We have always been a champion of sustainable business practices. In order to assume responsibility towards our customers and the environment, as stated within our Corporate Governance Principles, we insist on compliance with and monitoring of sustainable products and production standards with respect to our core business. For both our business partners and us, our Sustainability Policy serves as a guideline for the implementation of sustainable practices for designing products, production processes and complete supply chains.
The Sustainability Policy applies to all our products, our inhouse production- and logistics processes, and up the supply chain to the source of our raw materials.
For all relevant private label products, RICHARD BEHR & CO. requires compliance with all legal provisions in the area of sustainability. For the production and trading of products, the 'four key measures of sustainability' need to be considered:
We are committed to sustainable products, packaging, and production standards throughout all stages of the supply chain.
RICHARD BEHR & CO. pursues the goal to actively extend its range of 100% sustainable products, production, and packaging, sourced from production facilities which demonstrably apply sustainability standards that exceed legal provisions. Furthermore, our suppliers are obliged to comply with environmental minimum standards at all stages of the production chain, i.e. from the fattening farm to the processor to the store (refer to Corporate Governance Principles/BSCI Code of Conduct). RICHARD BEHR & CO. is member of the Business Environmental Performance Initiative BEPI and drives their standards and codes of conduct throughout its complete supply chain.
We actively promote compliance with sustainability standards and for this purpose, we have already taken precise measures, amongst others, in the following areas:
Our clients are among the strongest drivers and champions of industrial level convergence of our industry toward Sustainability standards for products, packaging and production. We work with our clients to help them formulate their standards, goals, and monitor progress toward achieving the goals. We follow our highest client standards.
RICHARD BEHR & CO. sources products exclusively from producers who are compliant with all local and international sustainability standards and/or certified accordingly. This enables us to avoid the use of suplly chain elements that will contribute toward pollution of the environment.
RICHARD BEHR & CO. closely follows all textile-related environmental issues and topics and strives to at all time be at the forefront of the newest standards, tests, and labels.
Regarding the development of detergents, the detergent industry is subject to the legal provisions of the Chemicals Act. For example, the act prohibits the testing of cleaner ingredients on animals, as long as there are scientifically satisfactory as well as practical alternatives to the corresponding tests. Moreover, all detergents used by RICHARD BEHR & CO. are vegan and biodegradable, which means that no animal-based ingredients are used for their production, and they will leave no lasting footprint in the environment in waste water disposal.
We also reject products containing endangered species. This includes all species included in the IUCN Red List as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered or all species included in the CITES List (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
At RICHARD BEHR & CO., we implement our sustainability requirements in close cooperation with our suppliers. The implementation of our internal requirements will be conducted by the buying departments with the support of the responsible drivers of Corporate Governance. Specific requirements, goals and measures will also be implemented in close cooperation. We monitor the implementation among our suppliers we conduct risk-oriented evaluations. We reserve us the right to have the requirements of our sustainability policy verified by internal and/or external audits, if necessary. Moreover, we expect our suppliers to ensure that all personnel responsible for the handling of products, machinery, or packaging, with impact on the environment, are effectively trained to carry out routine practices in a way that minimizes pollution, and, where necessary, is qualified to promote good standards of sustainability within their areas of responsibility. The present Sustainability Policy is part of our terms and conditions. Where instances of non-compliance with our policies are detected, suppliers are expected to provide corrective action plans that clearly demonstrate how relevant violations will be resolved within a specific timeframe. The Managing Directors are informed on the status of implementation on a regular basis.
We aspire to continuously improve products of our assortment to make them more sustainability-friendly. In this context, we always consider our customers' wishes and the market environment. The transition to more sustainable alternatives includes the following:
Since we aim to offer more sustainable products, an exchange with external partners is indispensable. Therefore, we are in close contact with NGOs, representatives of the scientific community, and stakeholders.
RICHARD BEHR & CO. is actively implementing sustainable practices in our products, packaging and production processes when opportunities arise. Here are a number of pilot projects that RICHARD BEHR & CO. has implemented today already:
We commit to keeping these measures in place, expanding them, and adding further measures as technology becomes available. We also are part of other pilots and initiatives, that help shape our industry and its sustainable performance:
Each year, the current Sustainability Policy is assessed and, if required, adjusted. In the long-term, this is the only way to guarantee a sustainable and responsible procurement of our products, packaging, and development of our production. In addition, based on this policy, we formulate goals and evaluate the extent to which these goals have been achieved on an annual basis.