Fairness First seal for SÜDPACK

SÜDPACK receives the Fairness First seal for responsible behavior and high transparency in communication with its employees, business partners, and customers. This seal is awarded by diind GmbH to distinguish companies whose products and processes reflect their own ethical principles and values and who are also committed to compliance with ecological, economic, and social standards. The awards ceremony took place on September 11 and 12, 2024 during the BIG BANG FESTIVAL of the DUP Unternehmertag in Berlin.

The Fairness First seal confirms that responsibility, appreciation, and fairness are always top priorities for SÜDPACK. With sustainable innovations and initiatives as well as the implementation of recyclable material loops, the family-owned company sees itself as a trailblazer for sustainability in the film and packaging industry. At the same time, the company is committed to the well-being of the people along its supply chains and generates added value for its stakeholders.

In order to achieve its ambitious goals, SÜDPACK pools targeted actions in its Sustainability Strategy 2030. The key pillars of the strategy are compliance and corporate governance as a legal and actual regulatory framework, as well as sustainable efficiency. With the SA8000 certification, the declaration of principles on respecting human rights, the implementation of a whistleblower system, and the new Supplier Code of Conduct, the company has already taken important steps to achieve its goals. Sustainable efficiency along with lean management, digitalization, and responsible production aim to improve efficiency in the value-added processes.

The Fairness First evaluation process

Only companies that gain a minimum number of points in a complex evaluation process receive the seal. The first step is examining the digital company profile based on available sustainability reports and PR work as well as comments on review platforms to answer the questions: How does SÜDPACK communicate its corporate vision, culture, and values? How does the film manufacturer ensure service and product quality? How does it score in terms of equality, support, and further training for employees and trainees? How good is transparency in the value chain?

Another focus is an analysis of the company’s social listening. In an automated data collection process, all available texts and company statements with relevant search terms are scraped from the web, evaluated for their sentiment, and judged according to defined criteria. The criteria include price-performance ratio, cus-tomer satisfaction, social responsibility, fairness, sustainability, products, and services.

The evaluation also considered the various awards and quality seals SÜDPACK has won in recent years.

Not just a seal …

Carolin Grimbacher, a Managing Partner at SÜDPACK, expressed her delight at the positive evaluation: “As a family-owned company, SÜDPACK places integrity, value-oriented action, and fairness toward all stakeholders at the core of our philosophy. The Fairness First seal is a great testament to the fact that we carefully consider the effects of our business practices and meet our obligations towards society and the environment.”