Responsability

environment | social | governance​

König strives to live up to its corporate responsibility towards people and the environment. For this reason, we are developing solutions that make our product portfolio, our own business activities and our value chain more sustainable. With this in mind, König takes responsibility for all aspects of sustainability and sustainable development: E – Environment, S – Social and G – Governance.

Therefore, the focus is on environmental topics such as decarbonisation and responsible use of resources, social topics such as health and occupational safety of our employees, general good working conditions and promotion of human rights along the entire value chain as well as governance topics such as compliance and business ethics.

These ESG sustainability principles are integrated into all of our business activities and processes on all levels: from the strategic to the operative.

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

United Nations - 1987

OUR FOCUS AREAS

Environment, Social, Governance

ENVIRONMENT

König places great importance on protecting the environment, whether in the rural areas, in the city or under water. We are therefore constantly working on solutions to make our processes and our products more environmentally friendly. One of our goals is the decarbonisation through energy efficiency and renewable energies.

SOCIAL

König respects, upholds and promotes the internationally proclaimed human rights, both at the workplace and in our own area of influence, such as in the local communities. This is done regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or national origin, disability, pregnancy, religion, political affiliation, union membership, etc.

GOVERNANCE

König holds itself to the highest standards of integrity and acts honestly and fairly along the entire value chain in compliance with the applicable regulations, international standards and industry-specific guidelines.

SUSTAINABLE APPOACH AT PRODUCT LEVEL

How sustainability fits in the product strategy

LONG LASTING PRODUCTS

Product design and quality

Manufacturing products that last and resist to multiple usages is our first step in being more sustainable. That results from a combination of product design, enhanced simulations/testing methods and production processes which are under control. By delivering high quality products, König ensures that products will not require frequent replacements with the subsequent environmental impact. Additionally, König provides a large list of spare parts to allow consumers to repair their snow chains instead of replacing with new ones.

RPET promoted versus virgin

Soft bags in recycled plastic

All König soft bags used for product storage in selected product categories, in particular K-Summit, Reflex and XD-16 Pro product families are manufactured starting from RPET and RVPB, also in this case we avoid to waste material, energy to have the bags manufactured from virgin material.

Generally speaking, since 2018, every new bag which is developed favours the use of recycled plastic sources.

DISPOSABLE PAPER AND PLASTICS​

Packaging material

Packaging material for snow chains are the cartonboxes used for shop display or logistic purposes and the sacks used for the snow chain kits.

Since 2019 all our cartons purchases are based on a 92% coming from recycled sources.

The only plasticized papers which are used in snow chains are the instruction manuals which are meant to be waterproof and to resist to water and humidity in general for several usages.

Regarding the plastic sacks used in the snow chain kits, since 2022 they come from recycled sources to avoid the production of new ones.

EV DEDICATED PORTFOLIO

Supporting e-mobility

König collaborates with and supplies the most relevant Battery electric Vehicles manufacturers on the market and has co-developed solutions taylored to electrified vehicles.

By supporting the e-cars industry, both as OE both as aftermarket with specific product solutions allowing a wider and safer usage of vehicles, König indirectly promotes the e-mobility.

SUSTAINABILITY AT COMPANY SITES

Corporate responsability

Headquarter in Suello (LC) - Italy​

The König headquarters are located in Suello, provence of Lecco, in the Como Lake area. The HQ building was open in 2018 following the latest generation building standards and it’s equipped with energy production systems to leave a lighter environmental footprint. The building includes all company departments, except manufacturing.

Latest generation working space

Modern, cozy, stimulating, friendly: a building where employees can to excel in productivity, creativity and well-being in general.

The HQ building has been constructed according to the latest construction standards, benefiting of a proper orientation and insulation, the lack of whatever gas supply with an energy profile 100% based on electricity, low consumption LED lights and windows covers to improve thermal insulation during the warmest italian summers.

Apart from the reduced environmental impact, the Headquarter provides a modern and stimulating working place to enhance creativity of employees.

To ensure a continuous hard/soft skills personal development, our employees are trained on regular basis to grow their competences and learn new skills useful for their daily job but not only.

In terms of gender equality of headcount shows women covering more than 55% of our total employees at the headquarter. Our employees have access to a dedicated health insurance covering medical costs and supporting employees in their well being, inside and outside the company.

98kWh photovoltaic plant

60% of the total needed electricity is self-produced, renewable sources weight 78% of total.

All the energy needed at the HQ for the daily activities is represented by electricity which gets partially self produced through the photovoltaic plant. placed on the building rooftop, providing an output of 98Kwh.

Electricity is needs for different purposes: starting from heating / cooling which is exclusively feeded by electricity without any gas consumption, R&D and prototypization machines (3D printers, traction and hardness machines, air compressors), forklifts charging for logistic purposes, e-Mobility for company, employees’, suppliers and customers cars.

Thanks to the 98Kw photovoltaic system, 60% of the electricity consumed at the HQ is directly generated onsite from solar power while the remaining 40% is purchased from external energy suppliers. Into this 40% of purchased electricity, the 44% comes from renewable sources.

The mix between self-produced and purchased electricity shows the reach of a 78% of total electricity coming from renewable sources.

Charging stations for e-cars

The headquarter features 4 charging stations for e-cars with a maximum output of 11Kwh each, with a total of 8 vehicles which can be charged simultaneously.

Newly purchased company cars are mainly electric-powered but these are not the only vehicles which are eligible for charging at König.

Employees, suppliers and customers are more than welcome to plug their e-cars in to charge them during the stay at the headquarters.

 

Achievements

König has been assessed by third parties concerning the ESG management company wise.

The collaboration with car manufacturers and the most demanding customers worldwide has put König under the lens through multiple third party assessnents which witness the company committment is being responsible towards Environmental, Social and Governance topics.

Ecovadis

König has been judget by Ecovadis and belongs to the top 15% companies in terms of ESG results. That's not an achievement but a starting point with room of improvement.

Supplier Assurance

König is currently rated with a C48 on the SAQ 5.0 module, including CRMT, with a reference industry average score of 25.

SUSTAINABILITY AT COMPANY SITES

Corporate responsability - production plants in Europe

König SpA is part of the Schneeketten Beteiligungs Aktiengesellschaft, part of the pewag group which roasts around 100 companies worldwide with 19 production plants, specialized in the manufacturing of chain for different applications, from lifting chains, hoist conveyor chains, tire protection chains and traction chains.
The production sites in Europe dedicated to snow chains manufacturing are located in Czech Republic and Austria.

Vamberk & ceská Trebová- Czech Republic

Consumer snow chains production plant

König SpA is the major stakeholder of the consumer snow chains production plant located in Vamberk, Czech Republic.

The sites features a fully integrated production process which starts from raw materials and ends with the final snow chains packed and ready to ship to warehouses around the globe, with two separate units in Vamberk and Česká Třebová.

The sites processes are certified according to ISO 9001 for Quality Management, ISO 14001 for Environmental Management, ISO 50001 for Energy Management and the latest achievement is the ISO 45001 for Occupational Health and Safety.

In 2024 both the plants will be subject of the installation of solar photovoltaic systems, both on the roof and in open fields with a maximum output of 2Mw which will cover approximately 20% of total electricity needs for the plant in 2025.

Brückl – Austria

Professional snow chains production plant

The Brückl production site is where König professional snow chains are manufactured, also in this case, through a vertically integrated production process.

This production site is certified according to ISO 9001 for Quality Management, ISO 14001 for Environmental Management and ISO50001 for Energy Management. It employees approximately 110 people.

At this site, around 20% of the necessary electricity on yearly base is self-produced with two systems:

  • A photovoltaic system, partially installed on the building roof and partially on a green field, with a max output power of a 1 Megawatt, installed during 2021 and 2022.
  • A hydro powerplant, installed in 2023, using the river water flow to produce 100% green energy

 

Thanks to these energy production system and a selection of energy suppliers, over 95% of the electricity used at this site comes from renewable sources.