BIG INTERVIEW
material health, but also mobility, employee wellbeing, product sustainability, supply chain transparency, compliance and human rights issues and so forth. “So there’s a lot to do, and we’ve already accomplished many things, but we’re still not at the end, if anything, we’re still at the very beginning. And that’s an exciting journey.”
Genuine concern
Sustainability and the noise around it may be perceived by some as a PR exercise for international brands and corporations.
‘How do you know what a brand is really doing?’ is a valid question. With Schwalbe, they tell you. In October last year, the brand published its first CSR report: a 99-page document that provides transparency on its ecological impact, as well as laying out short and long term goals. “We wanted to publish the best possible CSR report,” said
Jahn
“I think creating transparency is incredibly important, especially in our industry. “We have a complex global supply chain, and we need to be more transparent to the consumers and the dealers so that they know what these products are made of, where they are made, who’s behind this, what does it take to make these
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products, what’s the damage to the environment.” Schwalbe decided to base the report on the Sustainability Reporting Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI Standards). This is an internationally recognised guideline that enables standardisation and comparability of all sustainability topics between different companies, even outside the bicycle industry. “You could essentially take this report and compare it with the sustainability report of a washing machine manufacturer,” said Jahn
“That’s what this standard allows, a level of comparability, transparency and putting yourself out there. “You feel a little bit vulnerable but it’s important that people know that you make yourself accountable for the things that you do.”
Milestones
With Schwalbe established in 1973, Jahn says that sustainability in various guises has been at the core of the brand since the beginning. However throughout the journey, there are specific
milestones that can be used as touch points. “One was in 1983, when we launched our first Marathon,” he explained.
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