Governance Responsibility

Trust through openness

At STEINEL, we are committed to responsible and sustainable corporate governance. We comply with the given legal framework and also align our actions with our mission statement. We meet our corporate obligations by means of compliance management, avoiding unnecessary risks, establishing control and monitoring processes, and creating transparency, including through independent certification.

What do we understand by

compliance

The term compliance generally refers to the fulfilment of requirements; in the narrower sense, it refers to legal conformity and adherence to the law by the company and its employees.

At Steinel Tools GmbH, we use the term compliance to refer to the measures we have taken to ensure that our business is conducted in a legally compliant and ethical manner. The requirements come, for example, from the areas of environmental protection, occupational safety, data protection and climate protection.

blue lettering with the word Amfori, below which is written trade with purpose

governance

Our commitment

In addition to the legal requirements, STEINEL has created its own code of conduct and a mission statement for all employees. Steinel Tools GmbH also supports the code of conduct of the Amfori Business Social Compliance Initiative BSCI, a European business initiative to improve working conditions in the global supply chain.

The new requirements regarding social and ethical responsibility in the supply chain, which arise from the Supply Chain Sourcing Obligations Act, are implemented by means of an AI-based supplier risk assessment.

The Steinel plants in Curtea de Arges(see audit report) and Chisinau(see audit report) were again rated very well (overall rating A) in the BSCI audit.

amfori BSCI CoC Steinel CoC

Supply Chain Due Diligence Act & Whistleblower Protection Act

A reporting system, which is required by §8 of the LKSG and §11 of the Whistleblower Protection Act, has been implemented.

You can report violations of the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) and reports under the Whistleblower Protection Act, Section 11, here.

product conformity

Product compliance

In the case of product compliance, it is about the conformity of a product with the applicable rules. These rules are described in EU regulations and directives, national laws and also standards.

For STEINEL products for the European market, these requirements are essentially the result of implementing the following regulations and directives:

the Low Voltage Directive,
the EMC Directive,
the Machinery Directive,
the RED Directive,
the RoHS Directive,
the Ecodesign Directive,
the REACH regulation and
the GDPR.

Overview of the certification of our products

The safety of our products is always our top priority.

That is why all Steinel products are tested by external accredited and independent test laboratories with regard to the requirements of the Low Voltage Directive, the Machinery Directive and the RED Directive. Our partners here include VDE, DEKRA, TÜV Nord and TÜV SÜD.

In the case of the EMC Directive, compliance is confirmed by means of test reports from accredited test laboratories.

Products for the North American market are certified by UL or CSA.

a forest in which linear fluorescent light fittings have been integrated

Conformity with the environmental guidelines

Right from the start of the product development process, we ensure that it is implemented in an environmentally friendly manner. The applicable environmental guideline for the product is determined using the "Environmentally Sound Design" checklist. When new components are added, the environmental certificates are stored via defined workflows, additionally checked by qualified environmental management employees and then archived in the product material master in the ERP system.

Every year, all suppliers are asked to confirm their compliance with the environmental requirements of the items already delivered using the Steinel environmental supplier survey. The evidence is systematically recorded, documented and archived. In addition, conformity with the environmental guidelines (ROHS, PAK, POP and others) is verified by product-related and risk-based material testing in samples by Steinel RFA analyses and wet-chemical tests by certified laboratories.

The REACH guideline stands for "Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation of Chemicals" and was issued by the EU. It serves to protect the environment and human health and is one of the strictest regulations for handling chemicals worldwide. Reach-certified products comply with the guideline requirements.

The RoHS (Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment) directive regulates the use of hazardous substances in devices and components. The use of mercury, lead and cadmium is prohibited in most devices. RoHS-certified products are free of environmentally harmful hazardous substances that are difficult to dispose of. RoHS conformity is required for CE labelling of electrical products.

Similar to the European RoHS Directive, China has also issued an order, called China RoHS, to restrict the use of certain hazardous substances such as heavy metals in electrical components. The green circle symbol indicates that the limit values are complied with. If the values are exceeded, a time period must be indicated in the orange circle for safe use.

The EU WEEE Directive (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) regulates the distribution, return and proper disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment in Europe.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of substances that are a cause for concern for humans and environmental organisms because, among other things, they are toxic. Therefore, there are legally defined limits for PAHs.

EU rules on conflict materials such as tin, tungsten and gold will tighten due diligence along supply chains. The sourcing practices of large companies, for example, must be disclosed. This should help to curb violence and human rights violations in conflict regions.

Further topics related to sustainability

Environment – protecting our livelihoods

What is STEINEL's approach to environmentally friendly production? And how can clever product development lead to greater sustainability? A look behind the scenes shows our commitment to energy efficiency, environmental and climate protection.

Find out more

Social Responsibility - Strong together

We put people first. Whether as an employee, apprentice, manager or inventor. Our set of values is expressed in STEINEL's guiding principles. These are the guidelines for our actions and demonstrate our responsibility.

Find out more