Empowering people – opening up perspectives

Social, technological, and economic changes are posing enormous challenges for companies everywhere. ZWILLING is also undergoing a restructuring process that involves difficult and sometimes painful decisions, including job cuts. Such cuts place a considerable strain on the employees affected, both professionally and personally. In this situation, it is particularly important for us to act fairly, transparently, and respectfully.

Despite all the upheavals, we remain committed to our goal of creating sustainable fields of work and development prospects for our employees. Our leadership principles provide guidance and commitment in this regard. At the same time, we are investing specifically in training and further education to enable employees to take on new tasks and support them through change.

For us, this also means not sugarcoating decisions, but communicating them openly—and, where possible, pointing out new paths. Because it is precisely in challenging times that a company's credibility in living up to its social standards becomes apparent.

In a dynamic environment, managers at ZWILLING play an important role: they provide orientation in an increasingly complex working world, create reliability in collaboration, and constructively bring together different perspectives. As leaders, they must manage international teams with a cooperative approach while combining digital competence with sustainable development.

To support them in this challenging task and create a common understanding of leadership responsibility, we have introduced binding Leadership Principles across the group. These were developed with broad international participation and are based on the principles of trust, diversity, entrepreneurial thinking, customer focus, and openness to change. In addition, ZWILLING managers should be able to combine their local focus with a global perspective—adapted to the cultural and organizational characteristics of the individual locations and companies. 

The rollout of the Leadership Principles initiated a group-wide process designed to strengthen responsible leadership at ZWILLING and embed it in everyday life. In various training formats – from workshops and digital learning units to individual coaching sessions – managers examine the individual principles. These are not abstract models, but real challenges, such as managing global teams, existing conflicts of interest between economic efficiency and sustainability, establishing an open feedback culture, and dealing with uncertainty in times of change.

The formats enable a practical approach – adapted to roles, regions, and levels of experience. The focus is on dialogue: managers reflect on their behavior, exchange experiences, and jointly develop viable solutions. This creates a leadership culture that does not ignore tensions, but shapes them in a responsible and learning-oriented way.

Digital technologies, new forms of collaboration, and changing business models place high demands on ZWILLING teams worldwide. We support our employees in their professional and personal development – tailored to different job profiles, markets, and levels of experience. In addition to continuous learning in the work context – for example, in cross-departmental projects and agile project teams – the program includes internal training, coaching, and external continuing education.

Among other things, IT know-how, methodological and specialist knowledge, and skills in communication, leadership, and collaboration are taught. Digital learning formats are becoming increasingly important and complement traditional classroom training. Knowledge transfer within the team remains a central component, especially in view of the declining half-life of specialist knowledge. Our aim is to create a learning culture that not only imparts qualifications, but also encourages people to see change as an opportunity and to actively shape it. 

Even in economically challenging times, training at ZWILLING remains an essential pillar of human resources development – and an investment in the future. At our Solingen site, we offer not only traditional dual vocational training but also combined programs with technical college studies. At the end of 2024, a total of 63 young people were in training at ZWILLING – including 12 dual students. High professional standards, individual support from dedicated trainers in the specialist areas, as well as supplementary seminars and targeted exam preparation support the trainees on their journey. This regularly leads to above-average grades – and in 2024, we were once again able to offer all graduates a permanent position.

The trainee blog and trainee Instagram channel provide authentic insights into everyday training at ZWILLING. There, our junior staff publish their own posts and videos – for example, on training content, semesters abroad, or tips on applying for jobs and starting a career. This creates proximity, arouses interest, and helps us to ensure the quality of our applications in the future. At the same time, we are strengthening our profile as a training company.

Compliance with human rights due diligence obligations along global supply chains is not a new issue for us – it has been standard practice for years. Since joining amfori BSCI in 2017 and amfori BEPI in 2021, we have also been assessing social and environmental risks on the basis of internationally recognized regulations and regular audits.

With the entry into force of the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), we have further refined our structures and introduced systematic risk management. We continuously monitor the social and environmental performance of our partner companies and manage preventive and remedial measures in an ongoing learning process.

The focus is on a partnership-based approach: we engage in open dialogue with suppliers and support the implementation of concrete improvements on site. ZWILLING is thus consciously going beyond the legal requirements. Even in light of the current debate on the LkSG, we are sticking to this forward-looking approach. For us, sustainable action in the supply chain is not a project with an expiration date, but a prerequisite for trusting business relationships.

Since 2022, we have been conducting annual risk analyses in accordance with the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) – covering both social and environmental risks. We generally consider risks according to two key dimensions:

• Country risk: We categorize our suppliers' countries according to their risk of human rights violations and environmental problems, based on international data sources and indices.
• Industry risk and fields of activity: At the same time, we analyze both the industry and the type of business activity, as certain industries or fields of activity may carry a higher risk of violations.

The combination of these two factors, supplemented by a qualitative plausibility check of identified risks, enables a differentiated assessment of which suppliers and regions require particularly close monitoring. For countries and areas of activity that pose a significant risk, we develop targeted action plans, intensify supplier audits, and initiate preventive programs. In addition, the results of audits, supplier discussions, and other reviews are continuously incorporated into our measures. This enables us to identify violations at an early stage and work out solutions together with our local partners. Through this integrative and learning approach, we strengthen transparency and responsibility along the supply chain – and create a sustainable basis for long-term, trusting business relationships.

The amfori Business Social Compliance Initiative – amfori BSCI – is an internationally recognized system for improving social standards in global supply chains. The code of conduct anchored in it is based on the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines, and the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Today, more than 2,400 companies from around 50 countries belong to the amfori association, including importers, retailers, and brand manufacturers.

With the help of standardized BSCI audits, we monitor and evaluate social standards in the supply chain, identify violations, and take targeted countermeasures. If there is a specific need for action, a well-coordinated team of ZWILLING inspectors accompanies the implementation of corrective measures on site. These experienced specialists have been monitoring product quality directly at our suppliers for decades and have been specifically trained in recent years to closely follow up on improvement measures in dialogue with suppliers. In addition to the official BSCI audits, they also carry out their own on-site inspections at suppliers.

* Percentage of the purchase volume by value that was implemented with suppliers who can provide a valid BSCI audit. The scope includes suppliers from a risk country who supply the ZWILLING Group with merchandise, components, or raw materials worth more than €10,000 each.

Career prospects can change lives – as the ZWILLING Foundation India has been proving for more than a decade. Founded in 2011, the foundation has set up a training and education center at the TWEEZERMAN production site in Pondicherry, southern India. For a better life – the name of the facility says it all: young women with disabilities, who often suffer from social exclusion, receive vocational training in textile processing. This gives them the opportunity to earn their own income and, , to lead an independent, self-determined life. From 2011 to 2024, a total of 488 women have completed training, and the majority of them are now standing on their own two feet.

What began with the qualification of young women is now embedded in a more comprehensive support network. The ZWILLING Foundation India has established further support services around the training center, including programs to secure the livelihoods of families and child sponsorships.

Sometimes a small impetus is enough to initiate change. In the Pondicherry district, the ZWILLING Foundation India supports families in difficult circumstances in securing their material livelihood. Whether it's a market stall, a mobile food truck, or a grocery store, start-up financing enables people in need or with disabilities to set up their own businesses and earn a living for themselves and their families.

In addition, the foundation offers practical training and further education in various fields of activity, based on actual local needs. Qualified training significantly increases participants' chances of gaining a foothold in the labor market and becoming independent in the long term.

To break the cycle of poverty, the ZWILLING Foundation India deliberately focuses on the youngest members of society – especially those who have had a difficult start in life. With the help of sponsorships, children with disabilities or in precarious living situations are supported in a variety of ways until they reach the age of majority. School fees, learning materials, and tutoring are financed, as are necessary medical procedures, medications, mobility, vision, and hearing aids, and disabled-accessible toilets. Regular medical check-ups are also an integral part of the sponsorship program. Through a fund, each sponsored child also receives a sum of money upon reaching the age of 18 – as start-up capital for the future. While only ZWILLING companies were involved in the early days, today anyone interested can become a sponsor – even outside the Werhahn Group.

Social engagement is a matter close to the hearts of many ZWILLING subsidiaries. One example of this is ZWILLING Vietnam: the company has been cooperating with the saigonchildren initiative since 2018. This non-profit organization promotes the construction and renovation of kindergartens and elementary schools, thereby improving the learning environment for children in the long term. All school construction projects are designed to be barrier-free and accessible to students with disabilities. Among other things, with financial support from ZWILLING, a new school wing was built and an existing elementary school was extensively renovated in the southern Vietnamese province of Hau Giang, one of the poorest regions of the Mekong Delta. To date, over 1,000 students have benefited from this commitment.