A number of initiatives that have been implemented by the R&M over the past year have resulted in a significant reduction of its ecological footprint,according to the new CSR report by R&M, the Swiss structured cabling specialist, For instance, the report said, by conducting meetings with business partners via video conferences, employees managed to avoid having to travel over 6,000 miles on business trips. This saved 12.5 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Another highly successful endeavour has been the R&M Cube, the recently constructed Swiss headquarters of the cabling specialist, which is proving to be even more environmentally sound than expected. Its CO2 emissions fall 80% below the reference standard, even though initially, a reduction of just 30% had been planned. The CSR report indicates plans for the long-term implementation of similar measures at the remaining production facilities, supply chain hubs, and sales offices.
“Being a family-owned business, R&M remains completely dedicated to conducting business in a manner that is socially responsible. The measures taken by our Swiss headquarters to further improve efficiency and reduce our ecological footprint are being applied throughout our world-wide offices including the Middle East. We regularly put into action new initiatives based on the continual review of all areas of our business such as procurement, development, product management, production, logistics, marketing, sales, quality assurance and installation right down to the end users,” Jean-Pierre Labry, Executive Vice-President of R&M Middle East, Turkey and Africa said.
This is the second CSR report from R&M and has been prepared in line with standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), an international organization which promotes economic and environmental sustainability in businesses and society. Besides reporting on environmental and climate-related developments within the company, the CSR report also addresses some fundamental issues of corporate policy. The word “quality” has a particularly prominent place in the CSR report, which pledges that “R&M sees quality as a key factor in sustainability. After all, a good product does not waste resources.” R&M is demonstrating in detail the efforts it is taking to ensure high quality and continually improve its products. For example, R&M tests every single network connector and each connection module before the products leave the plant. The Continuous Improvement Process (CIP), introduced in 2012, took just three months to produce 323 optimization ideas from members of staff. Almost half of these suggestions could be immediately implemented.
The issues of social, ethical, and social responsibility are also central to the sustainability report. In the report, R&M demonstrates how it is developing its personnel management and sets out the code of conduct which has been integrated into everyday operations.
“The 2012 CSR report records a new era in the history of R&M,” CEO Michel Riva, said. Besides other developments, R&M strategically expanded and strengthened its management team in 2012. The Reichle family are now focusing on their strategic duties on the Board of Directors and defining the company’s cultural values. In the wake of the management reshuffle, finalized in 2012, R&M satisfies all international expectations relating to a transparent, controlled, and balanced management strategy. This is another aspect which the GRI deems to be an integral part of commercial sustainability. “From the word go, R&M has aimed to create a business that brings long-term benefits for everyone – customers, employees, partners, and society as a whole” – these words, taken from the CSR report, underline the company’s pledge of sustainability and balanced corporate responsibility.