Sustainability at SLV

At SLV, sustainability is recognised as a balanced interplay between the three areas of economy, environment and society. Only by considering each process of our core business can we ensure the long-term success of the company without negatively impacting our society or the environment. Our international business activity requires us to uphold these claims for a wide variety of stakeholder groups, not only in Germany but also worldwide. Through responsible company management, ongoing improvement of our energy-efficient product portfolio and ensuring the occupational health and safety of our employees and business partners, we help to minimise the negative effects of our activity and develop in a positive way.

Sustainability is determined by important links in the value chain

The focus of all our efforts involves promoting a sustainable value chain. This goes beyond simply optimising the supply chain, even though this represents a central link in the value chain. Our main focus is on people, communication, innovation and information security.

People form the basis of every single value chain and are therefore extremely important to SLV.

In terms of resource and energy efficiency, repairability, recyclability and ecodesign, the field of innovation comprises a broad range of product improvements that lead to a circular economy.

The supply chain includes all shipments, transportation, travel, material specifications and associated declarations as well as labelling with the aim of increasing transparency in terms of our products, their production and employment standards.

Communication combines all of these aspects and the involvement of our stakeholders together in order to integrate our claim and our goals in a stronger and more meaningful way.

WE AIM TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE RESULTS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE VALUE CHAIN – INSTEAD OF FOCUSING SOLELY ON PROFIT AT THE EXPENSE OF SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS.

Eric Lachambre, CEO

Gold for nnuks, formerly SLV Lighting Group

EcoVadis praises the light specialist for its consistent commitment to sustainability

The EcoVadis rating platform awarded the company for its commitment with the gold medal in the sustainability rating.

EcoVadis assesses companies with regard to their performance in the areas of environment, employment and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. nnuks Holding GmbH, formerly SLV Lighting Group, scored a total of 67 out of 100 points for its sustainability activities and was therefore honoured by EcoVadis with the prestigious gold medal. SLV is thus among the top 2 per cent of companies rated by EcoVadis in the sector of wholesale trade with other consumer goods.

See certificate

SUSTAINABILITY AT SLV MEANS RESPONSIBLE GROWTH

All our efforts are built on the foundation of our four values: Passion, Responsibility, Respect & Reliability. Because we are convinced that this is the only way we can grow responsibly. We think and act like entrepreneurs, but always strive to offer our customers quality lighting and first-class service. Our growth is always sustainable because we are aware of our responsibility towards people, society and above all the environment.

Business model throughout the value chain

Geschäftsmodell entlang der Wertschöpfungskette

Holistic value creation

As a product developer and supplier, nnuks Holding GmbH is involved in business processes around the world that generate emissions and waste, and in some cases consume limited natural resources such as water. As we are aware of the impact of our business activities, we take our responsibility for environmental and climate protection actively and seriously and strive to minimise it as much as possible. Following this strategy, we want to increase our positive impact along the entire value chain. Our greatest sustainability goal is thus to maintain a value chain that is as sustainable as possible and also gives us a competitive edge. For a sustainable value chain, a holistic approach is crucial. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations serve as our guideline.

Sustainable projects along the value chain

Sustainability at SLV also means doing business sustainably. Our sustainability objective involves maintaining a sustainable value chain through a balanced interplay of economic, social and ecological aspects across all of our core business processes.

Sustainable packaging

We also act as sustainably as possible when it comes to the packaging material of our products. We try to avoid plastic materials in all product packaging. This also includes stickers and related adhesives. Above all, we optimise the volume of our packaging and thus reduce packaging waste. We achieve this with the help of on-demand packaging: our cardboard boxes are adapted to the order. In this way, we do not send half-empty cartons on their way, but only use as much material as necessary.

For the boxes, we opt for FSC-labelled, recycled packaging material. This is another way we want to promote the use of secondary raw materials. For printing, we limit ourselves to two inks that are VOC-free and, if possible, have a vegetable base. Here, too, we are gradually phasing out varnishes and glossy inks to ensure the long-term compostability of our packaging.

Products with recycled secondary resources

Even our product development process is shaped by responsible handling of resources and ecological innovations across all core processes. In order to create better products for the environment and our planet, we replace primary resources with secondary resources, taking a key step towards a sustainable product range.

SAMRINA, RUBA and SIMA products already contain a proportion of recycled plastics and are shining examples of how quality and durability can be combined as sustainably as possible. This is indicated accordingly with labelling on the product packaging. In future, our customers will be able to instantly recognise which of our products impact the environment the least and contain a proportion of recycled raw materials.

However, our product responsibility goes even further. Guaranteeing the safety of our products for customer use is a top priority for us. By carefully selecting our suppliers and through multi-stage test processes, we ensure that our customers receive top-quality products that are safe to use. We also provide various supplementary information with regards to photometric, technical, regulatory and safety-related product characteristics in our download area. Our additional five-year guarantee for large parts of the current SLV product portfolio reflects our promise of quality and sustainability when it comes to our products.

Digitalisation

By introducing a microservices architecture for our website and webshop in 2019, we have also achieved maximum flexibility from a digital perspective. The new architecture enables us to offer online services of the highest quality. This was recently acknowledged with the Shop Usability Award in the B2B category and has encouraged us to continue pursuing our goals also with our digital services.

Our Business Connect service is an important building block in this regard. Not only does it enable better and faster cooperation with our business customers, but it also helps us to avoid errors in communication and order processing. In turn, it ensures that SLV products are appropriately positioned in our customers' product range.

RESPONSIBLE SOURCING POLICY

Fair working conditions
Production site and process safety
Product Safety
Fair competition and anticorruption
Environmental impact reduction
Supply chain transparency

Our road to greater sustainability

The EcoVadis rating of SLV GmbH in 2017 formed the basis of our new sustainability strategy. It showed us where we stand as a company and how we consider various aspects of sustainability. It also illustrated the diversity and complexity of this topic along with the need for an independent and interdisciplinary approach. This is now handled by a responsible unit at a group level within SLV which reports directly to management.

"We are aware of the impacts of our business activity on the environment and actively consider our responsibility towards environmental and climate protection." (Eric Lachambre, CEO)

Download the full sustainability report here:
Sustainability Report 2020 (Englisch)

Please send any questions and suggestions regarding this matter to [email protected].

Commitments for a sustainable future

Since June 2017, SLV has been committed to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). In doing so, we are strongly supporting the ten principles of the pact in the areas of human rights, employment standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption. Our annual communication on progress is also available to download below.

You can find more information about the UN Global Compact here

Plastic recyclates in the electrical industry

A shining example of sustainability at SLV: SAMRINA was highlighted as a best practice example from the electrical industry by the ZVEI (German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association) in May 2021. You can read and download the guide to plastic recyclates in the electrical industry, including a best practice example, here.

To the guide