Sustainability Management

Brenntag has established an international team which successfully pursues the systematic development of sustainability at Brenntag. The Board of Management and regional top management support the activities of this team.

In addition, Brenntag also has a Sustainability ManagerBrenntag Group who is based in Brenntag AG’s Corporate Development department. He initiates and coordinates global projects and initiatives, promotes the ongoing development of the company’s sustainability strategy worldwide and maintains a dialogue with those colleagues responsible for sustainability issues at Group level and in Brenntag’s regions.

OUR APPROACH: OUR SUSTAINABILITY TARGETS

TOPIC	TARGETS / BY	STATUS
Safety	LTIR1 day/1 million < 1.0 for the Brenntag Group by 2020	Group accident rate LTIR1 day/1 million in 2019 was 1.9 (2018: 1.5)
Sustainable procurement	Check 80% of our total chemical spend (in EUR) through sustainability assessments and audits as part of our membership in “Together for Sustainability” by 2020	The supplier assessments carried out by the end of 2019 cover some 72% of Brenntag’s total chemical spend (in EUR) (2018: around 70%)
	70% of our suppliers undergoing re-assessments should be able to improve their score by at least 1 point. by 2020	The re-assessments carried out by the end of 2019 led to an improvement rate of 59%.
Environmental protection	To reduce scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions (per warehouse tonne of goods sold) by 6% (compared to 2016) by 2020	2019 Brenntag Group (per 1,000 warehouse tonnes of goods sold): Scope 1: 19.21 tonnes (2018: 19.71 t) Scope 2: 4.78 tonnes (2018: 6.93 t) Change compared to base year 2016): –0.58%
Compliance	To achieve and sustain full coverage in compliance training for the relevant employees. by 2020	Coverage rate for e-learning at the end of 2019: Code of Business Conduct: approx. 95% Anti-corruption: approx. 93% EU cartel law: approx. 96% We have extended the target achievement period to the end of 2020.
Employees	To provide a working environment where the best people want to work ongoing	In 2019, Brenntag’s new global employer brand “Explore Variety” was launched, further measures for our HR development strategy were implemented and the incorporation of our HR processes into our global HR portal was continuously expanded.
Sustainable solutions	To become the preferred distributor for sustainable solutions by setting up pilot projects with 10 selected key suppliers by 2020	BASF: project completed GrünerPunkt: ongoing Schütz IBCs: ongoing Gas Engine Service Program: ongoing Alumichem (Circular Economy): started
Rating	To achieve and sustain an Eco-Vadis score of at least 62 points and gold status ongoing	Scoring in April 2020: 71 points, gold status (October 2016: 66 points)

„Our concrete sustainability targets for 2020 serve to enhance our sustainability strategy in a targeted manner.”

Christian Kohlpaintner, CEO Brenntag AG

Further information and tools

EcoVadis Sustainability Assessment: Gold Recognition Level

EcoVadis is an international independent provider of sustainability assessments. The rating agency reviews and assesses the performance of companies in four different categories: environment, labor practices, fair business practices and sustainable procurement. EcoVadis evaluates several thousand companies every year in this way, in around 200 different industrial sectors in 160 countries. More than 65,000 companies use EcoVadis to reduce risk, drive innovation and foster transparency and trust between trading partners.

Brenntag belongs to the top companies assessed

Brenntag already has voluntarily undergone several EcoVadis assessments. In its April 2020 assessment, Brenntag Group was awarded 71 points and thereby maintaining our gold status already achieved in 2016 (Gold Recognition Level). The result ranks Brenntag among the top companies in our industry as well as among the top suppliers assessed overall by EcoVadis across all industry categories.

Christian Kohlpaintner, CEO Brenntag AG: "The excellent rating that we were awarded again strengthens our responsible business practices as well as creating transparency in our sustainability activities."

Brenntag is keen to achieve further scoring improvements. Moreover, as part of its TfS membership, Brenntag encourages its own suppliers to undergo an EcoVadis self-assessment.

More information on EcoVadis