Assessment

EVVA has previously assessed suppliers according to the following sustainability criteria:

• Economic sustainability: Assessment according to delivery performance (i.e. speed and punctuality), price and quality (e.g. whether and how often complaints about the delivered product occur). Suppliers who deliver on time and in top quality also influence the good reputation and profitability of EVVA and our sales partners. New suppliers must sign a quality agreement

• Social sustainability: We manufacture our products ourselves and strictly comply with all laws relating to child labour or forced labour or violation of freedom of association, etc. And we also do not have significant concerns about countries where we have our own EVVA sites (Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Italy, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria). We always commission suppliers who must comply with national laws. In addition, we highlight our Code of Conduct, which explicitly includes the observance of human rights. When selecting suppliers we will also take their sustainability concepts and self-disclosure into account – more on this below 


• Ecological sustainability: If EVVA commissions suppliers to develop new machines or production systems, then their Clean Production capability (i.e. production without the use of oil and water) is also analysed
   

Supply sources from other continents

• We only source around 4% of our purchased parts from Asia (mainly from India, around 0.25% from China). In this case, we are not able to 100% exclude all risks. However, EVVA is in regular contact with the main supplier in India – also on sustainability issues. Should EVVA become aware that a provider – regardless of country – has violated environmental or social laws or is accused of a violation, this will be discussed together immediately. In the event of gross violations or lack of corrective measures, a termination of the supply relationship is foreseen. However, this has not yet happened
   
• EVVA primarily requires brass for the production of its cylinders and keys – an alloy made of copper and zinc. Both materials are mined in China and South America, among other places. To address human rights issues and sustainable procurement, EVVA has investigated the exact origin of the copper and zinc it purchases. In agreement with our German main supplier, from whom we source approx. 90% of our brass rod stock, all of our copper comes from our own recycled brass swarf (at least a third) as well as from the German scrap and recycling trade (e.g. copper cables). Our zinc is mined in Europe and comes from Poland. Our long-term partnerships and our continuous communication within the supply network ensure the availability and quality of these secondary raw materials

Raise awareness of sustainability

Although some of our main suppliers are already implementing sustainability goals, the topic has only recently become more important in our industry and in the supply chain – certainly also due to the EU directives that will become mandatory in the future.

EVVA is taking further steps to increase sustainability awareness:


 

• Supplier selection: EVVA included sustainability concepts and initiatives as an evaluation criterion. For this purpose, a catalog of questions with an evaluation scheme was created, which is handed over to our suppliers. This shows them how important the topic is for our company
   
• Supplier self-disclosure: EVVA is planning a more intensive sustainability survey for around 100 of our suppliers from 2024 (selected based on sales, single sources, distance and possible critical impacts on people and the environment)
   
• A low interest of our suppliers in sustainability issues does not lead to a termination of the business relationship – unless there are known offences/breaches relating to relevant laws and no remedial action has been taken. However, if EVVA is faced with a choice between several providers of equal value (e.g. for new product components), then the existence of a sustainability concept is decisive for the award of the contract.
   
• We inform the top 100 suppliers about our sustainability report and initiatives – as well as our trade partners via regular newsletters. EVVA employees have been informed about the company's sustainability activities for many years via intranet news and a separate sustainability section in the employee magazine (print and digital)
   
• Inquiries and exchanges with key suppliers (e.g. for brass) about their emissions in scope 1 to 3 in order to take them into account for our own CO₂ analyses
   
• EVVA regularly offers guided tours of its headquarters to suppliers specifically featuring its many Clean Production machines.