AVO receives certification for sustainability
AVO-Werke August Beisse GmbH is the first company in the German spice industry to be certified according to the ZNU Sustainable Management Standard. "We are pleased that AVO has now established its sustainability management system in accordance with our ZNU standard for sustainable management. This underscores the seriousness of the company in facing the diverse sustainability challenges," says Dr. Christian Gessner, founder and head of the Center for Sustainable Corporate Management, ZNU for short, at the University of Witten/Herdecke.
The workshops associated with the certification according to the ZNU standard began two years ago. A long way that AVO has consciously taken. For the AVO managing directors Bernhard Loch and Guido Maßmann, sustainability is more than just a buzzword. "Sustainable management relates to all areas of a company and makes it fit for the future," says Loch.
Anyone who only thinks of the ecological aspects when it comes to sustainability is thinking too little. "The certification covers three major areas," says Louis Rosenzweig, sustainability manager at AVO, "In addition to the environment, there are also the areas of business and social affairs. These are in turn broken down into many sub-areas.” While terms such as net climate neutrality, energy saving measures or emission avoidance are included in the evaluation under the heading “Environment”, sick leave and the demographic development of employees are also considered under “Social”.
Collecting data, evaluating data, defining goals - the processes in the company should follow this triad. The basic idea is that anyone who defines clear goals based on good data and checks them again and again acts sustainably. Evaluation and improvement of the processes can affect the supply chains and the procurement of raw materials as well as data protection or the regional commitment of the company.
In an audit lasting several days, independent external auditors have now ascertained which ecological, social and corporate sustainability measures AVO actually implements. The catalog is long and ranges from the emissions report to the conversion of the packaging system to training concepts for employees.
Among other things, the audits that AVO has established for external partners are worth mentioning. In addition to the quality of the goods or services, compliance rules and the working conditions of the employees are also evaluated here. In the area of social and environmental issues, AVO has been involved for years in the "Little Smile" project in Sri Lanka, a charitable organization that also runs spice plantations, among other things. As part of helping people to help themselves, AVO has undertaken to purchase the spices – 90% of the organic pepper comes from this project – even above the usual market level. AVO also bears the costs for the annual Bioland certification.
In the end, the 12-strong "Sustainability" team could count themselves lucky: the efforts were a success and the certificate was awarded. "The process does not end, however, but only marks the beginning of our permanent efforts to become more and more sustainable," says Rosenzweig. The certificate is valid until 2025, after which the exams will start again. But the effort is worth it, because the results are valuable – also for day-to-day business.
"Our customers from the food trade, the food industry and the food trade attach great importance to having in AVO a partner who positions themselves sustainably, certifies this and thus develops further." Guido Maßmann sums up the efforts.
