Environmental Social Governance
Environmental Social Governance emphasizes sustainability and ethical practices
DWK has identified multiple material topics that relate to ESG and emphasize sustainability and ethical practices. These topics include climate change and energy conservation, health and safety measures related to product stewardship, water conservation and management, air emissions reduction, waste reduction and resource efficiency, and upholding human rights, promoting employment, and ensuring diversity.
The DWK Management System integrates ISO 26000 to help create a more consistent, comprehensive, and long-term approach to sustainability and social responsibility.
Environmental
Climate change and energy conservation
Energy Consumption
Utilizing electricity to melt glass is widely recognized as the most efficient method, and at DWK, all furnaces operate exclusively on electricity. This approach significantly mitigates emissions when compared to traditional fuel-fired melting, which is known to produce pollutants such as NOx and SOx. To further bolster sustainability efforts, DWK actively monitors and optimizes energy usage and efficiency across all sites. The company has also obtained certification in compliance with the ISO 50001 standard, which reflects its commitment to reducing energy consumption and advancing sustainability.
Emissions & CO2 Footprint
DWK has evaluated its emissions and calculated its CO2 footprint for the base year of 2021. Currently, we are undergoing a comprehensive review of our supply chains to enhance the accuracy of our Scope 3 emissions calculation. Moreover, we are actively developing a detailed action plan that aims to achieve our future goal of attaining carbon neutrality.
Water conservation and management
DWK produces a wide range of products used for water treatment and preservation. Thanks to the exceptional hydrolytic resistance of Borosilicate Glass 3.3, we are able to offer products that do not release any contaminants or extract valuable minerals from water. This is highly appreciated by our customers.
In addition, we are committed to reducing our annual water consumption by constantly improving our processes and implementing advanced control systems in our facilities. At DWK, we take precautions to prevent any potential spillage into sewage or the environment in the event of a fire or safety incident by ensuring that our drains are properly protected.
Waste reduction and resource efficiency
Glass is a durable and long-lasting material that can be recycled indefinitely without losing its quality. Our melting sites therefore recycle 100% of all onsite processed glass. We also have recycle agreements with the insourced materials and focus intensively on decreasing scrap or down time. Our glass can be disposed of without the fear of contamination of soil or ground water as the glass is considered to be inert and the chemical elements are firmly locked within the glass matrix.
Social
Health and safety measures related to product stewardship
Safety matters. And in the lab, safety matters a lot.
However, selecting the safest type of labware for an application can be overlooked. And even with the best laboratory equipment for the task at hand, health and safety in the lab can still be improved by sharing information about the best working practices as widely as possible.
With more than 100 years of commitment to innovation across our business, we have created a wide range of products designed to improve lab safety, protecting you, your colleagues, and the contents you are working with. It has also inspired us to start sharing as much knowledge as we can about the safest ways to work with our products.
Upholding Human Rights
At DWK we uphold human rights by respecting and promoting the principles of non-discrimination, fair treatment, and equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion or other characteristics. Together with our Values – Passion, Precision, Creativity and Trust – our Code of Conduct serves as a guiding principle for the business conduct of our individual employees and for all of us collectively. By adherence to this Code of Conduct, DWK Life Sciences can preserve its reputation as a world-class supplier to the life sciences industries.
Promoting employment & ensuring diversity
We promote employment by creating job opportunities, offering fair and equal treatment, providing a safe and inclusive work environment, and fostering a culture of professional development and growth, while also ensuring compliance with labor laws and standards. We are consistently seeking to expand our team across various locations globally, with a focus on fostering diversity and inclusion.
Governance
Social Responsibility
The alignment with ISO 26000 offers guidance on socially responsible behavior and necessary actions. ISO 26000:2010 is a globally recognized standard that has been embedded into the integrated management system at DWK Life Sciences. This offers direction and helps mediate between commercial goals, sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social responsibility (SR). All these actions help us to enhance the impact on our workforce, the natural environment, and our local community
Corruption Protection
DWK Life Sciences is committed to actively preventing corruption in all forms. As expressed in the Code of Conduct, we will not tolerate any form of bribery or corruption and expect the individuals and organizations we work with to uphold and adopt this approach. We take our responsibility to protect our company and our employees from corruption risks very seriously. Therefore, a fundamental component of our compliance system is the continuous training of our employees on corruption prevention. Modern, web-based training sessions are used to raise awareness of the internal regulations and applicable laws and train employees in dealing with corruption risks appropriately.
Anti-Discrimination
DWK Life Sciences does not condone and will not tolerate any harassment, discrimination, mistreatment, or retaliation on the basis of race, skin color, nationality, descent, gender, faith or religion, sexual identity or orientation, age or physical disability. Only an employee’s ability, performance and conduct are relevant for, among other things, recruitment and promotion.
Protection of Information
Protecting internal DWK Life Sciences information and intellectual property is of extremely great importance. Just as important is the security of confidential information of third parties obtained by DWK Life Sciences within the scope of business relationships with employees, customers, suppliers and other business partners.
DWK’s Contribution to UN SDG’s
As a leading supplier to the Life Sciences industry, we're committed to supporting the United Nations in achieving its Sustainable Development Goals. We're passionate about the ongoing improvements.
