Sustainability

Our company focuses on sustainable development. For us this means an alliance of economy, ecology and social responsibility. This is not just a company philosophy but integrated in our daily work, in every department and every process. We meet all applicable legal and regulatory requirements in the areas of environment, energy use, health and safety. As our production processes evolve, our health and safety practices as well as our energy-efficiency measures evolve along with them. Our EHS program includes providing ergonomic working conditions, creating as environmentally friendly and energy-efficient production methods as possible as well as recycling waste.

Preventing industrial accidents is a primary focus of our EHS program. Our technical and organizational processes are designed with employee protection in mind. We conduct risk assessments of all activities and work areas, perform regular safety inspections, and continually train our employees in sound safety practices. For work that entails higher levels of risk, we have strict approval processes for handling hazardous materials, well-enforced procedures that ensure staff comply with regulations, and detailed work instructions.

We want to provide a healthy working environment for our employees. We pay close attention to workplace ergonomics, to minimize the risk of repetitive-motion and other injury. Safety features built into our production equipment help prevent accidents on the job. To maintain a healthy workplace, EHS Management mandates periodic reviews of working conditions and regular safety training for employees.

Environmentally focused movements such as Fridays for Future are dedicated to increasing public awareness of climate protection. We are equally committed to protecting the environment and have been focused on the issue of climate change as part of our corporate agenda for many years.  

In 2020, we reached another milestone when all our European company sites became carbon dioxide neutral. The goal was made possible thanks to a long-term sustainability strategy involving appropriate action packages. Since 2014, all European sites have been operating using green power from hydroelectric plants resulting in savings of over 4,500 tons of carbon dioxide. Any inevitable residual emissions are offset as Vetter supports climate protection projects through the purchase of carbon credits. 



Vetter’s operations are energy-efficient. Vetter’s facilities are state of the art, minimizing their environmental impact. Wherever possible, we use wastewater for cooling or other appropriate functions. Rejected heat recovery systems provide air conditioning. Each employee is required by our EHS Management to work economically with raw materials, indirect materials and energy. Our goal at Vetter is to tread lightly on the Earth, and we continually search for ways to reduce our environmental footprint. We strive to further improve our energy performance by establishing specific guidelines for procurement, product, process and site development and to fall back on renewable energy sources where possible and sensible. 

On a continuing basis, we review the status of the progress we’ve made with our EHS program. We perform regular internal assessments and request external audits by insurers and clients. It is our responsibility to communicate transparently about our program not only to our employees, but also to our customers and to the residents who live in the communities where we operate.

We earned ISO 14001 certification for our environmental management system and BS OHSAS 18001 certification for our occupational health and safety management system. The validity for both certifications was extended in May 2015 for an additional year in accordance with a successful observation audit.

These certifications cover all of the company’s European facilities. They were issued by IQNet, an international certification network, after an extensive audit of our operations – including:

• production, engineering, laboratory and administrative areas
• supply chain management
• packaging development
• work safety procedures
• emergency management
• fire prevention activities
• waste management

The superior results, compared to similar audits at other companies, provide valuable feedback to our entire company on the long-term value of thoughtful environmental management, healthy working conditions, economic use of resources, and innovative waste recycling programs.