Actions
[ESRS S4-4; GRI 3-3d, 416-1]
A summary of the “Actions taken” can be found in the management approach at the beginning of this chapter.
Lenzing takes actions in its own operations to ensure that its products do not harm consumers and end-users and to avoid potential negative impacts on them. Further, to avoid risks and seize opportunities.
Product assurance for direct and indirect customers
Independent third-party certifications are in place to certify standards, products, and management systems to ensure compliance with customer and regulatory requirements and to assess their strategic alignment with Lenzing’s corporate strategy.
The Product Safety & Regulatory Affairs (PSRA) department manages a variety of external third-party certifications at the global level in relation to product safety for different applications (e.g., food contact, skin contact compliance) and sustainability (e.g. biodegradability) and assesses new certification requests. These certificates serve to ensure transparency and demonstrate the safety and compliance of Lenzing fibers as well as their compatibility in their fields of application. Lenzing continuously takes actions to maintain these certifications, which regularly implement stricter requirements. This ensures Lenzing’s continuous contribution to mitigation of negative impacts to customers and end-users. Information on all the Lenzing Group’s product certifications is available on this website.
In the reporting period, PSRA undertook several key actions to ensure Lenzing’s commitment to product safety and sustainability. Firstly, the for OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 recertification was completed. This action ensured that all fiber products meet high product safety standards by complying with internationally recognized standards. The recertification process covered all fiber products from Lenzing’s production sites. This annual recertification process ensures continuous compliance, and there were no instances of non-compliance reported in the year.
Additionally, the “OK biodegradable WATER” recertification was achieved in the reporting year, confirming the biodegradability of Lenzing fibers in fresh water1. This action promoted environmental compatibility and supported the goals of reducing environmental impact. The recertification included all relevant fiber products.
Furthermore, in the reporting year the Asthma Allergy recertification was obtained. This action confirmed that certified nonwoven fibers reduce the risk of skin allergies, reinforcing the commitment to health and safety. The recertification process included compliance with stringent standards.
In addition to the third-party product certifications, the certification of management systems is also conducted in a continuous manner. Lenzing operates a quality management system based on ISO 9001:2015. Additional quality management systems such as FAMI-QS and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), are in place for specific business segments. They all form the basis for the relevant work processes and reinforce efforts to achieve complete customer satisfaction. The management of this portfolio of product and systems certifications requires financial resources to cover the costs of internal and external product testing and services provided by certification bodies (e.g., issue of certifications, audits, etc.). In addition, internal administration resources are allocated to handle the interaction with external laboratory facilities and certification bodies. The level of these costs is not significant in relation to the company’s revenue. Costs are expected to increase gradually due to inflation and potential price increases from external organizations. Lenzing considers these drivers in the yearly budget allocation to ensure that its product and system certification portfolio is not impacted
Product safety for consumers and end-users
As mentioned above, the PSRA department is globally responsible for the safety of Lenzing fibers in their intended uses and for compliance with the laws, regulations, and standards that apply to its fiber businesses.
Therefore, in addition to external third-party certifications, routine risk assessments for intentional ingredients are carried out and the impact of business-specific regulations, standards, and requirements is monitored and assessed. These activities are performed continuously throughout the year according to the revision frequency as required by the certification and governmental bodies. PSRA prepares appropriate declarations/confirmations for customer enquiries on relevant topics and is either personally in contact with industrial associations, or informed by Lenzing representatives on new topics and developments that have an impact on business and product safety. The management of the above-mentioned activities requires internal personnel resources, which at present are sufficient to cover the current demand.
Lenzing actively monitors and evaluates the effectiveness of its actions regarding consumers and end-users through customer feedback, product benchmarking, internal and confidential metrics and targets, and a quality management system.
Impact and risk assessment on product quality and safety
Lenzing’s continuous strategic direction for product quality and safety demonstrates its commitment to maintaining a leading position in the market, by providing a positive impact in terms of product consistency, functional performance, customer-centric service, product transparency and product safety confidence. In addition, Lenzing supports the fulfillment of its business and sustainability targets by continuously improving manufacturing processes and proactively monitoring future regulatory requirements. This focus allows Lenzing to maintain a premium product portfolio in a competitive landscape in which several fiber producers are launching alternative offerings. These activities have resulted in an additional positive impact in terms of brand reputation and the general acknowledgment of Lenzing’s high standards by major customers. In addition, due to its resource-efficient production process, Lenzing’s product portfolio is well positioned with regard to legislations or initiatives related to the reduction of plastic usage.
The versatility of Lenzing’s product portfolio application enables it to be used as an alternative component in fields that are predominantly covered by natural and/or synthetic fibers. Although Lenzing’s share in such applications is constantly growing, the regulatory and performance requirements landscape is mostly directed by traditional components and their characteristics. Stricter regulations considering traditional components may have a negative impact by creating unnecessary challenges for the respective applications in the usage of Lenzing’s products. This risk is managed by Lenzing’s proactive participation in the relevant associations that drive changes to the requirements based on governmental regulations and/or consumer and end-user safety. Association meetings are held continuously throughout the year according to the frequency as demanded by potential changes implemented by certification and governmental bodies. The management of the above-mentioned activities requires internal personnel resources, which at present are sufficient to cover current demand.
Opportunity management: product quality and safety activities
In the reporting year, the ramp-up plans for the newer production sites in Prachinburi (Thailand) and Indianópolis (Brazil) were finalized, bringing both sites into full operational mode. Several fiber production sites successfully commissioned new fiber types in their production lines (e.g., black viscose fiber variants in Purwakarta-Indonesia; lyocell fibers with new components in Mobile (USA) and Heiligenkreuz (Austria)) to satisfy regional customer needs for regional availability, shorter distribution routes and more environmentally friendly products than current regional offerings.
In 2024, several activities related to updating existing standards (e.g., updating the Clean & Hygiene Standard, new internal quality standards, harmonization of defect reporting) and improving quality monitoring (e.g., quality dashboards for pulp production sites) were initiated. Quality monitoring activities will be continued in 2025 as part of the ongoing improvement and strategic simplification of reporting tools.
Risk analyses and assessments for new intentional and non-intentional ingredients used in the manufacturing of Lenzing products, irrespective of whether they are considered as substances of concern, are carried out via formal compliance reviews. In addition, a broader and systematic testing to confirm the low concentration or absence of substances in Lenzing fiber products, as defined by external associations, has been introduced and is an ongoing measure. Business-specific regulations, standards and requirements are continuously monitored, assessed and documented. As mentioned above, these activities are performed continuously throughout the year, according to industry’s best practices and science-based approach, and the revision frequency as required by the certification and governmental bodies. In the reporting year, these assessments did not trigger any additional measures to be compliant with the high internal standards which regularly become stricter to mitigate impact on consumers and end-users. Consequently, Lenzing’s products did not require any further improvement in addressing risk increases in relation to health and safety impacts. These activities, as mentioned above, require internal personnel resources, which at present are sufficient to cover current demand.
Lenzing is not aware (through its participation in associations, direct and indirect customer feedback, and input received through their public whistleblower system) that any of its products has caused severe human rights violations or incidents related to consumers and end-users.
Since Lenzing primarily operates in a business-to-business (B2B) environment in which its products are converted into finished products by its direct and indirect customers, Lenzing cannot control or have direct visibility regarding the impact of the finished product.
All the above-mentioned activities in the reporting year were coordinated and/or executed by the Global Quality, Product Safety and Regulatory Affairs department in collaboration with local quality organizations at Lenzing’s sites.
1 LENZING™ fibers which are TÜV certified biodegradable (soil, fresh water & ma-rine) and compostable (home & industrial) include the following products: LENZING™ Viscose Standard textile/ nonwovens, LENZING™ Lyocell Standard textile/nonwovens, LENZING™ Modal Standard textile, LENZING™ Lyocell Fila-ment, LENZING™ Lyocell Dry and LENZING™ Nonwoven Technology. An excep-tion in certification exists for the fiber LENZING™ Lyocell Filament, for which the necessary tests to confirm biodegradability within a marine environment have not been conducted.