Strategy and materiality assessment

Strategy, business model, and value chain (SBM-1)

In financial year 2025, NORMA Group positions itself among one of the international market and technology leaders in advanced and standardized joining and fluid handling technology, as well as water management solutions¹⁰. With its 24 production sites and numerous sales offices, the Group has a global network through which it supplies more than 10,000 customers in over 100 countries with over 40,000 products and solutions. In addition, a breakdown of the workforce by region can be found in the section WORKFORCE BY REGION.

NORMA Group’s vision, “We join forces to provide superior solutions for a sustainable future,” reflects the anchoring of sustainability in the Company’s own strategy. This vision underlines the ambition to work together on innovative and sustainable solutions for a future-proof world. NORMA Group also pursues the mission, “Driven by passionate collaboration and global excellence, we add value as the reliable partner for mission-critical solutions in Industry Applications, Water Management, Mobility & New Energy.” Several core elements of the mission reflect the fact that sustainability is an integral part of the strategic orientation: “Passionate collaboration” stands for building trusting relationships with colleagues and business partners. NORMA Group understands “global excellence” to mean the promotion of sustainability and resource efficiency. “Mission-critical solutions” focus on current global megatrends such as resource scarcity and climate change in the markets relevant to NORMA Group. With “add value,” the Company supports sustainable transformation, and as a “reliable partner” it is committed to compliance and good corporate governance, which shows that sustainability is an integral part of its strategic orientation.

¹⁰ In contrast to the disclosures in the financial report in accordance with IFRS, the ESRS does not require separate reporting on the water management companies.

NORMA Group pursues individual topic-specific sustainability goals that result from the analyses with relevant stakeholders and the defined level of ambition. The topic-specific sustainability goals, where available, are described in the following sections. There are currently no sustainability goals in connection with NORMA Group’s products, services, or customer groups.

Within the assessment of sustainability matters, the requirements placed on us by our most important stakeholders are also taken into account within selected ESG ratings. NORMA Group strives to continuously improve its results in this area (voluntary disclosure in accordance with ESRS 1.114):

The value chain

At the core of NORMA Group’s business model is the ability to adapt quickly and flexibly to changing customer requirements as well as economic and social conditions. Targeted training and development, as well as the effective use of employees’ potential, are key drivers of innovative strength and corporate success. A detailed description of the business model can be found in section BUSINESS MODEL. It describes input factors such as raw materials, technology, and human resources, explains how they interact in the downstream processing stages, and outlines the resulting products and their benefits for customers, investors, and other stakeholders.

The central building blocks of NORMA Group’s value chain are human resources, i.e., employees of NORMA Group itself as well as employees of upstream or downstream companies. NORMA Group takes account of the most important value chains in its operations: In the upstream value chain, employees of NORMA Group’s direct suppliers are considered for this purpose. Supplier groups from the areas of steel and metal components, granulates, and plastics, among others, are particularly relevant. Further explanations can be found in the section PURCHASING AND SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT. Customers, consumers, and end users are considered in the downstream value chain. Customer groups in the Mobility & New Energy and Industry Applications SBUs are particularly relevant. The own workforce includes both NORMA Group employees and employees of service providers who carry out activities on the Company’s premises. Affected communities and municipalities, especially those close to the production sites, are also taken into account. By taking this approach, NORMA Group wants to ensure that sustainable principles are integrated and implemented along these parts of the value chain and that all relevant stakeholders are analyzed.

Stakeholder interests and viewpoints (SBM-2)

NORMA Group sees itself as a transparent and open company and pursues a stakeholder-oriented approach. It actively seeks dialogue with its internal and external stakeholders, including experts and local stakeholders. In this way, NORMA Group aims to ensure ongoing dialogue with relevant stakeholders and foster a proactive improvement process as part of its commitment to sustainability. This approach is applied throughout the Group.

NORMA Group’s most important stakeholders include employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, and financial market players, as well as experts from the media, academia, and politics. In addition, NORMA Group maintains regular dialogue with civil society groups such as NGOs throughout the financial year. NORMA Group is also in contact with associations, trade unions, analysts, communities near its sites, and representatives from science and politics. The company views it as part of its responsible corporate governance to ensure transparency regarding stakeholder interests and the impacts of its operations on these groups, while appropriately incorporating these considerations into material decision-making processes. An open dialogue with stakeholders and a clear understanding of their expectations are particularly important when shaping the Company’s strategic direction and identifying material future topics for NORMA Group. To this end, the stakeholder perspective was considered in the materiality assessment in accordance with the ESRS. Selected internal experts for the respective ESG topics (e.g., QEHS specialist department for environment, health, occupational safety and quality) were consulted to identify and assess impacts, risks, and opportunities relating to environmental and social topics. [S1-SBM-2-12] As a central stakeholder group, the interests, viewpoints, and rights of its own employees play a decisive role in shaping the Company’s business model and strategic direction. NORMA Group’s corporate culture is intended to create trust among stakeholders and promote employee loyalty as well as strengthen the Company’s reputation in order to achieve sustainable growth and long-term corporate success. This is a core component of the “Join Forces” corporate vision. Particular emphasis is placed on the corporate values, which reflect NORMA Group’s fundamental convictions and serve as a compass for its actions. The working conditions and fundamental values such as diversity, inclusion, and full respect for human rights, which are firmly embedded in the corporate philosophy, form the foundation for long-term success and sustainability. Continuous dialogue with employees is important for success; it shapes both the business model and the strategic direction. A large number of local and global initiatives, such as the regular progress report including Q&A meetings by the Management Board, ensure a continuous exchange of information.

NORMA Group is also aware of the impact of its operations on workers along the entire value chain. The workforce in the upstream processes is seen as a key stakeholder group that can be significantly influenced by the Company’s activities. NORMA Group suppliers who sign the Supplier Code of Conduct – in particular preferred suppliers – commit to respecting and upholding human rights.

In addition, the management and the Investor Relations officers engage in discussions with institutional investors, financial analysts, and private shareholders over the course of the year. The Company’s aim is to maintain constant, transparent, and reliable communication with private and institutional investors. Traditional communication formats include the legally required disclosures such as quarterly statements, half-yearly and annual reports, as well as investor presentations and announcements. Through these formats, the Company regularly informs its shareholders about the strategic and business development of the Group throughout the financial year. At the same time, NORMA Group’s Investor Relations team is working to expand its digital information offering, for example through the online Annual Report, to provide new, audience-specific communication formats.

NORMA Group involved the various internal and external stakeholders in determining the material impacts, risks, and opportunities as part of the materiality assessment. Further information can be found in the section IDENTIFICATION OF MATERIAL IMPACTS, RISKS, AND OPPORTUNITIES (IRO-1).

NORMA Group’s management and supervisory bodies are informed about the views and interests of stakeholders affected by our sustainability-related impacts through selected internal and external formats. As part of the “Sustainability Management @ NORMA Group” program, reports are submitted to the CFO and the line managers of the relevant departments every six weeks as part of the Steering Committee. In addition, a Corporate Responsibility Report has been published annually in the past.

Material impacts, risks, and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model (SBM-3)

In financial year 2025, the second voluntary year of application of the CSRD, NORMA Group updated the initial materiality assessment and reviewed it in detail in order to identify material impacts, risks, and opportunities. The performance of this analysis is described in the section IDENTIFICATION OF MATERIAL IMPACTS, RISKS, AND OPPORTUNITIES (IRO-1) outlining the process for identifying and assessing material impacts, risks, and opportunities. NORMA Group is aware of the material impacts, risks, and opportunities that its operations may have on the environment, people and the economy. It is currently evident that the material impacts, risks, and opportunities are of material importance for NORMA Group’s sustainable business development in both the short and medium term.

For the identified material risks and opportunities, there is no material actual financial effect on the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows of NORMA Group in the financial year. However, it is evident that the material impacts, risks, and opportunities are of considerable importance for NORMA Group’s sustainable business development both in the short and medium term. Further information on the material impacts, risks, and opportunities and their interaction with the strategy and business model can be found in the topic-specific sections.

The material impacts, risks, and opportunities identified as part of the materiality assessment are summarized in the following table: