More colourful and better: diversity and inclusion at CWS
Diversity and inclusion are a matter of great discussion throughout society. CWS is also actively working to strengthen diversity within the company. After CWS put the topic of diversity & inclusion on the management agenda internally, the company already took the next logical step: CWS signed the "Diversity Charter" in Germany. All other country organisations will follow. This is an official commitment by CWS to consistently promote diversity and inclusion throughout the company.
"We want to create a working environment in which every single person, regardless of their gender, age, nationality, religion, disability or sexual orientation, is valued and can play to their full strengths. I am convinced that diversity is a good breeding ground for innovation and top performance," Jürgen Höfling had recently emphasised in his interview in the employee magazine ONE.
This process is driven by the Diversity & Inclusion Council - CWS understands diversity as the integration of different perspectives, i.e. across all aspects of diversity. This is not about quotas or rules, but rather about valuing every single perspective.
Jointly pioneering in sustainability
For us, sustainability is the central guiding principle for our actions. This means: We place people and the environment at the centre of our services. Over the next four years, we want to further expand our pioneering position in sustainability and become the most sustainable company in our industry by 2024.
We are revising our sustainability management system in order to anchor this claim throughout the company. We have already established a new strategic framework and defined strategic priorities.
To ensure that these strategies are followed by action, we are developing goals that reflect our priorities. For example in the area of sustainable products: In line with the circular economy, we already think many of our products and services in terms of closed cycles. With our rental model, we make it possible for products to be used again and again. At the same time, we extend the service life of our products by using resistant, durable materials, repairing them time and again and putting them back into circulation. Wherever possible, we avoid environmentally harmful disposable products and employ reusable products such as our cotton towel rolls.
What does this mean in concrete terms? By 2024, we want to market only sustainable products in our new business. To this end, we are, for example, further expanding the use of Fairtrade-certified cotton and intensifying the use of recycled polyester.
We are already on the right track with our commitment. This was recently recognised when we were nominated for the German Sustainability Award 2020, an annual prize that honours German companies that play a key role in driving the change towards a sustainable and resource-saving economy.
We take the fact that we did not make it to the final round this time as an additional incentive to constantly question ourselves and improve our efforts. With ambitious goals, we are working to achieve continuous further development. Our sustainable goals go hand in hand with our economic goals. We want to grow, but in a sustainable way.
"Managing sustainably is a holistic task," says CEO Jürgen Höfling. "And every step forward counts. Together we are working consistently at all levels to learn and improve so that we can do justice to people and the environment in our business activities. This is how we make CWS a sustainable leader".
The CWS Sustainability Interim Report clearly summarises what CWS has already achieved on its way to becoming the most sustainable company.
More colourful and better: diversity and inclusion at CWS
Diversity and inclusion are a matter of great discussion throughout society. CWS is also actively working to strengthen diversity within the company. After CWS put the topic of diversity & inclusion on the management agenda internally, the company already took the next logical step: CWS signed the "Diversity Charter" in Germany. All other country organisations will follow. This is an official commitment by CWS to consistently promote diversity and inclusion throughout the company.
"We want to create a working environment in which every single person, regardless of their gender, age, nationality, religion, disability or sexual orientation, is valued and can play to their full strengths. I am convinced that diversity is a good breeding ground for innovation and top performance," Jürgen Höfling had recently emphasised in his interview in the employee magazine ONE.
This process is driven by the Diversity & Inclusion Council - CWS understands diversity as the integration of different perspectives, i.e. across all aspects of diversity. This is not about quotas or rules, but rather about valuing every single perspective.
Jointly pioneering in sustainability
For us, sustainability is the central guiding principle for our actions. This means: We place people and the environment at the centre of our services. Over the next four years, we want to further expand our pioneering position in sustainability and become the most sustainable company in our industry by 2024.
We are revising our sustainability management system in order to anchor this claim throughout the company. We have already established a new strategic framework and defined strategic priorities.
To ensure that these strategies are followed by action, we are developing goals that reflect our priorities. For example in the area of sustainable products: In line with the circular economy, we already think many of our products and services in terms of closed cycles. With our rental model, we make it possible for products to be used again and again. At the same time, we extend the service life of our products by using resistant, durable materials, repairing them time and again and putting them back into circulation. Wherever possible, we avoid environmentally harmful disposable products and employ reusable products such as our cotton towel rolls.
What does this mean in concrete terms? By 2024, we want to market only sustainable products in our new business. To this end, we are, for example, further expanding the use of Fairtrade-certified cotton and intensifying the use of recycled polyester.
We are already on the right track with our commitment. This was recently recognised when we were nominated for the German Sustainability Award 2020, an annual prize that honours German companies that play a key role in driving the change towards a sustainable and resource-saving economy.
We take the fact that we did not make it to the final round this time as an additional incentive to constantly question ourselves and improve our efforts. With ambitious goals, we are working to achieve continuous further development. Our sustainable goals go hand in hand with our economic goals. We want to grow, but in a sustainable way.
"Managing sustainably is a holistic task," says CEO Jürgen Höfling. "And every step forward counts. Together we are working consistently at all levels to learn and improve so that we can do justice to people and the environment in our business activities. This is how we make CWS a sustainable leader".
The CWS Sustainability Interim Report clearly summarises what CWS has already achieved on its way to becoming the most sustainable company.
The three pillars of our engagement
Well rounded
With our products and services we think in sustainable cycles. But we want more. Because comprehensive sustainability is not only evident in products and processes, but also in healthy employees, trusting cooperation with business partners, and satisfied customers. This is why we have defined three pillars of sustainability through which we want to become the most sustainable company in our industry by 2024.
Putting People First!
Our staff are our most valuable asset. Their health and safety is a matter particularly close to our heart. We want to reduce the number of accidents in our companies to zero by 2025. We also look out for the well-being of the people in our supplier companies too by stringently monitoring the safety of our supply chain.
Optimise Cycles!
We are already consistently thinking in cycles in many parts of the company. But that’s not enough for us! In future, we want to render our cycle processes even more efficient and anchor recycling and upcycling as central components of our economic activities. This will allow us to save resources and establish a sustainable service cycle for our customers.
Sustain Business!
As a service company, we are always on the lookout for partners who improve our offerings. We regularly survey our customers and employees. We understand the diversity of our workforce as a rich source of knowledge, which we maintain and want to expand even further in the future. In addition, we cooperate with start-ups, technical development partners and advisory boards – this enables us to stay close to the market and bolster innovations.
Learn more
Find out here how CWS commits to sustainability
Sustainability in hand washing
Handwashing is one of the most important preventive measures to avoid infection with infectious diseases such as COVID19. At the same time, water is one of the most valuable resources and one of the most important foundations of life. So how can infection prevention and environmental protection be combined?
Before cooking and eating, after going to the toilet, sneezing, coughing or blowing one’s nose, when using public transport and of course every time we come home - even as children we learn how important thorough handwashing is for our health. With the Corona pandemic, awareness of this has risen once again - after all, hand hygiene is one of the most important measures to protect oneself against infection with the virus.
However, those who wash their hands more often also use more water. This is shown, among other things, by the billing data of the German energy service provider Techem. According to these data, consumption of cold water in March and April 2020 was 10% higher than in the previous year, while consumption of hot water rose by as much as 11%. Other suppliers have made similar experiences - at Lake Starnberg the regional water supplier even registered an increase of 30 % in the first weeks of the lockdown. Whether this is due solely to the washing of hands cannot be determined and is also rather unlikely. In reality, however, we use more water for personal hygiene than, for example, for washing clothes or for eating or drinking.
Water consumption - we have it in our hands!
Every time we wash our hands, we consume an average of 2 litres of drinking water. In other words, the water we use for 90 hand washes is enough to fill an entire bathtub. Saving water when washing your hands is very easy - even in your private life: turning off the water after wetting your hands and turning it on again only after soaping them is good for the environment - and saves money in the process.
Another advantage could - according to one theory at least - be that if you turn off the water when soaping, you wash your hands more thoroughly because you are less hurried and more concentrated.
In public washrooms, the CWS SmartWash can ensure both improved hygiene and water savings: the tap dispenses water and soap premixed to the user, thus ensuring that soap is used every time hands are washed with the appliance. Preset dispensing intervals ensure that users wash their hands thoroughly and take the time to soap, rub and rinse. With the CWS SmartWash, only around 200 millilitres of water are used per hand wash cycle.
Any washroom operator who decides in favour of SmartWash is making a long-term commitment: as a special feature, CWS and its partner Smixin donate 10,000 litres of water to Made Blue for every CWS SmartWash rented, which replaces a regular sensor tap. The foundation invests this in water projects in countries with severe water shortages. In this case, 10,000 litres is enough to provide 10 children with access to clean wa ter at school for a whole year.
More colourful and better: diversity and inclusion at CWS
Diversity and inclusion are a matter of great discussion throughout society. CWS is also actively working to strengthen diversity within the company. After CWS put the topic of diversity & inclusion on the management agenda internally, the company already took the next logical step: CWS signed the "Diversity Charter" in Germany. All other country organisations will follow. This is an official commitment by CWS to consistently promote diversity and inclusion throughout the company.
"We want to create a working environment in which every single person, regardless of their gender, age, nationality, religion, disability or sexual orientation, is valued and can play to their full strengths. I am convinced that diversity is a good breeding ground for innovation and top performance," Jürgen Höfling had recently emphasised in his interview in the employee magazine ONE.
This process is driven by the Diversity & Inclusion Council - CWS understands diversity as the integration of different perspectives, i.e. across all aspects of diversity. This is not about quotas or rules, but rather about valuing every single perspective.
Jointly pioneering in sustainability
For us, sustainability is the central guiding principle for our actions. This means: We place people and the environment at the centre of our services. Over the next four years, we want to further expand our pioneering position in sustainability and become the most sustainable company in our industry by 2024.
We are revising our sustainability management system in order to anchor this claim throughout the company. We have already established a new strategic framework and defined strategic priorities.
To ensure that these strategies are followed by action, we are developing goals that reflect our priorities. For example in the area of sustainable products: In line with the circular economy, we already think many of our products and services in terms of closed cycles. With our rental model, we make it possible for products to be used again and again. At the same time, we extend the service life of our products by using resistant, durable materials, repairing them time and again and putting them back into circulation. Wherever possible, we avoid environmentally harmful disposable products and employ reusable products such as our cotton towel rolls.
What does this mean in concrete terms? By 2024, we want to market only sustainable products in our new business. To this end, we are, for example, further expanding the use of Fairtrade-certified cotton and intensifying the use of recycled polyester.
We are already on the right track with our commitment. This was recently recognised when we were nominated for the German Sustainability Award 2020, an annual prize that honours German companies that play a key role in driving the change towards a sustainable and resource-saving economy.
We take the fact that we did not make it to the final round this time as an additional incentive to constantly question ourselves and improve our efforts. With ambitious goals, we are working to achieve continuous further development. Our sustainable goals go hand in hand with our economic goals. We want to grow, but in a sustainable way.
"Managing sustainably is a holistic task," says CEO Jürgen Höfling. "And every step forward counts. Together we are working consistently at all levels to learn and improve so that we can do justice to people and the environment in our business activities. This is how we make CWS a sustainable leader".
The CWS Sustainability Interim Report clearly summarises what CWS has already achieved on its way to becoming the most sustainable company.
What we achieved in 2019
Putting People First!
- 85% of our staff with permanent contracts
- 36,000 hrs of training
- 48% female employees
- 18% women in management positions
- 93.8% of suppliers from risk countries audited
Optimise Cycles!
- 57,664 repaired and recycled dispensers in our Upcycling Center
- 300,000 items of clothing with Fairtrade cotton
- 2.3 million items of clothing repaired in Germany
- 31,000 kg microplastics saved
Sustain Business!
- 2,294 service drivers
- 14,648 customers surveyed
- 180,000 tons of laundry washed
Read our Sustainabilty Report
An all-encompassing offering
One for all.
Many people are familiar with our dust control mats, as well as our towel and soap dispensers. But at CWS, we also optimise your washroom, create fire safety concepts, as well as designing and cleaning business attire. These are just some of our solutions and your possibilities. We work for people in a wide variety of industries, advising, planning, checking, repairing, sorting, washing, documenting, etc. We do it with pleasure. And in a sustainable way.
Certificates (not applicable for all countries)
ISO 14001
EU Ecolabel
Blauer Engel
Fairtrade
