CEO message

Sustainability is one of the most frequently used positive words in business today.

Together with its synonyms they seem like being in contrast with other success parameters like growth, efficiency, and profit. Is this true, though? That depends on the evaluation criteria, and more importantly on the time period concerned:

If you think in the short term, sustainability will be an advantage in communication, but it may be rather a challenge in other areas. The development and implementation of a consistent sustainability strategy is time consuming and resource-intensive. Significant progress sometimes requires a lot of effort and takes a long time.

But if you think in the long term, you will realize that your efforts to achieve sustainability do not distract attention from traditional business values and success criteria—they will support these and provide a framework for them. Because without people, there is no enterprise. Because without the promise of a positive future, there is nothing to work for. Because a healthy and balanced environment, the welfare of society, and responsible business are all prerequisites of a prosperous future.

The Trocellen Group has always believed in the importance of sustainable corporate governance, and our Japanese parent company, Furukawa Electric, has also consistently supported thinking in the long term and acting on it. This means that for us it is obvious that we should focus on sustainability goals.

In its 1987 report, the Brundtland Commission defined sustainable development as: ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.

This definition is more meaningful now than ever. With climate change, limited natural resources, social inequality and violent conflicts, attaining sustainable development is extremely important.

In such challenging and troubled times, it is a key task of the management to emphasise the urgency and importance of a sustainability strategy and to shape the activities of the organization accordingly:

We aim to become part of circularity, and our main tool in this effort is the ecodesign approach we have introduced in our company.

A key focus of our ongoing R+D activity is the integration of raw materials and technologies that have positive effect on environmental sustainability.

Relying on the know-how of our colleagues, we are redesigning our organisational structure and business processes so that they can have a positive effect on the wellbeing and success of our colleagues, business partners and local communities.

We are doing this in a well-planned and transparent way: we measure our activities with the latest methods, and regularly assess and report on them.

While sustainability is the commitment of the individual, it is the success of the community. We thank our partners and colleagues for their support and we promise to keep fighting so that we can provide a future to the next generation in which they can see the opportunities and the goals—and also have a path to follow.

Oliver Cordt
CEO