety management (ISO 45001) and
- energy management (ISO 50001).
We hope that this will lead to further standardization of structures and processes, reduced susceptibility to errors and additional synergies in workflows – in short, a management system that is as lean and efficient as possible, covers all four ISO standards mentioned above and supports us in achieving our ambitious ESG goals.
What is our status quo?
Most German locations have been certified accordingly for many years and decades. By 2025, all international production sites and larger company locations are to follow suit – the only exception currently being our very small sales locations.
What goals have we set ourselves for the roll-out?
By around Q3/2024, 56% (in relation to ISO 14001 and ISO 45001) and 75% and 74% (in relation to ISO 9001 and ISO 50001) of our international employees had been integrated into our existing IMS. By the end of Q4/2024, we will have integrated around 77% of all employees internationally across all four ISO standards and as many as 86% (ISO 9001) and 95% (ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 50001) by the end of Q1/2025.
“The roll-out of the IMS is important for our own goals, but customers and partners will of course also benefit from it, as such a strong commitment is becoming increasingly important in the supply chain,” says Anna Hieble, Head of Corporate Quality Management and Corporate ESG at the Kurtz Ersa Group.
Kurtz Ersa Links
Further examples and details of our sustainable actions
can be found in the current Kurtz Ersa Sustainability Report 2023.