Sustainability Report 2022
We’re proud to present our first ESG report, showcasing our commitment to sustainable business and our “Head, Heart and Hand” approach in a clear, tangible way.
Letter from the C-Suite
From the beginning, when H&Z was founded in 1997, we knew what type of business we wanted to run, which is why we founded Hirn Herz Hand e.V. This charity was set up so that our employees could initiate and support social projects and play a key role in making those projects successful. To date, Hirn Herz Hand e.V. has supported over 50 projects with consultation and funding. This illustrates our bottom-up approach to making a positive impact on society.
There’s a saying that ‘charity begins at home’, meaning that you first have to take care of those nearest to you before offering external help. This is something we do at H&Z. We value our employees, they are the foundation of our business, and so we make sure that they are well looked after financially, professionally, and personally. There is always room for improvement, as we highlight later in this report, but we must be doing something right because we’ve won seven ‘Great place to work’ awards in various categories since 2011.
In addition to social responsibility, we’ve always been mindful of our impact on the environment. We’ve worked tirelessly to reduce our carbon footprint so it was a significant milestone when H&Z became carbon neutral as an organization in 2020. This was achieved in alignment with the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) and the UN Global Compact. As sustainable transformation, with the focus on carbon removal and the promotion of circularity, is one of our main areas of expertise, it’s clearly vital that we don’t just talk the talk, we must also walk the walk.
Our consultants know what they’re doing when it comes to guiding our clients towards sustainable value chains. They demonstrate this every day in the projects they work on and a team of them even found time to write an award winning book, Responsible Procurement: ”Leading the way to a Sustainable Tomorrow.”
If we all want a better tomorrow, we have to accept that sustainability is a shared journey. With this in mind, we launched SUSTAINX, a platform and community to help organizations find innovative solutions for their challenges and to connect with like-minded on their sustainability journey. These are examples of how we go beyond conventional consulting to help our clients improve their carbon footprints. Sustainability is an opportunity, and we go the extra mile to help our clients fully embrace it.
Polar explorer Robert Swan once aptly framed the ESG challenge with the words: ”The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” We refuse to fall into this trap. Instead, we roll up our sleeves, immerse ourselves in action, and invite you to explore firsthand the measured progress we’re making towards a sustainable future.
Our thanks go to all the H&Z’lers that made and make this possible – every day.
