Recycling rates of over 90 percent, consistent quality – tinplate delivers. But there’s more to it!

Health and safety are top priorities

One of our most important business objectives is: "Zero Accidents". Occupational health and safety standards have the highest priority at thyssenkrupp Rasselstein.

Principles of Action for Occupational Safety and Health

In accordance with the thyssenkrupp AG Occupational Safety and Health Management Manual, thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH adheres to the following principles of occupational safety and health:

We create healthy working conditions

• We place the highest priority on designing work and organizational conditions that promote health. The Executive Board, management, the Works Council, and the workforce jointly pursue the goals of occupational safety and health.
  Using various analytical tools—such as risk assessments and employee surveys—we systematically identify relevant stress factors and work continuously to improve them with the involvement of our employees.
  Through ongoing improvement processes, we strive to foster a sustainable safety and health culture. To this end, we utilize committees such as the Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) Council and the OSH teams to involve all relevant stakeholders within the company. Through OSH representatives—who focus not only on workplace safety but also on health issues—and the introduction of an OSH budget, we advocate for and promote the health-conscious development of on-site work systems.

We don’t want any accidents - we are all role models and consistent in our approach

• We do not perform any work that cannot be carried out safely. Ensuring safe working conditions to prevent injuries and work-related health hazards is a central management responsibility within the scope of the assigned duties and obligations.
  Furthermore, all employees bear responsibility for themselves and their colleagues and actively contribute to occupational safety and health to the best of their ability.
  
  Safety-related misconduct is consistently addressed in accordance with the “Safety in Dialogue” guidelines.
  Targeted hazard prevention is achieved through a change in attitude and behavior with a clear focus on developing new patterns of perception based on the principle of benevolent responsibility for one another and continuous improvement.
  One tool for proactively raising employees’ awareness of everyday hazards is the permanently installed occupational safety course “Experience the Danger.” Here, participants experience specific hazardous situations under realistic workplace conditions. The course components include: tripping, slipping, falling, hand injuries, securing loads, operating equipment, as well as hazardous substances and explosion protection.
  New standards for work clothing improve visibility on the job site while simultaneously increasing the level of protection during specific activities.

We treat outsiders as we treat our own employees

• The same safety standards apply to employees of partner companies as to our own staff. This is taken into account when selecting and collaborating with partner companies. Safety and health audits conducted at partner companies’ facilities help foster a culture of safety and health even beyond our own operational boundaries. In addition, we ensure high safety standards on construction sites through so-called “quick checks.”

We aim to maintain and promote the health of our employees

• In maintaining the health of our employees, we give equal consideration to physical, mental, and social aspects.
  We promote health-conscious leadership through mandatory basic training and regular refresher courses on OSH topics. This empowers managers to create working conditions that promote health.
  We address social conflicts using tools such as coaching and mediation. In addition to designing working conditions to support health, we offer workplace health promotion initiatives as well as “work-life balance” programs to accommodate individual circumstances.
  Through comprehensive preventive health screenings, we identify both work-related and individual health risks and provide employees with targeted advice on health-promoting measures. In doing so, we collaborate with external partners such as physical and psychotherapists, psychiatrists, and the German Pension Insurance Rhineland-Palatinate.
  We promote our employees’ health literacy in a way tailored to specific target groups through workshops and seminars as part of regular awareness days and training and continuing education programs.

We integrate employees with changed work capacity

• Company Reintegration Management (BEM) is a central component of our Workplace Health Management program. Even in cases of continuous incapacity to work lasting more than four weeks—beyond what is required by law—employees are offered a consultation with the company physician during their welcome meeting.
  In complex BEM cases, we support employees through the BEM team.

We identify which of our business activities have an essential impact on the environment and are committed to continuous improvement

• thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH is committed to identifying, assessing and documenting the essential impact and hazards presented by the company’s activities and products on the environment and to continuous improvement.

We are committed to preventing environmental pollution

• The company is committed to preventing environmental pollution and taking precautions to prevent and limit any incidents which might damage the environment and to implement special procedures to keep environmental impact and other hazards to the minimum possible. This includes in particular:
  • Waste avoidance and the eco-friendly disposal of waste.
  • Sparing use of energy, materials, air, water and ground.
  • Monitoring and measuring compliance with the statutory environmental regulations.

We comply with the law of the land

• Environmental safety is an integral part of all our operational procedures and is incorporated right from the start – even at the planning stage – into technical, economic and social responsibility considerations. This includes observing the relevant legislation, directives, provisions and operational regulations covering these areas. We cooperate with the authorities and external personnel openly and in a spirit of trust. This also applies to preventive hazard control.

We create awareness of environmental and safety issues

• thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH creates and promotes environmental and safety awareness among all its employees. In the course of this, the company will develop a water footprint an define a plant-wide target.

All personnel who work in our organization or act on its behalf are covered by our environment, safety and energy policies

• All suppliers, contractual partners and customers who work on company premises are covered by our current environment, energy and safety policies. We aim to engage capable contractors for our business activities with impact on environment, energy and/or safety.

We provide facts and figures for the public’s information

• thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH provides the public with the facts and figures necessary to gaining an understanding of the environmental impact and hazards of the company’s activities and products.

Action principles of plant safety

thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH’s Action Principles of Environmental Protection are further supplemented by the Action Principles of Plant Safety listed below:

The protection of our employees, partners and the environment from the risks and hazards presented by our systems has top priority over all other corporate objectives

• In order to provide the best possible protection from hazards for our employees, the standard of safety technology is consistently maintained and continuously optimized by means of a suitable safety structure and by selecting plant and equipment accordingly. This includes in particular:
  • New sections and/or modifications of plant are planned systematically, professionally installed and operated by trained personnel.
  • The handling of hazardous substances is governed by technical and structural measures so that malfunctions in designated operations and incidents that impact on personnel, local community and environment are kept to the minimum possible.
  • All the safety features incorporated into our plant and equipment are secured against interference in the event of unauthorized access to our premises.
  • Environmental hazards are covered by malfunction precautions.
  • A preventive service and maintenance program is scheduled for plant components that are significant for safety.
  • The safety report will continue being compiled within the sustainability concept.
  • Development of emergency and crisis management is ongoing.

We regularly upgrade our employees’ training

• We train and instruct our employees regularly in issues of plant safety, preventing malfunctions and hazard control, in particular for new staff und reassigned staff.

We review the implementation of corrective and preventive measures

• Safety walkabouts are regularly conducted in operational areas in order to identify deficiencies and areas of weakness and to check on the implementation of corrective and preventive measures where deficiencies and areas of weakness have been identified.

Energy management for better efficiency

Natural fuel resources are limited; thyssenkrupp Rasselstein uses the energy generated from them responsibly. Given the critical importance of energy at thyssenkrupp Rasselstein, the company operates an energy management system in accordance with the ISO 50001 standard in addition to its existing environmental management system.

The goal is the continuous improvement of energy performance by increasing energy efficiency, optimizing energy use, and reducing energy consumption. The necessary information and resources are provided for this purpose.

Action Principles of Energy Management

The environmental protection principles of thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH are expanded to include the following principles, which explicitly pertain to energy management:

We are committed to the continuous improvement of our energy-related performance

• thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH is committed to reducing specific energy consumption over the long term and to increasing energy efficiency through a continuous improvement process.
  To achieve these goals, an energy management system compliant with the DIN EN ISO 50001 standard is implemented. All requirements of this standard are correctly implemented, and processes are continuously improved.
  Natural fuel resources are limited; thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH uses the energy generated from them responsibly.
  Furthermore, we are committed to complying with all relevant legal requirements as well as other binding obligations in the area of energy. Energy performance is regularly assessed and continuously improved.

We aim to steadily increase the energy efficiency of our facilities

• thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH ensures progress through targeted investments in the maintenance, modernization, and further development of the energy efficiency of its facilities and equipment.
  thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH constantly strives to use energy more efficiently, either by reducing energy consumption or by making better use of the energy sources employed.
  thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH strengthens its future competitiveness by implementing research and development measures to increase energy efficiency.
  Major energy consumers are systematically monitored and evaluated. Through appropriate measurement and analysis systems, we create transparency regarding our energy consumption and identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency.
  Energy-efficient solutions are taken into account in the planning, design, procurement, and modernization of systems, processes, products, and services.

Every employee is responsible for acting in an energy-conscious manner

• Every employee is responsible for acting in an energy-conscious manner. All employees are encouraged to initiate and support innovations aimed at improving energy efficiency.
  This energy policy also applies to external employees, service providers, and contractors.
  Energy management is an integral part of all decisions made within the company. In this regard, thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH promotes the active participation of all employees in improving energy performance and achieving energy goals.
  

Since 2003, our subsidiary DWR-Deutsche Gesellschaft für Weißblechrecycling mbH has been operating as a marketer of steel packaging scrap from post-consumer waste. DWR pools the steel packages collected and sorted through the various recovery channels, conditions the material and supplies it as high-grade scrap for high-quality recycling. In other words, thyssenkrupp has taken over the entire product stewardship for packaging steel within the meaning of the German Life-Cycle Resource Management Act.

A collection and recycling system for industrial and commercial steel packaging has also been in existence since 1993: KBS Kreislaufsystem Blechverpackungen Stahl GmbH.

To learn more on this topic, watch the APEAL Recycling film.

thyssenkrupp Rasselstein works best to ensure that its suppliers and their suppliers comply with the following principles:

• prevent corruption
• promote fair competition
• strengthen environmental protection
• ensure health and safety
• protect human rights
• prevent discrimination

thyssenkrupp Rasselstein participates in an annual self assessment process.

thyssenkrupp Conflict Minerals Statement

Human rights, fair working conditions, environmental protection and the battle against corruption – these are values that we hold high within our Group and throughout our supply chain. We at thyssenkrupp are committed to the United Nations Global Compact. Acting responsibly is firmly integrated in our procurement processes. When awarding contracts, our decisions are not only based on economic, technological and process criteria. Sustainability also plays a key role in the supplier management of thyssenkrupp Rasselstein. Moreover, we continuously develop our processes. This also means, for example, that we want to further increase transparency regarding the origin of raw materials and so-called conflict minerals to detect risks early.

Compliance with due diligence obligations in the supply chain of tin

The mining of certain minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other parts of the world partially contributes to significant human rights violations and to the financing of violent conflicts.

Within the European Union, importers of so-called conflict minerals are now subject to extensive obligations regarding due diligence and inspections across the supply chain in order to curb the financing of violence and human rights violations in areas of conflict or high-risks. The implementing law for EU regulation 2017/821 of 7 May 2020 has been in force in Germany since 1 January 2021.

This affects our company because we are Union importers of tin. Already years ago, we established procedures in our company to review supply chains and identify risks. Our supply chains are transparent and are subject to regular audits, so we fully comply with the legal requirements.

Dodd-Frank Act on Conflict Minerals

Since 2010, thyssenkrupp Rasselstein has been complying with the regulations of the United States of America that is usually referred to as Dodd-Frank Act (full name: “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act”). Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) require companies who file reports with the SEC to disclose whether the products they manufacture or contract to manufacture contain “conflict minerals” that are "necessary to the functionality or production" of those products. “Conflict minerals” contain tantalum, tin, tungsten (and the ores from which they originate) and gold, regardless of where they are sourced, processed or sold.

thyssenkrupp AG (including all its subsidiary companies) does not file reports with the SEC and therefore has no legislative obligations to comply with the conflict minerals requirements covered in Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act. At the same time we recognize that the SEC final rule for Section 1502 mandates our direct and indirect customers to undertake due diligence across their global supply chains.

Statement

We at thyssenkrupp Rasselstein endeavor not to purchase any material that contains these “conflict minerals” which directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups. To this end, we have implemented appropriate processes to understand where “conflict minerals” are being used in our products and to determine the source and the origin within our supply chain. These actions are based on established frameworks of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and from other private sector initiatives. We are contacting our direct suppliers to increase the transparency of the materials they provide to thyssenkrupp. We personally conduct inspections on site, or commission third parties to regularly check the situation at our suppliers. We will continue to work closely with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to secure good approaches and feasible solutions.

Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement

thyssenkrupp AG is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact and supports the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the core labor standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO). thyssenkrupp Group is commited to eradicate slavery and human trafficking in its supply chain and own operations. Our efforts to achieve this are described in the “Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement for thyssenkrupp AG and its Subsidiaries”, which is made pursuant to section 54 of the United Kingdom Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Social responsibility

thyssenkrupp has been connected to the Andernach-Neuwied region on the Middle Rhine and its people for more than 250 years. We assume the resulting responsibility for the common good and the sustainability of the location in various ways.

Our social commitment covers e.g. broad vocational training, forward-looking personnel development, health provision and promotion programmes as well as benefits above the general pay scale.

thyssenkrupp offers more apprenticeships in Andernach than necessary to meet its own needs. The reason for this is to give as many young people as possible a solid basis for building their own professional careers. In addition to this, we sponsor schools and projects that inspire young people to take an interest in technology and innovation. thyssenkrupp is a partner to the “Jugend forscht” young researchers competition, offers internships for school students or practical semesters for college students, and supports local sports and athletic competitions.

More information: Corporate citizenship of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG