The SZABADICS Group is also on the road to sustainability

There is a lot of talk these days about ESG reporting, which is a comprehensive document that presents the environmental, social and governance performance of companies. It will soon be mandatory for most companies to produce this report; but it is not only a requirement, it also helps companies to make their sustainability efforts and results transparent to investors, regulators and customers.

In contrast, a sustainability certificate is a formal recognition awarded by an independent organisation if a company meets certain sustainability criteria. This certificate demonstrates that the company is operating in a sustainable manner, based on an assessment under the relevant ISO 26000 framework.

Although the preparation of an ESG report does not require a sustainability certificate, one can help to increase the credibility of the report and support the company's sustainability efforts. Recognizing this, the SABADICS Group engaged Green Gains Kft. as an independent auditor to conduct the review, under the supervision of accredited VERIFY Agency of Sweden AB.

Gives security to partners

"Our sustainability performance review certificate is valid for one year. We are the only company in Hungary to have this document, as the SZABADICS Group was the first to undergo this process"

- we learned from Orsolya Marics-Kovács, Head of System Integration at SZABADICS Group, who added: "the auditor will evaluate our activities in a report and indicate which points we can improve to improve our sustainability maturity."

"Our company," stressed Szabadics Roland, "has always been a company that has prepared for market challenges in good time, that has prepared an action plan, and that innovation is a constant drive in the Group's operations. This approach, together with our long-term sustainable mindset, has led to our conscious sustainability policy. Sustainability has been given a prominent role in the Group's three-year strategy - it is presented as a separate strategic sub-area.

The company was audited against the ISO standard

The ISO 26000 Guide to Corporate Social Responsibility and its associated validation framework, the so-called self-declaration formula, were used for the survey. As detailed by Orsolya Marics-Kovács:

"The process started with an opening meeting with the Swedish inspection body, after which we received a 50-question self-declaration form based on the seven core topics of the ISO 26000 standard. These were used as the basis for presenting the Group's structure, operations and sustainability activities. By supporting our answers with documented evidence, we have practically scrutinised our organisation's processes and achievements."

The auditor verified the credibility of the answers in several stages: firstly, by checking the evidence provided, and secondly, by interviewing selected colleagues from different levels of the organisation to ensure that the answers to the questions were true for the whole group. On behalf of Green Gains Kft., a contracted partner of Verify Agency AB, Mónika Simon auditor, Monika Simon carried out the audit, the main aspects of which were as follows:

• organisational governance principles,
• human rights,
• the quality of labour practices,
• care for the natural environment,
• commitment to our customers,
• planning, scale and forms of community participation,
• fair business practices.

A serious undertaking

It was not only the management that had to pay close attention to obtaining the document, but also the colleagues who had to collect the data needed to prepare the self-declaration, in addition to the daily business.

"It was a turning point to realise that we have been aware of and managing processes in our integrated management systems for years, which are actually part of our sustainability activities," said Orsolya Marics-Kovács.

"As the Group's Integrated Management Manager," he continued, "I see this as the most important task: to keep our employees well informed and involved in our sustainability activities."

They have therefore set up a sustainability team, which includes mainly senior managers, and an internal ambassador system, where key people represent the results of the integrated sustainability management area in their own departments. This provides not only the necessary data but also the appropriate feedback on individual initiatives, which helps to improve them and make them work effectively.

The competitive advantage of being sustainable today

"With the verification document and the detailed final report, we have received clear feedback on our functioning along the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) logic, so we can see where we are lagging behind and need to improve further"

- summarized the results Szabadics Roland, also mentioning that "the verification is just the beginning; it can provide a basis for further work, which clearly focuses on continuous internal education, increasing involvement, formulating actions, as this verification is repeated annually for five years and we want to continuously improve."

Achieving the certificate has made it possible to effectively track the results of the company's sustainability activities, all with the validation and support of an accredited third party.

"This of course increases the confidence of our partners and other stakeholders in our activities and can ensure the sustainable operation and growth of our Group - so we can provide a secure future for our employees," summarized Orsolya Marics-Kovács, who also highlighted the results of Szabadics Roland:

"It will help us gain a competitive advantage over market players who are not taking action in this area, but it will also provide a strong basis for our sustainability report and the campaign around it, which we intend to launch this autumn.