Sustainability is a very important part of GrafTech’s culture. From the Board of Directors to each and every employee, we are committed to sustainable and continued development for the safety, security and the well-being of our staff, their families and our communities. We seek to conduct our business in a manner that helps resolve the risks and threats to the sustainability of our social relations, environment and economies.
At GrafTech, safety and other compliance has always been and will remain a mission critical strategy as we advance into the future. With incentive compensation and bonuses dependent upon compliance with and continuous improvement in our programs, it has become part of our culture to embrace it as a way of life at GrafTech. Our commitment to sustaining our practices through strict policies and procedures will enable us to maintain our exemplary safety records and allow us to continue on a forward-thinking sustainability path.
2012 Sustainability Update
In January 2011, we presented to you our initial formal report on our sustainability initiatives. Our initial goal included supplementing our existing communications with a focus on GrafTech’s existing health, safety and environmental (HS&EP) policies and management system.
GrafTech Celebrates 125th Anniversary with Community Service Projects and Encourages Sustainable Lifestyles
During 2011 we celebrated GrafTech’s 125th anniversary, a milestone of which we all are very proud. Our longevity and success can be attributed to building a sustainable LEAN culture, driving for results, making smart strategic decisions and, most of all, our dedicated team and their families.
To mark our 125th anniversary and show our global team’s continued commitment to our local communities, in 2011 each location developed and implemented a community service project using the number “125.” Click here to view each locations contribution to their community.
In celebration of GrafTech's 125th anniversary in 2011, we assembled a presentation with suggestions for living sustainably. Click here to view.
GrafTech Rings the Bell, Redefines Limits, and Refreshes Corporate Identity
To commemorate our 125th anniversary, on August 12, 2011 GrafTech visited the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and company representatives, including members of the management team and board of directors, rang the Closing Bell®.
We used our 125th anniversary is an opportunity to refresh our corporate identity and to create a consistent look across our businesses and functions. The most significant enhancement to our brand is the addition of a tagline: “Redefining limits.” This statement suits us perfectly because it hints at GrafTech’s innovative past, present and future. It implies that we don’t accept the status quo. In fact, over our 125-year history, GrafTech has built a reputation for delivering customer solutions that have exceeded expectations and enabled customer success better than was previously thought possible.
“Redefining limits” empowers us to maintain a nimble position in ever-changing global markets and industries. It empowers us to reach. Our team has commercialized a host of new products and solutions that did not exist in the world a decade ago and added new product lines. As described below, our commitment to innovation and new product technology was recognized as we were awarded our seventh R&D 100 award in the last nine years. Further, through strategic acquisitions, we now have needle coke and super fine graphite grain in our portfolio. We are now the world’s largest graphite electrode producer and, among our peers, the industry’s low cost producer. The tagline also gives credit to the fact that none of these could be possible without Team GrafTech’s hard work and passion for continuous improvement. We are redefining limits as a company because our team members do it in their jobs every day.
Our Continuing Commitment to Sustainability
The accompanying information is intended to identify relevant elements of our HS&EP initiatives, including our team structure, relevant policies, training programs, resources and executive accountability.
The tenets of our commitment include:
Environmental Protection
At GrafTech, we recognize the importance of preserving and protecting our natural resources. Meeting this commitment is a primary management objective and the individual and collective responsibility of all GrafTech employees worldwide. We pursue environmentally sound business practices.
Occupational Health
GrafTech is continually committed to promoting occupational health awareness in our business through the development and delivery of new and established programs. These programs exist and are designed to protect our employees from overexposure to physical, chemical and biological agents in the workplace.
Occupational Medicine
GrafTech provides leadership to protect, evaluate, maintain and promote the health of our employees. We give guidance to assist in the prevention and management of occupational injury and illness while promoting the health and well-being of our workers.
Product Responsibility
GrafTech has established programs designed to provide reasonable assurance that product risks are properly characterized and managed.
Corporate Integrity and Compliance Program
We have set high ethical standards, which we integrate into our daily working lives. We view abiding by high standards and observing the letter and spirit of applicable laws and regulations is an ethical obligation for all of us at GrafTech International Ltd. We have adopted a Code of Conduct and Ethics and living by the Code is one of our most important responsibilities.
This commitment to integrity applies to all our GrafTech team members regardless of position or level of responsibility. All of us are accountable for the integrity and consequences of our actions. Ethical business conduct is GrafTech's highest priority. Each of us is charged with taking personal responsibility for maintaining ethical standards in the performance of our jobs.
We plan to expand our reporting over time and provide updates on our sustainability program to help our stakeholders better understand GrafTech’s dedication to long term sustainability. Future reports may include additional Key Performance Indicators on energy, water and waste conservation through LEAN manufacturing initiatives along with cost savings of these programs.