The company celebrated some of its 2022 progress in the report, including:
- Maintaining its EcoVadis Gold rating
- Achieving ISO certification for all its production and logistics sites
- Expanding its portfolio of ZDHC Level 3 certified products
- Implementing a multi-year training program on the Employee Code of Conduct
- Demonstrating thought leadership in several education and community involvement initiatives
- Continuing strong involvement in key industry networks and organisations.
Zeology, Royal Smit & Zoon’s chrome-free, heavy metal-free, and aldehyde-free tanning agent, was a key focus for the company in 2022, alongside new products such as lignin-modified retanning agents, biopolymers based on sugar beet pectins and environmental and performance-optimised retanning products.
CEO Marc Smit said: “The Russia-Ukraine war, with its direct impact on raw materials, energy and inflation, and the continued Covid-19 lockdowns in China, significantly impacted our business and our customers.
“Despite the global turmoil, we kept true to our mission to ‘Create a Socially and Environmentally Sustainable Leather Value Chain’, spanning environmental, social, and governance dimensions. ESG is at the core of our strategy and critical to ensuring continuity for our family-owned business.”
The full 2022 ESG report can be found on Royal Smit & Zoon’s website.
