SFS : Sustainability Report 2021 as PDF

SFS Group AG

Sustainability Report

ability

Table of contents

Key takeaways	3
CEO statement	4
Materiality matrix	6
Success stories	8
GRI content index	9
Material topics	21
UN Global Compact	46

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Key Takeaways

Progress achieved

Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduced

By 2030, the aim is to reduce CO2 emissions (Scope 1 & 2) by ≥90%. In 2021, the emissions could be reduced by -4.5%. On a like-to-like basis the progress is:

Accident rate decreased

SFS has set itself the goal of halving occupational accidents between 2020 and 2025. The key figure "accidents per 1 million working hours" was 4.1 in 2021 (previous year: 4.7)

-11.9%

Practice-oriented education and training ensured

The long-term goal that 5-7% of permanent employees worldwide are in training programs was again confirmed in

2021 (previous year 5.0%):

5.1%

Human rights as new material topic

For SFS, respect for human rights is indispensable and non-ne- gotiable. This basic attitude is also expected from all business partners. There were no reports of human rights violations in the reporting year.

-12.8%

Significant increase in net value added

In a dynamic market environment, SFS was able to take advantage of the opportunities that arose and achieve strong results. These influenced the development of net value added in 2021

positively, with growth of:

20.2%

No compliance violations

In the reporting year as well as in the previous year, SFS was not affected by any sanctions in the area of socio-economic compliance.

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CEO statement

On the right track

Dear Readers

They year 2021 was another very dynamic one for the SFS Group. In addition to high demand and bottlenecks in the supply chain, the COVID-19 pandemic remained the dominant topic. The health of our employees and their environment, and thus the regular adjustment of our protection concepts, was once again our top priority last year. In business terms, SFS seized the opportunities that were offered and was able to increase value thanks to the great commitment of its employees, the high level of competitiveness and cost discipline. Despite considerable operational pressure, the focus remained on implementing the environmental roadmap presented last year. The current report serves as an initial assessment of the current situation in order to provide you with transparent information on how far we have progressed in achieving our ambitious 2020 targets.

Additional key topic identified in dialog with stakeholders As a member of the UN Global Compact, SFS is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is currently pri- oritizing six goals: SDG 3 - Good health and well-being,SDG 4

• Quality education, SDG 8 - Decent work and economic growth, SDG 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructure, SDG 12 - Re- sponsible consumption and production, and SDG 13 - Climate action. This prioritization also reflects the material topics identi- fied in the materiality assessment. In this context, SFS reviews and questions the relevance of its material topics and their po- sition in the materiality matrix every two years. As announced, extensive interviews and surveys of the stakeholder groups identified were once again carried out in 2021. Dialog with them has shown that the key issues to date remain the most

relevant and that we are therefore still on the right track. The issue of human rights, which we discuss in detail for the first time in this report, is new and has therefore been added. SFS currently reports on the following six key topics:

• GRI 201: Economic performance
• GRI 305: Emissions
• GRI 403: Occupational health and safety
• GRI 404: Training and education
• GRI 412: Human rights
• GRI 419: Socioeconomic compliance

Progress made toward achieving the goal

In terms of economic performance, SFS has set itself the goal of continuously increasing value added and distributing it evenly among its stakeholders. Net value added came to 45.4% in 2021, which is significantly higher than the previous year's figure of 42.0%. As a result, net value added increased by CHF 144.6 million year on year. Furthermore, owing to the healthy project pipeline and solid positioning, we expect the company to remain on its positive trajectory and to continue increasing value added.

In the area of emissions, our goal for Scope 1 and Scope 2 is to reduce CO2 emissions (measured in tonnes of CO2 per Swiss franc of value added) by ≥90% by 2030 compared with 2020. CO2 emissions for Scope 1 and 2 were reduced by 4.5% in the year under review. Using a like-for-like approach, the improvement was actually 11%. The most important drivers were the purchase of green energy and the expansion of our own electricity production through the installation of photovoltaic

Jens Breu, CEO SFS Group

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systems. By 2040, the aim is also to reduce CO2 emissions for Scope 3 by ≥90%. Last year, the data quality for Scope 3 was significantly improved. Further progress is expected by 2023.

In the area of occupational health and safety, we were able to reduce the number of work-related accidents by 3.5% and are one step closer to our goal of halving accidents by 2025. In order to take into account the dynamic growth of the SFS Group, accidents are now measured and compared using the relative key figure of accidents per million working hours.

SFS attaches great importance to the dual-track system of education and training. The long-term target of 5-7% of permanent employees worldwide being on training programs was met once again last year (5.1%, compared with 5.0% in the previous year). Owing to the pandemic, it was once again impossible to extend the training activities and/or the standard of dual-track training to other areas of the Group. We are intensifying our efforts to increase the attractiveness of dual-track education and training again in 2022.

Compliance with human rights is indispensable and non-negotiable for us, which is why we also expect our business partners to guarantee respect for human rights. In the year under review, there were no reports of human rights violations at SFS. This will continue to be our aspiration in the future, which we are emphasizing with the publication of our sustainability sustainability guidelines , thereby clearly positioning ourselves on the topic of human rights.

The SFS Code of Conduct describes the basic principles for being an exemplary, reliable and fair business partner and em- ployer. We have established an effective compliance system to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Code of Con- duct. In the year under review, the SFS Group was not affected by any sanctions in the area of socioeconomic compliance. This is also the clear expectation for 2022.

Sustainability success stories: sustainability in action Embracing a sustainable mindset and practices gives us a chance to re-examineour products and processes on a daily basis and improve them continuously for the good of all stakeholders. As value creators, we develop environmentally friendly products and solutions in close cooperation with our customers and thus create sustainable added value.

The story "First recyclable roof" is an impressive illustration of this. The new roof construction with our fasteners is completely degradable at the end of its lifespan, which averages 25 years, and more than 90% of the materials used can be re- cycled. Another example of how we embody sustainability both internally and externally is the story of the "Lean & Green Ini- tiatives." Read here about how we have improved our internal performance, reduced energy consumption, increased the use of renewable energies and promoted biodiversity through numerous activities over the past year.

Outlook: improvement of the system and inclusion of the Hoffmann Group

The consistent implementation of sustainability objectives remains a high priority for SFS Group in 2022. As a contribution to climate protection, regional energy security and the achievement of national energy policy goals, we plan to increase the share of self-produced electrical energy at the site in Heerbrugg (Switzerland). To this end, a wind turbine is being planned as a supplement to the expansion of the existing large-scale photovoltaic system on the company premises at the in Heerbrugg.

With an improved system in the area of sustainability report- ing, we are meeting the increasing requirements of employ- ees, customers and the public and are tapping further potential for improving performance. In this context, the inclusion of the Hoffmann Group is a next focal point for reporting. Hoffmann is a leading international system partner for quality tools and has been part of the SFS family since May 2022.

We look forward to continuing our journey toward sustainable corporate development with you in 2022.

Sincerely,

Jens Breu

CEO

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