Social sustainability: INDUS relies on employees for the further development of the Group

Social sustainability: INDUS relies on employees for the further development of the Group

• Social sustainability as the basis for corporate success
• Fourth issue of sustainability magazine SUSTA[IN] published
• Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive implemented as planned
• Criticism of excessive reporting obligations

Bergisch Gladbach, 17 July 2024 – Stock exchange listed INDUS Holding AG has published the fourth issue of its sustainability magazine SUSTA[IN], which presents social sustainability initiatives of its portfolio companies.

“Germany’s successful SMEs stand for resilience and agility,” says Dr. Jörn Großmann, member of the Board of Management of INDUS Holding AG and responsible for sustainability. “These strengths can only be developed in flexible organizations with qualified and satisfied employees. Especially in times of automation and AI, it is all the more important to rely on employees and to put human sustainability into practice in concrete projects. This is part of our INDUS DNA.”

The example of OFA Bamberg shows how companies successfully attract employees and offer effective human resources development programs. The INDUS magazine also focuses on starting points for more equal opportunities and diversity, for example by presenting successful women in technical professions at the INDUS portfolio companies BETOMAX, MBRAUN and SIMON Group. The air conditioning and heating technology specialist REMKO provides practical insights into how effective branding can help to strengthen an employer’s image and increase employee loyalty. Occupational health management projects place a focus on improving employees’ health.

Increasing legal requirements for SMEs

“The new legislation has clearly increased the requirements for sustainability reporting,” says Jörn Großmann. “We fully support this in terms of content, but we don’t think it makes any sense to impose excessive reporting obligations on companies. Reporting obligations such as the EU Taxonomy, the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, the CBAM and the CSRD are particularly challenging for small and medium-sized companies.” SUSTA[IN] provides an insight into how the CSRD is being implemented in the INDUS Group with the support of the holding company. The magazine also provides a summary of the Group’s progress against key performance indicators. 2023 saw INDUS reduce its greenhouse gas emission intensity (Scope 1 and 2) by 36% to 49.21 t CO₂/EUR million gross value added. “This means that we have achieved our interim target of reducing emission intensity by 35% by 2025 compared to the base year 2018 ahead of schedule,” says Großmann.

“We have firmly anchored “Striving for Sustainability” in our corporate strategy. Besides environmental protection and green innovations that offer great growth potential for industrial engineering, we attach particular importance to our culture of values, which includes responsibility, respect and recognition for the INDUS team”, explains Großmann. “After all, every single employee makes a direct contribution to the success of our Group.”

The SUSTA[IN] sustainability magazine is available for download here.

About INDUS Holding AG:

Established in 1989 and headquartered in Bergisch Gladbach, INDUS Holding AG is a leading specialist for sustainable corporate development in the German-speaking SME sector. INDUS acquires two to three technology-oriented and promising industrial engineering companies for the Engineering, Infrastructure, and Materials segments annually. As a value-driven investment company with a clear focus on defined growth topics, INDUS provides its 44 operationally independent portfolio companies with active, long-term support in their corporate development, especially in the fields of innovation, market excellence, operational excellence, and sustainability. SDAX-listed INDUS Holding AG has been included in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (DE0006200108) since 1995. INDUS generated sales of around 1.8 billion euros in 2023. For more information, visit www.indus.de.

Note:

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the current views, expectations and assumptions of the management of INDUS Holding AG and comprise known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. INDUS Holding AG assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.