Diversity and equality

By fostering an inclusive culture, we strive to take advantage of diversity and broaden our perspectives, create new ideas and achieve better outcomes and innovative results. We believe that a diverse workforce with equal opportunities will make a positive contribution to society and improve the motivation and lives of our employees, suppliers and customers, and thus  strengthen Jungbunzlauer’s success. Hence, we approach Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DE&I) in the following ways.

Putting the necessary resources in place to shape a meaningful agenda 
In 2023, we created a new function, the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), in order to focus our efforts on DE&I. We are making good progress but still have some way to go to achieve our targets of a balanced workforce across multiple parameters, e.g. gender, educational background. In addition to this, in 2023, we have decided to add an additional resource by creating a new position, the Global Head of Talent Management, Organisational Development and DE&I, who will start in 2024 to build up a meaningful strategy for the coming three-year period.

Increased collaboration in learning
At Jungbunzlauer, we have a multi-generational workforce. In order to be effective and productive, our employees must continuously have opportunities to learn and grow. Our focus on building age-diverse teams is resulting in innovation to take our business forward.

We have also considered how we design our learnings to include a variety of different learning formats, such as online courses, workshops, and collaboration projects. This ensures that we accommodate a broad range of diverse learning preferences.

Flexible working
Hybrid working is being offered at our offices and for relevant positions at our production sites to ensure that we appeal to a broad talent base and retain employees who have commitments and responsibilities outside of work needing their focus and attention.

Focus on recruitment practices
Recognising the need to enhance gender diversity within our senior leadership team, we took deliberate steps to attract and recruit highly qualified women with diverse skill sets and experiences. By implementing inclusive hiring practices, expanding our candidate search networks, and partnering with organisations focused on female leadership development, we successfully increased the representation of women within our leadership ranks by 150% within one calen- dar year. This outcome reflects our dedication to building a leadership team that is truly representative of the diverse markets we serve.

Overall, it is our goal to continue growing Jungbunzlauer by investing, innovating and maintaining a fair and open working environment in which all employees can develop to their full potential.

We are also striving to generate increased awareness of diversity and equality issues. We aim to positively influence the working environment in these areas. 

In line with our strategic vision, we recognise that embracing diversity and fostering inclusion throughout our organisation is key to serving our diverse customer base effectively and staying ahead in dynamic markets.

Building an inclusive culture to ensure all voices are heard
In 2023, we ran for the first time a culture survey with our senior management team. This helped to highlight where we can do more to build a culture with increased speak up and empowerment so that our employees feel heard and included in key decision making.

Retention, development and compensation
Ensuring the retention and development of our workforce remains a priority. We understand that inclusion is essential not only during the recruitment phase but throughout an employee's entire career journey. By providing inclusive development programmes, fostering a supportive work culture, and offering advancement opportunities based on merit, we aim to create an environment where all employees feel valued and can thrive. This is also mirrored in our compensation philosophy. In 2023, we added a new role Global Head of Total Rewards to ensure that we have a transparent and equitable approach to how we pay and reward our employees.

Community Engagement
Beyond our internal initiatives, we understand the importance of engaging and giving back to the communities we serve. Through partnerships with local organisations and community-focused initiatives, we have sought to support and uplift those communities.