Economic and environmental drivers for resource efficiency

As a manufacturing company, NORMA Group depends on various raw materials and primary products as important precursors of its products. NORMA Group’s total production materials turnover amounted to EUR 417.8 million in 2022 (2021: 372.2 million). The largest share was accounted for by steel and metal components, granules and plastic and rubber products.  PURCHASING AND SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT Efficient handling of the raw materials required for production is therefore both needed from an environmental point of view and economically necessary to reduce production costs.

Considering NORMA Group’s procurement portfolio, price increases for raw materials are considered likely (2021: very likely) overall. However, the associated financial impact is estimated to be minor. RISK AND OPPORTUNITY REPORT

Reducing waste volumes

A key indicator of the efficient use of raw materials is the volume of waste. NORMA Group collects data on both hazardous and non-hazardous waste (metal, plastic, paper, wood, and other waste). As with other environmental data, NORMA Group reports waste data in relation to sales to improve internal and external comparability.

The reduction of waste generation is controlled in accordance with the environmental management systems (EMS). The EHS department is responsible for ensuring adequate waste management that is implemented at the plant level in accordance with ISO 14001 standards.  ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS In its CR Roadmap, NORMA Group has set the goal of further reducing the amount of waste in relation to revenue in 2023.  CR TARGETS

       

Volumes of various forms of waste

in kg per EUR thousand of revenue

T009

 

2022

2021

Change in %1

10

11.2

-13.9

5.5

6.7

-18.0

0.9

1.1

-13.0

0.5

0.7

-22.9

0.8

0.8

-4.8

1.9

1.9

-1.0

0.6

0.6

3.4

Last year, the absolute amount of non-hazardous waste decreased by 2.2% to 11,990 tons (2021: 12,261 tons). In relation to sales revenues, non-hazardous waste amounted to 10 kg per EUR thousand of revenue (2021: 11.2 kg per EUR thousand of revenue), a decrease of 13.9%.

Metallic waste continued to be the largest waste category. Although a significant proportion of NORMA Group products are made of plastics, the waste produced in this process, however is often reused in the production process itself.

In 2022, the volume of hazardous waste was 0.6 kg per EUR thousand of revenue (2021: 0.6 kg per EUR thousand of revenue). The handling of hazardous substances affects only a few production areas, and compliance with legal requirements is regularly monitored as part of the EMS.

Efficient production processes

NORMA Group optimizes the efficiency of its production through the implementation and continuous improvement of the NORMA Business System (NBS). Among other things, NORMA Group uses the NBS to monitor indicators to improve material efficiency. This includes the number of defective parts produced internally but not delivered to the customer (see defective parts under  PRODUCT QUALITY AND SAFETY) and the scrap rate, which sets the value of the scrap in relation to the total production material consumed. To make management as effective as possible, data is collected at machine, department, and plant levels.

Recycling and compliance with legal requirements on materials

Depending on the type of waste, NORMA Group employs different recycling methods. For example, a large share of the waste generated in production processes is externally recycled by NORMA Group’s contractors. Plastic waste is reintroduced into the manufacturing process as far as possible, depending on the type of plastic and reasonable costs. A certain portion of the resulting plastic waste is regranulated. NORMA Group already uses recycled and bio-based plastic materials in series production.

NORMA Group is currently not in the position to recycle its own products because these are usually used in end products such as engines and turbines and doing so would require a disproportionately high investment of time and resources on the part of NORMA Group. All contractually regulated specifications on material type and recyclability are fulfilled. Compliance with the statutory labeling requirement is also guaranteed. In this way, NORMA Group complies with statutory regulations such as end-of-life vehicle regulations and guidelines such as RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances), REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) and California Proposition 65 on the requirements on drinking water infrastructure. Additionally, it supports its customers’ recycling concepts.

Legend

These contents are part of the Non-financial Group Report and were subject to a separate limited assurance examination.