Standards and specifications
This Report was prepared in accordance with the “Core option” of the GRI Standards. These standards provide a globally recognized framework for transparent and comparable reporting on issues of sustainability. The GRI Content Index in the Appendix provides a detailed overview of the GRI Standards covered by this CR Report and indicates where the respective information is to be found.
voestalpine has participated in the Global Compact of the United Nations (UN Global Compact – UNGC) since 2013. This initiative calls on companies around the world to apply ten principles pertaining to human rights, labor standards, environmental action, and the fight against corruption. The present CR Report documents voestalpine’s performance in connection with these ten principles and thus serves as a Communication On Progress (COP).
The Austrian Sustainability and Diversity Improvement Act (Nachhaltigkeits- und Diversitätsverbesserungsgesetz – NaDiVeG) has been in effect in Austria since December 2016. It transposes EU Directive 2014/95/EU (NFI Directive) on the mandatory disclosure of non-financial indicators into national law. In publishing this CR Report, voestalpine is fulfilling the requirements of Section 267a Austrian Commercial Code (Unternehmensgesetzbuch – UGB).
The disclosure of information in this Report regarding the EU Taxonomy complies with Taxonomy Regulation (EU) 2020/852 as well as with the requirements published as an amendment to the Regulation on June 4, 2021 (technical criteria) and on July 6, 2021 (Article 8). Accordingly, the Report contains information on the proportion of those of voestalpine’s business activities that are covered by the Taxonomy (i.e., those that are “taxonomy-eligible”) as well as the required qualitative information.
Parameters of this report
Unless otherwise stated, the information, figures, and facts published in this CR Report refer to the entire voestalpine Group. The financial performance indicators and employee data encompass all of the Group’s consolidated entities.
voestalpine’s 120 production companies— i.e., those that process, convert, or treat a product—accounted for more than one half of the data considered in the compilation of the environmental performance indicators. This limitation of the CR Report’s parameters with respect to the environmental data accords with both the criteria of materiality and the Pareto Principle. The carbon footprint of the non-producing companies is relatively small, whereas the expenditures required to collect these data would be unreasonably large.
The health & safety indicators comprise all companies whose activities entail potential risks for their employees. This concerns a total of 173 entities, among them all productive companies as well as those smaller ones, for example, whose shops use equipment that may pose a risk to the employees’ safety and health. Impacts along the value chain that occur outside of voestalpine’s factory gates but are subject to its sphere of influence are regularly evaluated as part of supply chain management and are managed with an eye toward sustainability. For reasons of confidentiality, however, this CR Report does not disclose detailed information and financial indicators concerning suppliers’ business activities.
Benchmark for specific environmental data
The production volume is used as the benchmark for determining the specific environmental performance indicators. In addition to the weight of the crude steel produced at six plants (flat and long products by way of the integrated blast furnace route as well as special steel manufactured in electric furnaces) and of the hot briquetted iron (HBI) produced at the direct reduction plant in Texas, USA, the production volume data also include the weight of those steel products whose pre-materials are externally sourced. Accordingly, the specific indicators are provided per ton of product.
Content of this report
voestalpine addresses the issues that are relevant to the Group’s sustainable development continually and systematically. Both external and internal stakeholders were included in the process of determining the content of and the material topics covered in the present CR Report (see the chapter, “Stakeholders and CR Management”).
Reporting period
voestalpine’s business year runs from April 1 of a given year to March 31 of the following year. While the business year 2021/22 is the reporting period for the key performance indicators (KPIs) as well as the employee and health & safety data, the environmental data are compiled by calendar year. Hence the calendar year 2021 is the reporting period for the environmental performance indicators. In order to improve comparability and to make the development of the data clear over a longer period, most KPIs are shown going back to the business year 2017/18 and/or calendar year 2017. Hence they present the development of the past five business and/or calendar years.
Reporting cycle
voestalpine publishes its CR Report once a year. The most recent Report was published in October 2021. The current and future CR Reports will be published at the same time as the Annual Report, i.e., as early as in July. The CR Fact Sheet, which summarizes the Report’s key figures and facts, is also published annually and simultaneously with the CR Report.
Audit
The external audit of the present CR Report was conducted by the auditing firm, Wirtschaftsprüfungs- und Steuerberatungsgesellschaft Deloitte, as to compliance with the Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the requirements of Section 267a UGB as well as with Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (Taxonomy Regulation) and the Commission Delegated Regulations (EU) 2021/2178 and (EU) 2021/2139 that supplement it.
See the independent Audit Confirmation Report in the Appendix for further information on the audit and confirmation of the present CR Report.
Style and languages
So as not to impede the flow, the Report’s German version omits gender-specific wording and uses male pronouns and endings to refer to all genders. The English version uses gender-neutral wording wherever necessary. This CR Report is published online in German and English, and the CR Fact Sheet in 14 languages.
Visual design
The United Nations designates particular days, weeks, years, and decades as occasions to draw the international public’s attention to important topics or to commemorate historic events with the aim of creating awareness of internationally relevant issues. The visual design of this Report takes up 12 select topics and translates them into graphic representations.
Questions and comments
We look forward to your feedback. Please send any questions or comments regarding this CR Report to the following email address: cr@voestalpine.com