Our strategy and governance
How Jungbunzlauer creates sustainable economic value
Social standards play an important role in selecting suppliers at Jungbunzlauer. We aim to maintain a fair business environment throughout the supply chain according to the highest ethical and social standards. We carry out supplier self-assessments and audits where applicable (see chapter 3.2 in our report).
We support our customers in resolving their commercial and technical challenges by adding new products and applications to our portfolio, customised to their individual requirements. In doing this, we want to offer reliable solutions which are sustainable not only for our customers but also for the environment (see chapter 3.3 in our report).
Our Application Technology, Technical Service and Business Development teams support our customers in finding more sustainable and innovative solutions for their products. One approach is the manufacture of more environmentally friendly products, such as more natural skin care products – for example, microplastic-free formulations with our xanthan gum, or water-free face scrub formulations in tablet form. We have launched marketing materials which are available on our website: Downloads.
We continuously invest in developing the organisation and our people in order to grow and strengthen our market position, as well as to create a more sustainable future. But our aspiration goes beyond this: our focus is on even more sustainable production processes through higher efficiency and digitalisation. The use of new technologies will also lead to lower consumption of resources and reduced emissions (see chapter 4 in our report).
Core business
Jungbunzlauer’s core business is the production of ingredients from renewable sources (by fermentation such as carbohydrates from corn). As fermentation itself is a naturally occurring process, we also aim to position ourselves sustainably with our strategy.
Our sustainability approach – From nature to ingredients®
As fermentation is our core competence and the base of Jungbunzlauer’s success story, it lies in the nature of our business to be sustainable in the way we produce. In 2013, we strengthened this approach with the public launch of our new mission “From nature to ingredients®” (see page 16 in our report). Our ingredients typically provide key functionality as component of a final product manufactured by our customers. With our ingredients, we are able to contribute to healthier and safer products in everyday use. This shows the benefits of our company to the economy, society and the environment. Alleviating any negative impacts of our business activities along our supply chain is not just an obligation for us; it is also an important factor in our future cost competitiveness. Besides our external whistleblowing system, we have a complaints management procedure in place for our customers. Employees are encouraged to share complaints or concerns with their superior where possible or, if that is not an option, to use the whistleblowing system.
Compliance with relevant environmental requirements is handled in each production plant separately, depending on national legislation. Current and potential future environmental requirements are evaluated in the quarterly meetings of the Board of Directors. Responsible Care® Reports are drafted and presented to the Board of Directors annually.
Jungbunzlauer employees
In total, Jungbunzlauer employs more than 1,200 employees worldwide. The majority of Jungbunzlauer employees are based in Europe, due to the fact that three of our four production sites are located there. Between 2021 and 2022, the number of Jungbunzlauer employees stayed constant. The number of third-party employees increased by 19% whereby third-party employees only account for 11%.
Value chain
At Jungbunzlauer, we use mainly renewable raw materials to produce our biodegradable products. Glucose syrup from corn is our main raw material for the fermentation of our organic acids, xanthan gum, gellan gum and erythritol.
Jungbunzlauer's mineral salts of citric, lactic, gluconic acid and our CITROFOL® products, a range of citrate esters, are manufactured through neutralisation and esterification, respectively.
We manufacture almost all of the glucose syrup we use in dedicated plants at our production sites in Austria, France, and Canada. At our production site in Ladenburg, Germany no fermentation is conducted. Corn is sourced from neighbouring EU countries for our European sites or Ontario, Quebec and the American Midwest for our Canadian production plant. Formal agreements are in place and, in most cases, we have long-term relationships with our suppliers.
In our production plants, we take advantage of all side streams in the production process, nearly eliminating waste and making our business model highly resource-efficient. All by-products are sold for use in construction, agriculture, feed and biogas production.
A worldwide network of sales companies and distributors with a thorough understanding of markets and client requirements underlies Jungbunzlauer’s high level of market and customer focus. At the same time, as a family-owned company, we are committed to tradition and our core values which guide us throughout our daily business and in the strategies we adopt.
This also means that we take due diligence as a company seriously, including identification of the material topics which have a major impact on the value chain. More information on our material topics can be found in chapter 2.5 in our report.
Committed to highest quality and safety
In order to meet the high quality and safety standards we have set for our- selves, we have established a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) programme for all lines used in the manufacturing of food-grade additives or ingredients at all production sites. This meets the requirements of the seven Codex principles (Codex Alimentarius 1997). To demonstrate the efficiency of our food safety systems, all our production plants have FSSC 22000 and ISO 9001 certifications. Adherence to these management systems is audited regularly.
The Jungbunzlauer Group’s “Health, Safety, Environmental and sustainability Policy” has been issued as a guideline for the management of affiliated companies. It is the responsibility of the management of our subsidiaries to ensure the implementation of this policy, adapted to local circumstances. Our “Health, Safety, Environmental and Sustainability Policy” is available to our customers on our jbl4u platform as well as for interested parties at our website.
Stakeholder engagement
Our stakeholders are affected by our business activities and, in turn, affect our own activities. This was taken into account when identifying our relevant stakeholder groups. By acting in accordance with our values and working towards our goals, we earn the trust of our owners, customers, employees, suppliers and other business partners, and the communities where we live and work.
We need to rebalance our activities towards a more sustainable development – Jungbunzlauer is more than ever committed to do its part.
Bruno Tremblay, CEO
