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Our understanding - The WENKO CODE

Today, sustainability and environmental awareness are central topics of our society. Find out more here.

Our fields of action

There is the opportunity for sustainable management in all business sectors. You can find our four key areas here. 

Our certificates

Sustainability, fair working conditions and environmental protection are of paramount importance to us. Find out more about our certificates here 

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OUR UNDERSTANDING - The WENKO CODE

Today, sustainability and environmental awareness are important topics in our society.
For us too, responsibility towards the environment and society, as well as value-driven action, play an important role. That's why we have formed an interdisciplinary team that continuously looks into possible improvements.

Together with our subsidiaries, we have committed ourselves to a certain catalogue of values, not only within our own global activities, but also throughout our entire supply chain. Our values are reflected in the principles of acknowledged global social and ecological standards; such as the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP), the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

In order to ensure that everything from production to delivery is performed according to our standards, we have developed our own WENKO Code, which suppliers and service providers must sign and adhere to.
This is the way in which we as a company ensure that everything from production to delivery is in line with our values and standards.

Click here for the WENKO Code

 

Should you wish to report a possible adverse human rights impact or initial suspicion to WENKO Wenselaar GmbH & Co KG, one of its subsidiaries or one of our suppliers, please use the following contact option to seek redress. We will always treat your concern with the utmost discretion. If you have any questions or comments about the WENKO Code, please contact csr@wenko.de.

OUR MATERIALS AT A GLANCE

When choosing products, very different priorities come into play. For some, it is important that materials are recycled or recyclable.
For others, short delivery routes or certain manufacturing processes matter more. To make it easier for you to see what we have paid attention to in individual products, here is an overview of the relevant material properties:

Rapidly-growing raw materials
The product consists of a rapidly renewable raw material such as bamboo or jute

Recyclable
A recyclable product is also sustainable for us,
because raw materials can be returned to material circulation.

Recycled materials
A product made of recycled materials protects the environment,
because no new resources and raw materials are used.

FSC® certified
In particular in the timber industry, 
environmentally-friendly cultivation is important.
Therefore, we rely on FSC®-certified wood.

OUR FIELDS OF ACTION

Produkt

Measures within our product range

For example:

  • 42% of the products in our range already meet the material criteria we have defined
  • We review alternative materials to further develop existing products – for example, chrome has been replaced by stainless steel in a large number of our standard items
  • Our product management continuously reviews our packaging and reduces material usage wherever possible – as a result, we have reduced the use of plastic by 37.72% and cardboard by 7.15% on the German market over a three-year period (as of 2023)
Logistik

Measures in the area of logistics

For example:

  • Worldwide storage and production locations, including those in Europe, shorten transport routes all over the world.
  • We continuously strive to improve our transport packaging. For example, recycled cardboard is replacing polystyrene. This already saves 14 tonnes of polystyrene every year and reduces the transport volume by 40%.
  • We are constantly replacing the poly bags we use to protect our products with paper, and are, as a result, able to save 6,290 kg of plastic per year with the measures taken.
  • Deliveries to our direct customers are packed exclusively with filling material made of recycled cardboard and paper, which is certified with the Blue Angel, the German label for environmentally friendly products.
Unternehmen

Measures within the company

For example:

  • The power supply for our head office in Hilden and our logistics centre in Hückelhoven comes largely from renewable energy sources
  • We do not scrap returns, unpacked photo samples or product samples: each item goes through an elaborate inspection process and, wherever possible, is returned to the goods cycle
  • We have installed seven drinking water treatment systems at our head office – every employee received a reusable water bottle
  • Switching from individual desktop printers to a centralised printing system saves 1.22 million sheets of paper per year
Gesellschaft

Measures for the environment and society

For example:

  • Bee WENKO Since 2019, we have been hosting our own bee colonies on the WENKO premises as an employee project.
  • Clean-up campaigns: We regularly collect litter from around our premises.
  • We are a family business, and as such we take our social responsibility very seriously. Therefore, we provide financial support and material donations for regional projects with the aim of encouraging and supporting children.
ProduktLogistikUnternehmenGesellschaft

Measures within our product range

For example:

  • 42% of the products in our range already meet the material criteria we have defined
  • We review alternative materials to further develop existing products – for example, chrome has been replaced by stainless steel in a large number of our standard items
  • Our product management continuously reviews our packaging and reduces material usage wherever possible – as a result, we have reduced the use of plastic by 37.72% and cardboard by 7.15% on the German market over a three-year period (as of 2023)

Measures in the area of logistics

For example:

  • Worldwide storage and production locations, including those in Europe, shorten transport routes all over the world.
  • We continuously strive to improve our transport packaging. For example, recycled cardboard is replacing polystyrene. This already saves 14 tonnes of polystyrene every year and reduces the transport volume by 40%.
  • We are constantly replacing the poly bags we use to protect our products with paper, and are, as a result, able to save 6,290 kg of plastic per year with the measures taken.
  • Deliveries to our direct customers are packed exclusively with filling material made of recycled cardboard and paper, which is certified with the Blue Angel, the German label for environmentally friendly products.

Measures within the company

For example:

  • The power supply for our head office in Hilden and our logistics centre in Hückelhoven comes largely from renewable energy sources
  • We do not scrap returns, unpacked photo samples or product samples: each item goes through an elaborate inspection process and, wherever possible, is returned to the goods cycle
  • We have installed seven drinking water treatment systems at our head office – every employee received a reusable water bottle
  • Switching from individual desktop printers to a centralised printing system saves 1.22 million sheets of paper per year

Measures for the environment and society

For example:

  • Bee WENKO Since 2019, we have been hosting our own bee colonies on the WENKO premises as an employee project.
  • Clean-up campaigns: We regularly collect litter from around our premises.
  • We are a family business, and as such we take our social responsibility very seriously. Therefore, we provide financial support and material donations for regional projects with the aim of encouraging and supporting children.

AN OVERVIEW OF OUR CERTIFICATES

We have been successful on the market for more than 63 years and aim to strengthen the trust that the customers place in the company in future, too. Therefore, factors such as sustainability, working conditions and environmental protection are constantly gaining importance. We presuppose that our products are manufactured under fair conditions and with sensibly produced raw materials. This is why WENKO participates in various certification procedures.

If you have any questions regarding our certificates, please feel free to send us an e-mail to csr@wenko.de:

We have been FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®) certified since 2017! The FSC® label on our wood or paper products is a clear indicator that the product originates from responsible forest management. Products bearing the FSC® label ensure that forests are used in line with the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations.

Please look out for FSC®-certified products in our online shop. Our licence code is
FSC-C135059.


Since October 2010, WENKO has been a member of the BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) and has committed itself, its suppliers and sub-suppliers to the adherence to the Code of Conduct for Social and Environmental Standards such as the prevention of child labour, fair working conditions and safe waste management.

UNSER VERSTÄNDNIS – DER WENKO KODEX

In der heutigen Zeit sind Nachhaltigkeit und Umweltbewusstsein zentrale Themen unserer Gesellschaft. 
Unsere Verantwortung für die Umwelt, die Gesellschaft, in der wir leben, und werteorientiertes Handeln sind wesentliche Bestandteile unserer Firmenphilosophie und bereits fest in unseren Geschäftsprozessen integriert.
Wir wollen uns auch in der Zukunft noch aktiver unserer Verantwortung stellen. Deshalb haben wir ein interdisziplinäres Team gegründet, das zur Aufgabe hat, fortlaufend notwendige Verbesserungen aufzuzeigen und sich um deren Umsetzung zu kümmern.