As a company founded on cooperative, we have been pursuing long-term strategies since 1932 and strive to improve ourselves each and every day. Safeguarding and developing sustainable values for the present and future generations is in our DNA.
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important not just for society in general but also specifically for the food and dairy industries. It is also an integral part of our strategy. To this end, we always pursue a holistic sustainability approach.
We view sustainability as a continuous improvement process that challenges us to measure and communicate our progress transparently. In our pursuit of sustainability, we work together with the members, employees and business partners of our cooperative and stay in close contact with all stakeholders.
Our strategic plan was developed in 2017 and has since been implemented, reviewed and further developed. Our guiding principles are firmly established in our Code of Conduct and apply to the entire Hochwald Group. This is an internal code of values and guidelines for all employees and represents the foundation of our value-oriented business management. We combine effective management with responsible business practices in order to create a sustainable future for the company.
A sustainability team, consisting of the heads of various departments in the company, manages the sustainability projects and operations. This results in these activities being viewed as a continuous improvement process and firmly establishes sustainability at all levels of the company.
With the help of our external experts who were tasked with carrying out the process and analyses, the stakeholders were interviewed in groups in which they were actively involved. A solid methodology was used to identify the key issues that need to be addressed as part of our strategy. We aim to ensure that our strategy addresses the issues that are most important and prominent to our business as well as the challenges which lie ahead. These must also fit in seamlessly with our business objectives and be directly tied to our philosophy as a cooperative. We view the dialogue with our stakeholders as a continuous process.
We aim to be responsible and to do so with a holistic approach that considers people, animals and the environment while producing high quality products.