How does ESG relate to Kepler’s purpose?
Kepler is a company with ESG practices aligned with the UN’s sustainability goals. The company is committed to developing innovative post-harvest solutions, continuously improving its integrated management system, acting ethically, ensuring social, environmental, and economic sustainability, complying with legislation and other requirements applicable to the business, protecting the environment by providing safe and healthy working conditions, eliminating hazards, reducing risks, and ensuring participatory management by employees and stakeholders.
What is Kepler’s strategy for strengthening and expanding its ESG initiatives?
In September 2022, the Company completed its ESG maturity analysis, conducted by the consultancy firm Grant Thornton. In addition to the maturity analysis, Grant Thornton made suggestions for improvements in processes and documentation. In the next steps, Kepler will implement recommendations suggested by the experts, such as indicators, committees, and policies, and conduct a materiality matrix, identifying material themes for both its internal audience and its stakeholders who work outside the plants and on construction works.
Learn more about ESG at Kepler WeberRisk and materiality assessment process
Kepler Weber’s ESG strategy involves continuous maturity and consistent actions, focused on making a real difference in its business, employees, suppliers, customers, and society as a whole.
In 2022, Kepler Weber conducted a Risk and ESG Maturity Assessment, which involved 70 employees in 22 departments. The process identified 27 corporate risks among 293 topics assessed, with actions outlined for the company’s maturity aligned with ESG best practices and regulatory requirements. ESG themes assessed included Environmental Relations; People and Management; Occupational Health and Safety; Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives; ESG Strategy and Governance; Integrity, Ethics and Conduct; Product Supplier Management; Service Supplier Management; Accountability; Integrated Management System; and Customer Relations.
Continuing this work, an ESG Committee was set up in 2023, involving various departments to structure projects and implement actions based on a prioritization plan for the short, medium, and long, monitored by the Company’s senior management and the CEO.
In addition, adhering to best practices for periodic review to improve its ESG aspects management, at the beginning of 2H23, Kepler Weber updated its materiality matrix.
The materiality definition process involved four stages, which made the process very robust:
(i) contextual study of global macrotrends and sector benchmarks;
(ii) stakeholder consultation;
(iii) impact analysis of relevant issues;
(iv) definition of SDGs and related goals to be supported.
A total of 601 stakeholders were consulted, including Society, Associations and Unions, Customers, Employees, Suppliers, Press, Financial and/or Insurers, Senior Management, Board of Directors, and Shareholders.
The process defined 10 material themes and 6 SDGs to be supported by the company. Kepler Weber’s current material themes, linked to the corresponding SDGs, are as follows:
The SDGs integrate the 2030 agenda, which is the action plan to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and ensure that people achieve peace and prosperity. Thus, prioritizing the SDGs aligns companies with a global agenda, facilitates an innovation environment, and increases transparency and communication of the impacts generated by their activities.
Kepler Weber and its responsibility toward the environment
Since its foundation, our organization has carried out a solid commitment to society by optimizing storage and reducing waste through efficient, sustainable, and honest work.
Fully renewable energy: all the energy utilized by our industrial plants comes from 100% renewable sources distributed by Minerva Energia.
Recent milestones:
In September 2023, Kepler Weber inaugurated the powder coating process at its Panambi plant, replacing the immersion liquid painting process. With this new process, Kepler will reduce environmental impacts by reducing energy and raw material consumption, improving the quality of the end product, increasing its productivity, and using cutting-edge Industry 4.0 technology with integrated production processes to deliver the best to its customers.
Powder coating line: As part of its operational efficiency and waste management strategy, Kepler has always sought to develop innovations and bring more technological and safer industrial solutions. This technology ensures the best safety and ergonomic conditions, prioritizing employee well-being and:
- Reducing CO2 emissions by 40%, equivalent to 306 tons per year, by sending materials for external surface finishing.
- Reducing electricity consumption by 26%, to around 880,000 kW/h per year;
- Decreasing water consumption by 1,960 m³ per year, which is equivalent to 98% of effluent volume. As a result, industrial effluent will reduce by 54%, roughly 2,000 m³ per year.
- Reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by 99%, which is equivalent to 59 tons per year.
GPTW certification for the 3rd consecutive year: Kepler Weber was certified by the consultancy firm Great Place To Work (GPTW) for the third time as an Excellent Company to work for, and, for the second consecutive year, it was ranked among the top 20 Best Companies to work for in Rio Grande do Sul State, in the large-sized category, securing the eleventh position in the ranking (6 positions ahead of the previous period). The company’s overall engagement index grew by 4% over the previous period.
In December 2023, Kepler Weber was ranked 46th in Brazil’s Ranking of the Best Industries to Work For (large category).
This is another achievement that reflects our growth journey, which is the result of continuous work focused on excellence, employee engagement, and business sustainability, strengthening the purpose of caring for life!