Our values and culture of sustainable development and social responsibility are integral to our performance. The primary focus here is on environmental, economic and social sustainability
Environmental concerns
Ecological and environmental protection aspects are, for obvious reasons, closely related to our domain. Both the operation and decommissioning of nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities as well as the remediation of former nuclear sites are associated with the generation of radioactive waste. This waste also requires treatment to prevent an adverse impact on human health and the environment. Our waste treatment facilities allow bringing radioactive waste into a stable state. Qualified waste packages and interim storage facilities ensure the shielding effect and prevent the spreading of radioactive isotopes. Furthermore, we can offer volume reduction solutions that help spare the capacities of interim storage and final disposal sites. But our contributions to environmental protection have of course become embedded in our daily routine. This, for instance, is why we have been using a new video conference system since 2015. This minimises the amount of business travel, reduces the cost and time expenditure as well as the ecological footprint of our employees. Resource-efficient behaviour is also important for effective management of buildings. For this reason, we have taken pains to regularly monitor our water and power consumption in order to determine our savings potential. In this respect, awareness raising initiatives play a large role. NUKEM's environmental management system pursuant to DIN EN ISO 14001 serves as a visual indicator that confirms our commitment to environmental protection.
Economic issues
Our international business activities are geared towards adding value for our customers and implementing the principles of sustainability. They lay the foundation for the high expectations we have of our suppliers and business partners. Corporate social responsibility aspects are integrated into our supply chain management. We also make sure that our suppliers commit themselves to adhere to our values and principles. This is ensured by our requirement that suppliers sign a declaration confirming their compliance with our CSR policies. The CSR Declaration is central to the selection of our suppliers. When signing the declaration our suppliers confirm that they recognise the following values and principles:
- Compliance with law
- Prohibition of corrupt practices, bribery and improper payments
- Compliance with our hospitability and entertainment expenses policy
- Not influencing decisions that could give rise to conflicts of interest
- Free competition
- Observance of all laws and regulations on the prevention of money laundering
- Adherence to legal requirements governing such employment arrangements as the minimum age limit, the prohibition of forced labour, the freedom of assembly, the right to collective bargaining and tariff negotiations, working hours, wages and salaries, discrimination
- Environmental protection
- Occupational safety
Apart from securing employment for our personnel, we also place orders as a customer with many suppliers located in our region and beyond. As such, we are part of an economic system which is vital in ensuring the prosperity and also the long-term sustainability of our company through innovations. Our customer focus and continuous improvement of products are instrumental to securing jobs for our staff, enhancing environmental protection and preserving natural resources for future generations.
Social responsibility
As a service company, we are well aware that our employees are the foundation of our success. Therefore, such issues as health and safety, continuous development of competencies, work-life balance and fair remuneration are of particular importance for us. We provide training and cooperate with colleges and universities to look for young academic talent. We were recognised by the Aschaffenburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce as an enterprise certified to offer apprenticeship training. Our comprehensive training program provides an excellent opportunity for professional and personal development. In this context, special mention should be made of our internal language training. Our employee suggestion system seeks to promote and make use of the potential ideas and the creativity of all employees to optimise processes and procedures, reduce costs or improve the quality of our services. As we recognise the importance of balancing work and personal life, we offer flexible working hours to our employees. It is standard practice for us to provide our employees with workplace health promotion and social benefits. Our occupational pension scheme, which includes employer contributions, helps make our co-workers feel financially secure in old age. We are also committed to the development of local community. As such, we support local schools and kindergartens through donations.