29 Aug DyStar Releases 2016 Sustainability Report
Singapore – 29 August 2017 – The DyStar Group has released its 2016 Sustainability Performance Report. This is the seventh year of reporting for the company that aspires to become the world’s most sustainable and responsible supplier of colors, chemicals and services to the global textile industry. DyStar’s 2016 report is the first of their reports to map the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) against the four commitments that continue to define the company’s sustainability framework: Creating Responsible Products and Solutions; Conserving Planetary Resources; Caring for People; and Communicating with Stakeholders.
2016 saw the successful acquisition of Emerald Performance Materials LLC, a leading American manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals, thus paving the way for DyStar’s long-awaited entry into the food and beverage industry. The company’s product portfolio is broader than ever but their newer product ranges come with the added advantage of being, on average, less resource-intensive to manufacture. This and other factors, including active efforts to improve operational efficiency across existing production sites, have helped the company surpass four of its six 2020 targets, which seek to reduce resource consumption intensities and corresponding waste outputs by 20% of 2011 levels.
On their traditional turf, the textile and apparel sector, high hopes have been set for the new team of chemists tasked with advancing green chemistry approaches for the industry. When completed, the new Global Innovation Center in Nanjing, China, will host state-of-the-art laboratories dedicated to process technology development and research on next-generation alternatives. On the services front, DyStar’s online tool eliot® is gaining popularity among customers, brands and retailers for the reliability of its modules. Conceived more than a year ago, eliot aims to empower users with the information they need to make responsible choices in product selection and process optimization.
Highlighting DyStar’s increasing focus on cooperation with external stakeholders, the 2016 report features an in-depth interview with Lewis Perkins, President of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, and Annie Gullingsrud, their Director of the Textiles and Apparel Sector. In their Q&A, they address fundamental questions on how the industry can become more circular and offer fascinating insight into opportunities to reduce impact through product design “from the chemistry up”.
The latest report is DyStar’s most candid yet and examines the challenges that its teams tackle each day as the company strives to achieve a new balance between being a responsible supplier and a profitable business in these changing times. Striking a notably more humble tone, the 2016 report transparently addresses past errors and touches on recent efforts to correct internal weaknesses, including the instatement of new safeguards aimed at strengthening due diligence, protecting and empowering whistleblowers, and closing procedural gaps.
To access DyStar’s sustainability reports, visit the company’s website at https://www.dystar.com/sustainability-reports/. A cornerstone of DyStar’s success will always be communication and collaboration with stakeholders. Readers are invited to reach out with thoughts and suggestions via Sustainability@DyStar.com.
About DyStar
The DyStar Group is a leading dyestuff & chemical manufacturer and solution provider, offering customers across the globe a broad portfolio of colorants, specialty chemicals, and services. With a heritage of more than a century in product development and innovation for the textile industry, DyStar also caters to multiple sectors including the paints, coatings, paper and packaging industries. Its expansion into the food & beverages and personal care sectors reinforces the company’s position as a specialty chemical manufacturer. DyStar’s global presence offers customers reliable access to experts from offices, competence centers, agencies and production plants spanning over 50 countries.
DyStar’s key service divisions assist brands & retailers and their industry partners from their first inspiration throughout the entire supply chain to ensure that they meet stringent quality and ecological specifications, reduce costs and shorten lead times. We offer state-of-the-art color communication through CSI; textile and ecology testing through Texanlab; ecology and environmental advice, supply chain auditing and consulting for RSL compliant sustainable processes through Sustainable Textile Solutions group.
The DyStar econfidence® program is designed to provide assurance to textile customers that the dyes and chemicals supplied by DyStar comply with legal requirements. econfidence® also provides expertise so that selected products are compliant with voluntary Restricted Substances Lists (RSLs), including those of brands and retailers. Backed up by the most extensive eco-testing program of any chemical supplier in the industry, econfidence® supports long-term partnerships along the supply chain and fosters a more sustainable textile production.
Fully dedicated to quality management, DyStar is an ISO9001 British Standard Institution (BSI) certified company. Our products for food & beverage undergo additional certifications, such as FPA, GFSI (SQF 2000), Kosher, Passover, and Halal. Each batch of certified food colors is tested and approved by a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) laboratory.
Visit www.DyStar.com for more information.
MEDIA CONTACT
Moon Tang
Global Corporate Communications
DID: +65 6671 2897
Email: tang.moon@dystar.com