Metalcaucho offers solutions and tools for mechanical workshops
The Barcelona company joins the ESG revolution, incorporating environmental, social and governance criteria into investment decision-making
Metalcaucho, Europe’s leading suplier of after sales spare parts in rubber and metal for the automotive sector, is not stranger to the environmental and social problems that threaten the world today, and that is why in its decision-making always includes a variable that belongs more to the ethical area, sustainability and responsibility, and not exclusively economic.
The ESG revolution, a term coined at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2018, seeks to convey the relevance and magnitude of incorporating the ESG criteria (environmental, social and governance) into resolution processes linked to investments. It’s an unstoppable phenomenon, revolutionary and profitable, financially and socially.
It highlighted the maxim that “the sustainable revolution has the magnitude of the industrial revolution and the speed of the digital revolution”, magnitude in the sense that in a not too distant time it will be a natural, habitual process; and speed in the sense of the urgency of change to do things respectful with the environment, in a sustainable and lasting way.
The ESG criteria pursue, among other aspects, the construction of a world and a society that takes care of the environment, making efficient and responsible use of natural resources, with companies that practice gender and racial integration in their teams, good management of risks and a respectful, efficient and conciliatory human resources policy.
Metalcaucho’s new eco-designed premises in Rubí, Barcelona
During 2018, Metalcaucho celebrated the achievement of the ISO 9001:2015 quality certificate. This was the result of a multifunctional effort that, in many ways, helped the company to improve also in terms of sustainability, since it recognized the company’s determination to expand its quality and control standards. For example, as part of this exercise, in addition to improving the quality of its products, the company developed an ESG compliance letter for its suppliers to sign.
” After addressing some pressing issues in previous years, today we embrace ESG as a gradual effort of continuous improvement that instils a sense of purpose to our daily work“, says Carles Plana, manager for compliance of the ESG criteria in Metalcaucho.
Parallel to improving its quality standards, Metalcaucho’s continuous search for excellence mentality led to a further reduction in electricity consumption in its facilities. Given the positive results obtained after replacing the warehouse’s traditional VSAP lamps with LED racks the year prior, the company changed too the lighting of the new R&D department and quality control offices to LED.
Warehouse and Quality Department of Metalcaucho illuminated by LED system
Refurbishing the offices and shared spaces allowed Metalcaucho to carry on other ESG initiatives. For instance, the company used materials such as recycled fiber for the soft textile flooring, and its layout and furniture was designed to minimise waste.
For the other hand, Metalcaucho also upgraded its safety standards by improving its security signage and emergency layout plan, replacing its fire extinguishers to sprinklers, fireproofing some remaining staircases and enhancing its emergency procedures.
Metalcaucho has also made improvements in the ergonomics of the workstations. Thus, with the aim of adapting them to the capabilities and possibilities of each operator, they have carried out a series of changes in the handling lines:
- Trolleys with a shelf adaptable to the height of each operator, to prevent them from carrying weight or bending unnecessarily.
- Installation of a new lighting system to avoid the appearance of visual fatigue.
- Dispensers for packaging rolls placed to measure for each operator, in order to avoid muscle strain.
- Installation of heaters to combat the cold in workstations where they hardly have mobility.
The improvement of these workstations has caused the immediate increase of the section productivity. It’s an investment, respectful of good practices in human resources, and with a rapid economic return.
In addition, Metalcaucho has identified the opportunity of further reducing its cardboard consumption via standarisation the box sizes and reduction of carboard thickness, coinciding with the imminent launch of the new packaging design.
Design of the new Metalcaucho boxes
Finally, Metalcaucho has done one step further to strengthen its corporate governance by:
- Re-launch its Code of Ethical Conduct for compliance by all its workers. This document makes explicit a serie of commitments, such as respect for legality, human rights and ethical values, fair treatment among workers, relations with customers and suppliers, respect for diversity, regulation of the policy of gifts, the management of information…
- Publication of a reporting channel of irregularities and associated escalation process to ensure that employees can report anonymously any incident or possible misconduct.
Since the arrival of a team led by Josep Grañó to the General Management of Metalcaucho in 2015, the company is betting on a clear strategy of growth and investment, but also taking care of the extra-financial criteria, thinking about the relevance and the long-term economic impact on the future of the company. The main goodness of the ESG criteria is that they incorporate an additional layer of analysis, linked to environmental, social and governance factors, which complements the traditional financial analysis of companies and, therefore, contributes to mitigate risks. It’s a bet in which we all win.
We have been creating spare parts and rubber and metal accessories for the automotive industry for more than 30 years, working with virtually all the international brands.
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