General industries Archives

Continental Health Index (CHI)

Education and training, Employee well-being, Employment, Occupational health and safety General industries

“At the Continental Industry 4.0 showcase factory in Budapest, we are focused on applying the most advanced technology solutions to create the safe mobility of the future. But as a responsible employer, we are also on a mission to create the right working atmosphere for our colleagues, equal opportunities and competitive benefits. Our Continental Health Index employee survey helps us to do this by giving us a snapshot of our employees’ health, and based on the results we can take measures to help increase employee engagement.”
Zoltán Dapsy , CEO

Company:

Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd.

Implemetation Years:

2023-2025

Focus Areas:

Employment, Employee well-being, Education and training, Occupational health and safety

Program Objective:

In today’s automotive industry, the health and well-being of workers is also a major concern. For Continental, it is particularly important to develop a business solution that increases employee satisfaction and productivity while reducing absenteeism and turnover rates.

Societal changes, such as the importance of work-life balance, further reinforce the programme’s relevance and success. In this social and market environment, CHI has emerged as an innovative initiative that improves the health of employees while increasing the competitiveness and sustainability of the company and contributing to long-term business success.

Program Measures and Commitments:

CHI was launched as a pilot project in 2023, where we offer our employees more than what is required by law. By exploring opportunities for improvement, we have put together a programme plan to support the wellbeing of our employees. The evaluation of the questionnaire revealed what kind of programmes they would be interested in, helping us to focus our work and action.

Our actions:

Relaxation related programmes: internal coach team*, Foosball*, Well-being Day, Company benefits (AYCM, Medicover, Lyra well-being), Massage.
Mental health programmes: burnout lecture, Stress management training*, Psychosocial risk assessment.
Healthy eating programmes: farmers’ market, Healthy menu.
Physical activity programmes.
Ergonomics programmes: advice on correct chair-table positioning, Ergonomics presentation, Ergonomics analysis and improvements on the production line.

Evaluation of the results identified strengths and potential for improvement. Taking into account the potential for improvement, a comprehensive action list was drawn up. We have also started to schedule the implementation of the actions, some of which have been implemented (e.g. Sports Campaign). In order to measure the effectiveness of the actions, we plan to repeat the questionnaire in 2025.

The CHI is directly aligned with our sustainability and CSR strategy in several aspects, which also encompass the objectives we wish to achieve:

Maintaining a healthy workforce,
Increasing employee satisfaction,
Strengthening a positive corporate culture,
Positive employee satisfaction, positive employee satisfaction, positive employee relations, sustainability and responsibility,
Cost-effectiveness.

Program Impact and Results:

The results of the programme were analysed in detail using support software, which allows for a very comprehensive evaluation and allows us to identify targeted actions. These actions are currently being implemented.

The programme covers the entire Continental site in Budapest, involving around 2,500 employees.

Keywords:

health at work, wellbeing

09.01.2025

Reforestation at the Grundfos Székesfehérvár site

Biodiversity, Climate protection and adaptation, Corporate strategy, Employee well-being, Reduction of air pollution, Responsible corporate governance, Stakeholders, local communities General industries

“Sustainability has always been a matter of the heart for Grundfos and is one of our core values. Therefore, we strive to pioneer solutions to the world’s water and climate challenges and improve people’s quality of life. This corporate goal is an integral part of our daily operations. The reforestation project at our Székesfehérvár site serves these goals, and following the principle of ‘think globally, act locally,’ we aim to do more for sustainability by building on local opportunities and needs.”
Olivér Szundy, Country Director / Csaba Udvar, Managing Director of the Székesfehérvár plant

Company Name:

Grundfos Hungary Manufacturing Ltd.

Implementation Year:

2022-2024

Focus Areas :

Climate Protection, Climate Adaptation, Air Pollution Reduction, Biodiversity, Employee Well-being, Stakeholders, Local Communities, Responsible Corporate Governance, Corporate Strategy

Program Objective:

The primary goal of the reforestation project implemented on a 4000 m2 area is to locally reduce CO2 emissions in the immediate vicinity of emissions. Expert estimates suggest that after 20 years, we can achieve approximately 25 tons of CO2 savings. In addition, improving the air quality in the industrial park environment and increasing biodiversity are also objectives.

Additional Goals:

Reducing noise and pollution from road traffic.
Mitigating north-northwest winds.
Returning a piece of nature to what the factory occupies.

Program Measures and Commitments:

In 2022, Grundfos initiated the biodiversity program at its Székesfehérvár plant, which will conclude in 2024. A crucial goal was to give back a piece of nature from what the factory occupies. Besides preserving and increasing biodiversity, a significant sustainability goal is to reduce CO2 emissions, which reforestation substantially contributes to on a 4000 m2 area. It’s worth emphasizing that this wasn’t merely tree planting, but a complex creation of a new ecosystem that will become self-sustainable in the long run, requiring no special care or intervention as this function is returned to nature.

Key steps and milestones:

The first step was selecting the area, designated or taken from the factory’s green areas, for the project.

The project creation was supported by a diverse team of experts, from facility management to environmental, health and safety personnel, and HR, ensuring that all necessary aspects are incorporated and applied during the program’s design and operation.

In addition to colleagues, it was essential to involve external experts, including cooperation with the Székesfehérvár City Maintenance, Vadex Mezőföld Forest and Game Management Ltd., and the University of Western Hungary.

The project concept was developed, followed by obtaining permits locally and globally.

After procurement, soil tests and preparation of the loess soil were carried out. The expertise of foresters in suggesting suitable tree species for the specific area and climatic conditions was crucial. In the end, around 3000 plants were planted, including field maple, Turkestan pear, wild pear, sessile oak, common oak, and, for the forest edge, hawthorn from domestic shrubs.

Post-care is crucial, and this will be carried out by local forestry experts under a 3-year framework contract.

In the future, we plan to establish a recreational park and communal space on the site for employees and company partners, thereby promoting the possibility of connecting with nature.

Program Impact and Results:

Key results:

Local capture of emitted CO2 on a 4000 m2 area.
Preservation and increase of biodiversity by planting 5 different tree species.
Avoidance of lawn mowing and fertilizer use to preserve the soil.
Climate adaptation – adapting to climate change (the forest has air-cleaning and cooling effects).

Keywords:

biodiversity, CO2, net zero, forest, Grundfos, climate change, climate adaptation

10.10.2023

Biodiversity conservation and restoration at the dolomite plant in Pilisvörösvár

Biodiversity, Stakeholders, local communities General industries

“In the construction industry, we must not forget that the resources we use are provided by nature, which has been home to the evolving biodiversity over millions of years. Our mission is to shape our industrial activities with maximum consideration for this and to regard biodiversity as one of the fundamental pillars of our business strategy. That’s why we launched our biodiversity program at the Pilis dolomite mine, with the main goal of providing habitats and living space for the valuable plant and animal species found here.”
Daniel Domini, Managing Director

Company name:

Saint Gobain

Implementation year :

Continously from 2020

Focus Areas:

Biodiversity, Stakeholder, local communities

Program Objective:

The dolomite mine at Saint-Gobain’s Weber plant in Pilisvörösvár has a history of more than 120 years. The main objective of our biodiversity programme, launched at the end of 2020 as a central initiative, is to provide habitats for the valuable plant and animal species found here, and to demonstrate that biodiversity can be safeguarded and further enhanced even in the presence of mining activities.

Saint-Gobain’s strategy is to focus on the operations with the greatest potential to impact on each of its more than 650 plants worldwide. Mining operations play the most significant role in biodiversity conservation and restoration.

Program Measures and Commitments:

As a construction company operating in the Pilis Hills – on 11 hectares – the protection of our environment is crucial for us. To provide plaster, tile adhesive and other technical mortar for millions of people, mining is essential.

Our biodiversity programme was born out of corporate climate neutrality commitments. Our net zero commitments, validated by Science Based Targets, include biodiversity conservation and restoration alongside targets on waste, CO2, energy consumption, etc.

In order to start the program we have mapped the flora and fauna with the help of biologists. As a first step, we have created a permanent wetland that did not exist before, maintained and diversified our grassland by grazing, converted our explosives store into a bat sanctuary, installed bird nests, swallow nests and bee hives, and protected our protected plants.

We design all this with a systems approach to create habitats that lay the foundations for a self-sustaining ecosystem. To do this, we have created a permanent water body of nearly 2000 m2 of water surface area, where we have planted reeds and sedges, on the site of our stormwater reservoir and siltation basin. Connected to this, we created a grassland area of about 1 hectare, grazed by rack sheep. It was a challenge to preserve natural assets in an industrial environment and to create protected habitats on the farm site. The design of the grazing area and the water body had to take into account the natural conditions and had to be coordinated with the work.

Our aim was to continue mining in a way that has a positive impact on biodiversity, and we have achieved this.

Program Impact and Results:

The ecosystem of the lake is stable, and its diversity continues to increase, just like the diversity of the meadow. According to the survey in the summer of 2022, the population of Italian and tarlósáska on the grazed area was approximately 20-30 individuals per square meter. Bats used our refuge for hibernation. Our protected bird population has increased. The conservation value of our critically endangered Hungarian gurgolya population reaches 500 million Hungarian forints.

The number of species increased from 154 to 199 by 2022, and this year, it has grown to over 200 with new species. In 2023, we launched the program in Halmajugra, on the Rigips factory premises, and we aim to inspire as many companies as possible to start their own programs through presentations, articles, and factory visits.

In 2023, we were able to hold off-site natural science classes for more than 150 students and discuss the importance of biodiversity.

Keywords:

conservation and restoration of biodiversity, native species, protected species

04.10.2023

Continental Health Index (CHI)

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Reforestation at the Grundfos Székesfehérvár site

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Biodiversity conservation and restoration at the dolomite plant in Pilisvörösvár

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