Sustainability challenges have become a core part of the social discourse, and they remain a key consideration—including in business terms—for companies in the tool and moldmaking industry. Produced by a working group of the VDWF Association of German Tool and Moldmakers, the Compendium presents solutions for the path to climate-neutral production and sustainable business practices. A second updated, expanded edition has now been published.
The Compendium for the Evaluation and Design of Sustainable Management in Tool and Moldmaking, or Sustainability Compendium for short, was compiled and revised by a team of ten authors under the direction of Prof. Wolfram Heger. Its broad direction is unchanged, as Heger explains: “The Compendium is an aid prepared by toolmakers for toolmakers.” All the recommendations it contains have been tailored precisely to the industry and developed specifically for its requirements. At the same time, the content also dives deep into scientific detail where necessary—but only when that serves to further the user’s understanding.
Greatly expanded range of sustainability topics
While the first edition focused on climate action and environmental protection, the authors have now greatly expanded the focus to take in the complete spectrum of sustainability aspects relevant to tool and moldmaking. The new edition is oriented along ESG (environmental, social, governance) lines. “This means that the document now covers core topics such as human rights, reporting, and employer attractiveness,” Heger says. The changes also include an update of the materiality assessment, which is based on the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). This replaced the previous Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) in January. As Heger explains: “The materiality analysis gives tool and moldmaking companies systematic help in identifying priority topics—in other words, it lets them home in on the aspects they should actively be addressing. The Compendium describes effective initiatives for these aspects, and we’ve significantly expanded the brief assessments that many companies find helpful.” As laws and regulations are constantly changing and new requirements are being added, the section on environmental protection and climate action in particular has been updated.
As before, the Sustainability Compendium helps companies in the tool and moldmaking industry effectively integrate sustainability into their operational business. It offers sustainability concepts tailored to the industry, with topics ranging from sustainable tool utilization to “green steel” and heat recovery. In publishing a second edition, the VDWF has underscored its policy of providing its members with comprehensive support in the implementation of sustainability. The Compendium explicitly supplements the VDWF’s recently announced “VDWF Commitment to Sustainable Management.” It is conceived as a “living” document that addresses current legal, ecological, and social requirements for sustainable business, but is also deliberately designed to evolve in the face of changing conditions with the help of user feedback. The Compendium, which runs to over 60 pages, can be downloaded free of charge (as can the VDWF’s statement of voluntary commitment) at www.vdwf.de/shop.