Management approach to the environment

It employs a range of processes and tools to help it manage HSE at the KION Group. The KION audit programme, which monitors compliance with laws as well as internal HSE standards through regular audits, is of central importance. In 2016 nine audits were performed by the HSE Group function within the KION Group, in addition to numerous additional audits at operating unit level.

So far, the audits have focused on the KION Group’s production plants. It is now also systematically integrating its sales and service companies into its HSE audit programme at Group level, in addition to the existing audit processes at individual operating unit level.

Another important tool for HSE management is the central management report, which is produced annually by the operating unit and plant HSE departments. In it, those responsible report on their activities, describe the current situation as well as their goals, and produce specific action plans with KPIs. The individual measures and KPIs are scrutinised and recorded as part of the audit programme to ensure implementation.

This structured approach serves to ensure the set objectives are implemented and the necessary standards are met. One proof of the success of this methodology is the fact that there were no significant pollution incidents in the reporting year. Furthermore, no significant fines or penalties for non-compliance with environmental standards were imposed either.

In the field of HSE in particular, internal communication and employee motivation are crucial to success. The objective is to establish a culture in which sustainable practices become part of the everyday work of each individual employee. Here too, the KION Group has numerous initiatives – ranging from the regular meeting of experts in the HSE network, through to its Group-wide Safety Championship (see also KION Safety Championship), which is soon to be expanded to include environmental aspects.

An intranet site raises employee awareness about the topic of HSE, encouraging them to use resources responsibly. In the reporting year, it updated the site and made it more user-friendly. Accessible by all employees, it includes all relevant regulations and also serves as a platform to exchange information at a local level as well as to share best practices between individual locations. Regular meetings and conferences involving those responsible for HSE together with routine reporting in internal media round off the package of internal HSE communication measures.

The KION Group has had an internal HSE reporting system ever since the KION Group was established over a decade ago. To allow targeted control of KPIs, and to establish a basis for internal and external reporting, in 2016 the KION Group centralised data management of all sustainability performance indicators in a Group-wide software solution which is accessible across the Group.

118 reporting entities, comprising 34 plants and 84 sales and service units, report monthly or annually on a host of aspects, ensuring that regular, up-to-date input is provided to manage activities (as at: June 2017).

In 2016 it also started assessing all locations in relation to their HSE risks. The starting point was a questionnaire which it developed in the reporting year that throws light on the risk situation at each location. The first assessment will be completed in 2017, with initial findings already showing that the KION Group has an average cross-sector HSE risk ranking. For the Group, environmental risks are posed by a variety of factors including its foundries and paint shops. In addition, the topic of environmental protection is also of relevance when working on customers’ sites owing to the very different areas of deployment. To meet these demands, Linde Material Handling EMEA, for instance, has a comprehensive policy which governs service-related activities from maintenance to waste disposal (see also the section Employees).

Certified management systems establish clear, reproducible processes and require documentation of achieved standards; in doing so they lay the basis for systematic further development in central action fields. The KION Group aims to gradually establish a certified HSE system – and where practical, also an energy management system at all of its locations. To achieve this objective it certified additional locations in 2016, with the Indaiatuba production plant in Brazil, among others, receiving certification for all three topic areas.

Since 2016 the KION Group has employed the ISO certification system at all of its plants, as well as at sales and service locations globally. > Table 8 shows the current level of certification. By 2019 all plants as well as sales and service locations are to be ISO 14001 (environmental management) certified. In the same year, it also aims to have rolled out an ISO 50001 compliant energy management system at its 25 reporting entities with the greatest energy use. Other equivalent certification systems such as Sicher mit System (‘Systematic Safety’) in Germany or EMAS are also permitted.

In the reporting year, 492 internal and 53 external environmental-management audits were performed at its operating units in addition to its central HSE Group audits*.

Active environmental and climate protection as well as responsible use of resources are of top priority to the KION Group. The Company takes into consideration environmental and economic aspects, as a constant reduction in the amount of energy it uses improves both its production cost structure as well as the Group’s CO₂ footprint. A lower volume of waste, achieved by preventing waste, and a higher recycling rate also have direct impact on the bottom line.

In the area of the environment, the KION Group has identified a host of key objectives, including ensuring that it meets environmental laws around the world – an ongoing task at a company with hundreds of locations in over 30 countries with ever-changing environmental frameworks.

But the KION Group intends to go further. The heart of its self-commitment is to continuously improve – an aspiration that drives the Company and its employees. This is why the KION Group intends to go beyond statutory regulations in terms of climate protection and resource efficiency, and is currently setting itself ambitious targets to reduce its CO₂ footprint across the entire value chain. To ensure it uses resources as efficiently as possible, it considers a product’s entire lifecycle. In doing so, a clear hierarchy applies, where avoidance takes priority over reduction, reuse and recycling.