The growth of the community in which we operate is
essential for our mutual development. These two aspects
are intimately linked, and we do our best to promote
mutual progress. At all of our locations.
Long-term outlook We choose our locations with a long-term
outlook, seeking to form relations that provide mutual
benefit and development with the community.
Supplier selection policies At all of our locations, we give priority to
suppliers of products and services based in local or
national areas.
Employment policies We work to create jobs, guaranteeing safe and
fair conditions to all of our employees.
Sponsoring guidelines We play an active role in local growth. This
includes the funding of activities linked to the
development of local talent.
Highlight
Projects, collaborations and other important
activities.
Tangible support to the local community
The pandemic was a disaster for many companies,
and therefore we made an even greater contribution to
the local community. Instead of the annual dinner with
our employees (impossible for obvious reasons), we
distributed vouchers to be spent in local restaurants
and made ad hoc donations to organizations on the
front line against the virus.
Award to best student in sustainable
engineering We have been collaborating with SUPSI, the
University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern
Switzerland, in various fields for more than 10 years.
We often visit the classes and explain our approach to
sustainability. Every year, we present a CHF 3,000
award to the student with the best Master in
Engineering thesis based on criteria of innovation and
sustainability. In addition, we collaborate on applied
research projects of mutual interest.
70 years: Argor-Heraeus and local projects In anticipation of our 70th birthday, we are
working on a plan to celebrate the occasion together
with some local institutions. 2020 should also have
been the year to launch a special project aimed at
involving local groups, such as associations, schools,
institutions, etc. We were forced to put it on hold
due to the pandemic, but hope to go back to the
drawing board very soon.
Argor-Heraeus in America Latina Our office in Santiago, Chile, opened in 2014,
can no longer be considered a project: it has become a
significant presence that allows us to establish our
vision and our company’s values in one of the most
important sourcing markets, making our on-site
operations essential. Our goal is to expand our
physical presence even further, along with our local
partner, in order to satisfy our clients’ needs even
more directly and, last but not least, to generate
added value for the local community.
Supporting the community
A fundamental contribution for mutual growth.
We reinvest part of the added value we generate in the
local community
through taxes, donations, contributions, awards, etc.
We give priority to local suppliers
whenever possible for supplies of accessory products and
services.
We invest in young people: Argor-Heraeus
has been a training company since 1978, contributing to
the training of young people who want a career in
industry. As explained below, we also collaborate in many
ways with SUPSI, the University of Applied Sciences and
Arts of Southern Switzerland, to promote and support
student training programmes.
Hiring policies:
about 30% of the employees at our Mendrisio headquarters
live in Switzerland. A significant number, considering our
proximity to the Italian border and the industrial nature
of our operations.
We proactively support selected local organisations
with which we have developed a relationship based on
respect and trust over the years.
We sponsor local organisations: we
receive numerous requests for sponsoring or support from
organisations in a wide variety of fields. We evaluate
these requests annually based on their conformity with our
internal guidelines for sponsoring.
We support greener means of transportation: - we have always promoted the use of greener means
of transportation (such as public transportation, slow
mobility, carpooling) by our employees. In addition to
protecting the environment, this benefits the health of
the entire community. - In 2020, we had 45
carpooling groups and subsidised 50 public transportation
passes. It goes without saying that, due to the pandemic,
it was not always easy to use these means of
transportation instead of cars. - At our Hong Kong
branch, we promote various means of transportation through
subsidies for the use of public means or by offering
company shuttle buses. Now, less than 5% of employees use
their own cars to come to work, drastically reducing CO2
emissions. - It is also worth noting that in 2020,
due to restrictions linked to the pandemic, there was a
significant reduction of emissions generated by our
employees, both from reduced travel from home to work and
from fewer business trips.
One often forgets how essential a company’s economic results are for
its long-term sustainability. They are needed for a company’s
operation and allow it to generate value for the community, invest
in future projects, and minimise impacts.
For a complete view of the role that Argor-Heraeus plays in the
company, it is useful to analyse how added value is distributed
among the various stakeholders. Added value is the value generated
by a company’s operations, i.e., the difference between the final
value of goods and services produced (turnover) and the value of
goods and services purchased for use in production processes.
In 2020, the distribution of added value was different from that of
previous years. The portion distributed to our shareholder Heraeus
was much larger than usual, compensating for the fact that no added
value was reinvested in Heraeus in 2019: due to the highly uncertain
situation caused by the pandemic, Heraeus chose to forego a dividend
in order to strengthen the company.
In 2019, a much larger portion had been reinvested in the company to
ensure its long-term stability and solidity; in 2020, 33% was
reinvested in employees and 9% in institutions.
The percentage of added value reinvested in the community is not
shown because it is extremely hard to calculate, considering that
the company makes contributions, donations, sponsorships, etc. in
many different ways.
Expertise, reliability, and quality/price ratio are certainly
important criteria when selecting suppliers. Nevertheless, our
policy is to form long-term relations with business partners who are
selected after confirming that sustainability and transparency are
the founding principles of their operation.
We are also aware that our company’s growth is closely linked to the
development of the region in which we operate. Therefore, in 2020,
over 24% of expenditures for purchases of goods and services (such
as chemicals, fuels, security services, consumables, waste disposal
services, etc.) went to companies based in Ticino Canton, where most
of our production takes place. 38% of expenditures went to suppliers
in the rest of Switzerland.
In 2020, the percentage for expenditures to suppliers in Europe and
in the rest of the world rose significantly compared to previous
years, mainly due to the explosive rise in transport costs caused by
the pandemic.
