Investing in environmental protection

At VAUDE, environmental protection is an essential element in our corporate values and goals. We want to work holistically and systematically to minimize the environmental impact of our products and our business practices.

To achieve this, our environmental concerns must be integrated into all operational processes. We also need to invest in technical improvements. And last but not least, the VAUDE employees on the CSR team work on environmental and social issues with fixed position percents in their departments. See also "CSR team as a sustainability driver".

Environmental Management System in thousand €

We earmark the necessary funds for CSR measures in annual budget planning. This process has been established within the company. The planning and review of all environmental protection-related expenditures through the VAUDE budget process is a sensible strategy that has been proven effective.

CSR measures are integrated into VAUDE segment budgets. In addition, VAUDE funds the implementation of comprehensive CSR policies in a CSR budget. These include: 

• certifications such as EMAS - see also below 
  
• creating the climate balance - see "Climate Neutral on location Tettnang"
  
• compensation of emissions that arise at the VAUDE company headquarters
  
• climate compensation 
  
• mobility management - see "53,672 km by bike to work"
  
• biodiversity management - see "Why biodiversity is important to us"
  
• membership contributions to environmental organizations and initiatives such as bluesign® 
  
• development and implementation of new CSR projects
  
• further training of the CSR team 
  
• technical literature 
  
• development and implementation of new projects

In addition to the CSR expenditures listed above, we employ two personell who work on the ground in Asia with the Fair Wear Foundation. These employees are not included in this reporting as they are related to a subsidiary of VAUDE Sport GmbH & Co in China as well as a representative office in Vietnam.

Nevertheless, it remains difficult to express the value of all CSR activities at VAUDE monetarily. In the above-mentioned positions, for example, non-quantifiable activities have not been included.

These primarily include additional costs of materials with a higher level of sustainability materials in product development, which leads to lower margins and to lower profits. Also included are presentations and lectures held by Antje von Dewitz and her team on CSR issues, the many ongoing efforts of employees who are not permanent members of the CSR team, concerning the ecological optimization of their working operations.

In 2014 VAUDE participated in a research study conducted by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen as a project partner. In the study, a benchmark figures was developed which companies could use to put a monetary value on their CSR activities and relate this to their turnover, number of employees or other variables: the so-called "CSR-quota". We expected to receive a methodology which we could set in practice. VAUDE will now precisely anaylyze and assess whether the CSR-quota can be put to use in this report to better quantify our CSR commitment, to reflect the holistic nature of the VAUDE CSR measures in monetary terms.

We have implemented other instruments within our company to make sure that we stay on the right track:

• Environmental policy - determined by the Board and unchanged since the introduction of VAUDE’s environmental management system in 2008. 
  
• Environmental program with annual environmental goals across all departments.  
  
• Environmental Handbook: Guidelines covering which environmental issues are regulated at VAUDE, how they should be documented and which procedures apply.
  
• Compliance-check - an annual review of compliance with requirements of environmental law.
  
  

EMAS is the abbreviation for "Eco-Management and Audit Scheme" and is a European Union environmental policy instrument. EMAS is an environmental management system that helps companies to anchor environmental protection firmly in all business processes. An external environmental audit annually checks whether the company meets its own standards and whether published environmental data is accurate.

To become EMAS certified, we must disclose our environmental goals and report on the direct and indirect environmental impacts of our activities. This annually updated environmental statement is then verified by an accredited independent environmental auditor. We have successfully passed this test annually since 2008 and are therefore EMAS certified and qualify for the EMAS logo.

Click here for the EMAS core indicators.

VAUDE has an equal obligation to both economic and environmental responsibility. As a mountain sports supplier, we believe that it is vital to protect the “playing field” of our customers and our employees — the great outdoors.

We are committed to the long-term, sustainable use of nature and to active environmental protection.

• at our company facilities 
  - by means of resource conserving economic activity in our administrative department and production
  - by using renewable energy and investing in the preservation of biodiversity
• with our products and suppliers
  - by using innovative, environmentally friendly materials and by recycling
  - by means of environmentally friendly production techniques
• in the outdoor branch and in society at large
  - by means of active environmental policies in professional associations and collaborative environmental protection projects 
  - by collaborating with environmental associations, universities and public projects such as the Deutschen Nachhaltigkeitskodex, for example

Our environmental activism reaches far beyond basic legal requirements. We are constantly expanding our environmental commitment. Environmental management is a top priority at VAUDE.