NWG // SUSTAINABILITY STATEMENT
chemicals and the prevention of pollution as required by third party certification schemes.
The CSR and Environmental policy do not currently address the prevention of incidents and emergency situations directly related to pollution.
New Wave Group actively informs its suppliers about the Group’ s commitments as part of its business agreements. Key instructions and requirements for suppliers are outlined in the Supplier Handbook. Further details are provided under E1-2: Policies related to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Attached to the Supplier Handbook is the Group’ s Restricted Substance List( RSL), which specifies substances that are restricted or prohibited. The RSL is developed in accordance with national and international legislation and industry recommendations and is based on guidelines and tools from the RISE Chemicals Group, of which the Group is a member. It identifies and restricts the use of Substances of Concern( SoC) and Substances of Very High Concern( SVHC), including CMR, PBT / vPvB, endocrine disrupting( ED) and sensitizing substances as defined in REACH Annex XIII.
Through written supplier agreements and regular testing of materials and products, it is ensured that these substances are avoided, thereby directly linking the RSL to the identification and management of SoC and SVHC within the supply chain.
In line with the materiality assessment, the main pollution related risk lies in the use and handling of chemicals / substances of concern in the production of textiles and other products, which may lead to emissions and contamination of water and soil. Beyond this, the Group has not identified any material direct releases of pollutants to air, water or soil, and therefore the other pollution categories are not included in the reporting.
E2-2: Actions and resources related to pollution New Wave Group have, during the reporting year, not defined any targets but focused on a number of key activities related to chemical related pollution that contribute to achieving the purpose of the CSR and Environmental policy. These activities are ongoing and form part of the Group’ s systematic chemical management work, and therefore no specific end dates have been set. In the statement, these activities are referred to as " actions ", although they do not meet the ESRS definition of an " action ". The Group intends to define more structured actions together with more developed targets going forward.
Actions:
# New Wave Group annually updates and communicates its Restricted Substance List( RSL) to the Group’ s manufacturing suppliers. Regular sample tests are carried out and tested at independent laboratories to verify that products comply with New Wave Group’ s requirements.
# Compliance with RSL is ensured through third party certifications, such as Oeko Tex Standard 100 for textiles. Approximately 70 % of the Group’ s textile products and / or constituent fabrics are certified under Oeko Tex Standard 100.
# If a supplier fails to meet the requirements or if excessive levels of regulated substances are detected, the supplier must take immediate corrective action, such as adjusting chemical use or modifying production processes.
# Within the framework of Amfori BSCI and BEPI, regular audits and environmental assessments are conducted, which include chemical management and water management at supplier facilities.
The actions cover the entire value chain and are expected to reduce emissions of harmful chemicals – both upstream and downstream.
Furthermore, improved chemical and water management in the supply chain and increased compliance with environmental standards are expected. These actions therefore contribute to achieving the guidelines of the CSR and environmental policy on progressive chemical management, as well as compliance with the codes of conduct and the Supplier Handbook.
The use of third-party certifications contributes to the indicator related to products with sustainability attributes, which forms an important part of the Group’ s sustainability strategy and is presented under SBM 1: Strategy, business model and value chain.
Suppliers are the most affected stakeholders, but internal functions, customers, authorities and civil society organizations also play an important role in ensuring compliance and reducing environmental impacts.
The implementation of the actions does not require significant operating expenditure( OpEx) or capital expenditures( CapEx).
E2-3: Targets related to pollution New Wave Group has established general targets for purchasing materials and products made from preferred fiber and materials and from certified sources through the indicator on products with sustainability attributes, which partly covers the use of chemicals and the prevention of pollution. This indicator constitutes an important part of the Group’ s sustainability strategy and is presented under SBM 1: Strategy, business model and value chain.
Specific, measurable and time bound targets directly related to substances of concern and substances of very high concern, as well as releases to water and soil, have not yet been established. This is due to ongoing work to improve data collection and data quality to ensure that future targets are relevant, measurable and linked to actual impacts. Targets are planned to be established in the coming years.
To assess the effectiveness of policies related to pollution, audits and environmental assessments are carried out, both internally and by third parties, within the framework of Amfori BSCI and BEPI. Regular testing of materials and products also ensures compliance with New Wave Group’ s chemical requirements.
Processes for measuring the effectiveness of policies and actions have not yet been established.
ANNUAL REPORT // 069