Corporate Social Responsibility
CREATING SUSTAINABLE VALUE Our CSR efforts balance people, planet and profit—creating
a positive social, environmental and economic impact on our world and those we touch.
a positive social, environmental and economic impact on our world and those we touch.
Since formalizing our CSR efforts in 2013, we continue to make progress toward our goals. In 2016, we added building blocks to further our CSR culture, increase external communication and strengthen our volunteering focus on education.
OUR SAFETY AND SECURITY.
2016
- In December, five Quaker sites in the US were audited and recommended for Responsible Care® 14001 certification—a safety, health and environmental management and security certification. This certification will take us one step closer to being a world-class chemical company in terms of safety.
- Our facility in The Netherlands implemented the first phase of the Seveso III directive—a requirement that aims to prevent major accidents involving “dangerous” substances (classified by the European Commission).
ONGOING
- Most of our plants outside of North America are OHSAS 18001 certified—an external recognition of our occupational health and safety management system.
OUR GOVERNANCE.
ONGOING
- We continued to enhance our risk management by improving our existing disaster recovery plan and cybersecurity defenses, regionalizing our global crisis management plan, and enhancing global baseline controls in our Finance department.
OUR ENVIRONMENT.
2016
- We adjusted the ROI calculations in our five-year plans to reduce our electricity, fuel, waste, water and wastewater by 10% in each region. This change was made to reduce investment while maintaining a feasible goal in most areas.
ONGOING
- All our main manufacturing sites are ISO 14001 certified–external recognition of our efforts to minimize harmful effects on the environment.
OUR PEOPLE.
2016
- We reduced The Quaker Safety Index (our global, internal index) by 10% versus prior year.
- To ensure better coordination of all CSR efforts, we replaced our “Green Teams” with “CSR Teams” whose responsibilities encompass a broader view of CSR related activities.
ONGOING
- We continued our commitment to sustaining a diverse, inclusive workforce and offering a wide range of career growth opportunities to ensure engagement.
OUR PRODUCTS/SOLUTIONS.
2016
- We launched a new account management process and customized customer relationship management tool, called OneQuaker. Designed to improve how we execute our business strategy and to strengthen our brand, it also will capture records of CSR impact. More than 400 customer-facing associates were trained around the globe.
ONGOING
- At nearly every Quaker site, as well as at customer sites where we deliver services and products directly, we’ve achieved ISO 9001 certification.
OUR COMMUNITIES.
2016
- Within our community engagement program, Quaker’s Formula for Giving, we held 69 Quaker-organized group volunteer events and contributed 1,385 community-service hours worldwide. Quaker’s Formula for Giving is our vehicle for being good corporate citizens where we work and live.
- We increased our focus on education—additional sites in the United States “adopted” a local non-profit organization and held education-related volunteer activities. As a knowledge-sharing company, we’re focused on education in our communities.
ONGOING
- For nearly 60 years, we have supported non-profit organizations in the US through The Quaker Chemical Foundation.