Material compliance

Comprehensive material requirements

Part of GNFK StartThe Schaeffler Group aims to comply with all relevant guidelines for the materials and substances used as well as consider these when selecting suppliers. The Material Compliance department works closely with suppliers of production materials. It supports the Purchasing department by continuously evaluating the requirements relevant for the Schaeffler Group and defining criteria for choosing suppliers. These include all relevant material requirements based on legislation, public standards, and customer requirements, and apply to:

• Chemical substances and preparations
• Packaging and materials in manufacturing processes and products
• Product transport

Important criteria and key regulatory frameworks for both supplier selection and the orders themselves are outlined in the Schaeffler standards on “Prohibited and declarable substances”. Suppliers are required to immediately inform the company as soon as more recent information is available than that already reported to the Schaeffler Group. Relevant regulations include “Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals” (REACH), “Restriction of Certain Hazardous Substances” (RoHS), the EU Directive on End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV), the EU Directive on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP), the chemical regulation and the Dodd–Frank Act.

The Schaeffler Group primarily uses the automotive industry’s International Material Data System (IMDS) for declaring substances. This system is required for labeling the substances of purchased products and their materials.Part of GNFK End

More information on the comprehensive material requirements can be found under: Prohibited and declarable substances

Responsible procurement

Part of GNFK Start In addition to the appropriate use of hazardous substances, the responsible procurement of raw materials such as tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold is an important issue for the Schaeffler Group, as their extraction contributes to financing armed conflicts or human rights violations in some countries. The company uses the “Reasonable Country of Origin Inquiries” (RCOI) procedure to ascertain from which regions sub-tier suppliers source components with critical materials, and, where appropriate, initiate targeted supply chain actions.

Compared to the prior year, the response rate¹⁾ of the suppliers surveyed fell to 84.6 %²⁾ (prior year: 90.0 %³⁾). The lower response rate is due to the fact that twice as many suppliers were surveyed. 100 %³⁾ of the smelters reported in the pre-supply chain that are located in affected countries under the RCOI are certified by the “Responsible Minerals Initiative”.⁴⁾

The Schaeffler Group’s Conflict Minerals Policy is available at: Conflict Minerals Policy Schaeffler Group

The corresponding conflict minerals report is provided to customers upon request. The ongoing improvements being made by the Schaeffler Group to material compliance processes will enable the company to meet the OECD guidelines for the responsible use of minerals from conflict and high-risk areas by 2021, and thus also EU requirements in a timely manner. The Schaeffler Group started the supply chain assessment for reporting on the conflict mineral cobalt in 2020. The company released its first cobalt report at the end of 2020.

1) Response rate of relevant suppliers surveyed on the use of conflict minerals as defined under the Responsible Minerals Initiative.

2) 2020 value checked in interim status in December 2020.

3) Survey period from March to February of the following year.

4) Risk areas as defined in the RCOI.