Page 75 - Vaculug Sustainable Report 2022

The best way we can look after our people and planet is to build a responsible and prosperous business that is set-up for long- term future success.
Haarjeev Kandhari,
Vaculug Chairman
A culture of innovation has been
at the heart of our business for the past
70 years. When our company’s ownership transitioned in 2018, this culture
of innovation was fuelled with sustainable thinking that stems from our Chairman.
Since Vaculug’s inception in 1950, our company has pioneered several industry- first products and solutions that showcase our commitment to manufacturing quality and excellence. In recent years, under the guidance of our leadership team we made
the conscious decision to steer our business towards sustainable transformation because, simply put, it was the right thing to do.
We value the important role that education plays
on this journey, and this applies to our approach
to governance as well. In 2022 we started to
work with a sustainability expert to learn how to effectively integrate sustainability across all areas
of our business. In 2022 we also began to work
with a consulting firm that specialises in carbon assessments. This work continues to be in progress, with our first carbon assessment report set to be completed in early 2023.
Over the past few years, thanks to the time and investments we have placed on this journey, we have elevated our own understanding of what it means to be a responsible business. We recognise the important role that innovation plays in fostering a culture of sustainable thinking. To be future ready,
we must be prepared. This means every challenge
we encounter today must be met with an openness to experiment and to learn. Only then can we learn and grow into a business that is ready for the challenges
of tomorrow.Guided by our sustainability strategy, we are focused on ensuring the products, services, and solutions we put forward do not have a negative impact on people or the planet.
To achieve this, in 2022 we invested in additional training initiatives that focus on educating our employees about sustainability, and how it applies to our operations day-to-day. Sustainability focused training sessions were also conducted with our partners and stakeholders.
All combined, the time and investment spent on training serves as an example of how we are working with our stakeholders to elevate the sustainability practices and performance of our industry. Our highly skilled team of manufacturing experts have contributed to the creation of several industry-first products that showcase our culture innovation and experimentation.
Each of these innovations began with an issue that needed to be resolved, and resulted in a product that ensures the highest quality standards for our customers.
Under the guidance of our leadership team, we have a team of industry experts who are focused on improving our operations in a responsible way. Our team is equally focused on delivering the highest quality of products and service to our customers through sustainable and innovative thinking.
To ensure we remain in a leadership position in the industry we are invested in the latest manufacturing technology and software for our fleet management systems. By improving our fleet management systems and services we are providing our customers with the highest level of service and assurance they need to operate at their best. In 2022 we explored new technology to improve our management systems.
For example, we are looking at integrating Microsoft AI to improve our invoice processing system.
The AI model will extract key invoice data and automatically input this into the accounting system. This enhanced process will significantly reduce the time spent on manually inputting invoices into our systems, as well as reduce the administration time required to process the invoices.Going forward we will continue to invest in technology that will move us towards our goal of becoming carbon net-zero by 2030.
SUSTAINABILITY IN MOTION 2022 75