Disclosure 103-1: Explanation of the material topic and its Boundary

As a supplier of building materials and specialty chemicals, Sika manufactures products that can pose health and safety risks for its customers, if they are not handled properly and the necessary safety measures are not taken. Over the last decades, regulations and political approaches such as REACH and other relevant chemical registration requirements have aimed at reducing the negative impacts of chemicals on health and safety, making the topic highly important for companies from the chemicals sector.
Reducing the health and safety impacts of its products and ensuring that its customers are fully aware of handling requirements and can work safely are key issues for Sika.


Sika’s performance with regard to the assessment and improvement of the health and safety impacts of its products is considered state-of-the-art after the implementation of a global EHS software application with one common data base, product stewards for all finished goods categories, trainings for all involved local users, benchmarking, and quality control.

Disclosure 103-2: The management approach and its components

Sika’s management approach for customer health and safety sets out to avoid negative impacts through its products. The management approach includes the following components:

COMMITMENT
Sika’s Mission Statement: “We want to assume our responsibility for safety and the environment along the entire value chain.” “We are committed to considering all requirements and obligations arising for substances used in our products.”

GOALS AND TARGETS
Annual target for chemical products: 100% of chemical products in assessment or assessed for health and safety impacts, and improvements.

RESPONSIBILITIES
The responsibility for the products sold in the individual Sika country organisations lies with the local organisations, and finally with the General Manager. The responsibility for product data relating to health and safety lies with the Corporate Product Stewardship.

POLICIES

  • Supplier Code of Conduct
  • Product Stewardship Guidelines of the Group
  • Banned Substance Policy
  • Sika’s Labelling Guidelines

 

SPECIFIC ACTIONS

  • REACH, GHS / CLP: The Sika Group has implemented a project approach for REACH and GHS / CLP and other relevant chemical registration and labelling requirements throughout its entire organisation. Group Management has set up a central corporate REACH and Chemical Regulatory Department in order to coordinate all corporate activities regarding this legislation.
  • Assessment of Health and Safety impacts: Legal requirements for construction chemicals suppliers prescribe that health and safety impacts are managed along the value chain:
    -    Raw materials supply to the factory,
    -    Handling in factory (workplace safety of employees),
    -    Manufacturing of products (workplace safety of employees),
    -    Packaging of products (workplace safety of employees),
    -    Shipping to customers (dangerous goods regulation),
    -    Storage (customer safety),
    -    Application (customer safety),
    -    Use phase (customer safety),
    -    End of life (customer safety).

Customer health and safety is therefore crucial for Sika and is factored into chemical development work (formulation work, system design etc.) where product characteristics are determined. Customers and product users can participate in frequent application training sessions to learn the proper use of the products..

  • The Sika Banned Substance Policy regulates the use of carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic chemicals (CMR) in Sika operations and incorporation of CMR substances into sales products. In principle, Sika does not allow CMR substances in sales products over a defined concentration and use in production is subject to specific permits.
  • Update and review of product information: All product information, specifically Safety Data Sheets and Product Data Sheets, must be up to date and reviewed regularly.
 
DISCLOSURE 103-3: EVALUATION OF THE MANAGEMENT APPROACH

The company considers this management approach to be effective.