2023 Sustainability Report: our journey towards sustainability
The world is undergoing visible changes, and we, as a company, are determined to play our part in countering these transformations.
We believe in producing light that considers both people and nature equally, striving to harmonise their needs and create a future worth living.
Our Sustainability Committee, composed of the Sustainability Team, Management Board, and brand representatives, spearheads our sustainability journey. Together, we set binding targets, deadlines, and measures, continuously analysing and adapting our sustainability agenda to meet market demands, legislation, and stakeholder expectations.
In the past year, our focus revolved around three key goals: climate neutrality, becoming a partner of choice, and fostering a circular economy. As we move forward, each goal will now be addressed individually to cover the entire process effectively.
Climate Neutrality & Net Zero
Our ambition is to achieve climate neutrality in Scopes 1 and 2 by 2025 and also take responsibility for Scope 3 emissions. Working closely with our suppliers, customers, and partners, we are driving towards the net-zero goal.
In the last business year, we made significant progress towards climate neutrality. Through optimising energy-intensive processes, we successfully reduced CO2 emissions by 3,000 tonnes. Additionally, switching to district heating in Dornbirn and Lemgo further decreased our gas consumption. Our commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative underlined our determination to reduce CO2 emissions beyond our immediate sphere of influence.
To achieve climate neutrality by 2025, we will continue reducing emissions in our manufacturing and fleet. This includes transitioning more processes and locations to renewable energy, optimising energy efficiency, and offsetting remaining emissions.
Partner of Choice
As a partner of choice, we strive to collaborate with all stakeholders on sustainable procurement, provide an exceptional workplace for our employees, and inspire our customers with not only our light, but also our sustainable products and services.
Our supplier onboarding process already meets upcoming expectations in the area of due diligence, ensuring that we remain a strong partner. We prioritise occupational health and safety, with seven out of ten of our sites now certified to the ISO 45001 standard. We also revised our materiality analysis to meet the future requirements of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, taking into account results from a globally conducted customer survey.
In the coming year, our focus remains on being a reliable partner in sustainability. We will empower our employees with specific knowledge to address customer queries and requirements for sustainable solutions, while also working to have our remaining three sites certified according to the ISO 45001 standard.
Circular Economy
Our goal of establishing a circular economy involves leading products and materials through reuse, refurbishment, or recycling cycles, eventually making primary raw materials redundant and reducing waste production.
By integrating Circular Design Rules (CDRs) into our product development, we design products to be recycled or made from recycled materials from the start, transitioning from a linear to a circular economy. We have achieved significant milestones in this area, with several of our products certified under the Cradle to Cradle Certified® program.
In the future, we will focus on up- and downstream processes in product development, seeking sustainable alternatives for raw materials with our suppliers and working with customers and partners to close product cycles through lighthouse projects.
We firmly believe that the path to a sustainable future can only be taken together. That's why we link our activities with suppliers, customers, and partners, making collaboration all the more crucial. As part of the klimaaktiv pact, we work with other companies to reduce CO2 emissions and protect the climate. We actively promote circular economy through research projects, ensuring a sustainable built environment through our architecture prize, the Zumtobel Group Award.
With the light of sustainability guiding our way, we eagerly anticipate shaping a more sustainable future together. As we continue to innovate and achieve new milestones, we are committed to making a positive impact and leaving a lasting legacy for generations to come.
Click here to download our 2022/23 sustainability report - Sustainability Reports | Thorn Sustainability (thorn-sustainability.com)