Better Health for All

FUCHS SE's product 'TS-D' is classified with health hazards including 'Toxic to reproduction, Category 1B' and 'Specific Target Organ Toxicity - Repeated Exposure, Category 1'.

It also carries a California Proposition 65 warning for chemicals known to cause cancer. The company discloses these hazards in its Safety Data Sheet for the product. Additionally, a very small percentage of the company's lubricants are PFAS-based, which are linked to potential long-term health risks such as cancer, liver disease, and thyroid disorders, and can contaminate water and food sources. The company is actively working on product development and alternatives for PFAS-free lubricants, and the European Chemicals Agency is proposing a comprehensive restriction on PFAS. However, no specific percentage of R&D budget allocated to health improvement is provided.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

FUCHS SE is primarily a lubricant manufacturing and distribution company, and its core business does not involve offering lending or deposit services, consumer credit products, or financial services to customers.

Therefore, the company does not generate or manage customer finance data, nor does it have financial products requiring disclosure or explanation. The company's social projects, totaling €1,046,000 (0.29% of global EBIT) in 2022, and diversity initiatives, while contributing to broader social responsibility, do not constitute financial inclusion programs or direct impacts on customer credit or savings outcomes. Fines against a subsidiary, Fuchs & Associés Finance S.A., for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing breaches are not related to fair lending practices, which is the focus of this value.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

No specific, quantitative evidence was found across the provided articles for any of the 'Fair Pay & Worker Respect' KPIs. Information regarding CEO compensation was available, but not in a format that allowed for the calculation of the CEO-median pay ratio, as median employee compensation was not provided.

A mean gender pay gap for a UK subsidiary was reported, but this is not the same metric as the pay equity ratio for comparable roles across the entire company. Employee review ratings from Glassdoor were provided, but these are qualitative ratings and do not map to the quantitative thresholds of the rubric's worker engagement score, which requires an employee-survey engagement/satisfaction index on a 100-point scale. While some articles mentioned workplace safety violations in Pennsylvania, no company-wide recordable occupational injury rate (TRIR) was provided. No data was available for living wage coverage, collective bargaining share, turnover rate, labor violation incidents (company-wide count), insecure contract share, or health insurance coverage.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

FUCHS SE has a Supplier Code of Conduct (last updated August 2024) that outlines expectations for business partners regarding ethical sourcing, including the prohibition of child and forced labor, and responsible sourcing of raw materials.

The company expects suppliers to remedy violations without delay and report all violations and remedial actions to FUCHS. However, no specific quantitative data is provided for the percentage of tier-1 spend covered by fair-trade certifications, the average months between on-site audits for tier-1 suppliers, the number of substantiated forced- or child-labour findings in the last three years, the percentage of tier 1-3 suppliers with traceable provenance data, the median days to close corrective-action plans after violations, the percentage of suppliers whose contracts include enforceable ethical-sourcing clauses, the share of spend on high-risk materials, or the percentage of procurement budget directed to diverse suppliers.

Honest & Fair Business

FUCHS SE has an internet-based whistleblower system, "FUCHS Compliance Communication," which guarantees anonymity and protects whistleblowers from retaliation.

The system is ISO 27001-certified and includes an external, independent Compliance Ombudsperson. The company confirms receipt of notifications within seven days and informs the whistleblower about the report's management and measures taken within three months. The anti-corruption policy is comprehensive, prohibiting offering or accepting illegal benefits, and applies worldwide to all employees and majority holdings. It includes guidelines for selecting business partners, gifts, hospitality, and commissioning intermediaries, emphasizing compliance with national and international laws. The company's Supervisory Board has five out of six members considered independent, meaning one member is not independent. The whistleblower system uses a third-party service provider, Business Keeper AG, and an external lawyer serves as the Compliance Ombudsperson. The Compliance Ombudsperson provides feedback on reported violations within three months.

Kind to Animals

The company's supplier code of conduct mandates the application of the 3Rs principle (Reduction, Refinement, Replacement) to animal studies and states that the aim is to replace animal testing with scientifically valid in vitro methods.

However, it also acknowledges that clinical studies and/or animal testing may still need to be performed, in which case suppliers must comply with all applicable laws. Furthermore, 12 of the company's laboratories are accredited for animal testing if required, indicating that animal testing remains an option, likely for legally mandated purposes.

No War, No Weapons

FUCHS SE's core business is lubricants, and there is no quantifiable evidence of revenue derived from arms or defense contracts as a percentage of total revenue. The company is not involved in dual-use technology development or surveillance activities. FUCHS complies with foreign trade and export control laws, indicating robust compliance controls for sales to embargoed regimes.

Corporate Governance and Compliance are directly assigned to FUCHS SE’s Executive Board. , with the Chief Compliance Officer reporting directly to the Board. FUCHS supports the UN Global Compact and aligns its Human Rights Principles with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, referencing them in its Human Rights Policy. The company is also subject to the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG). The company has a Supplier Sustainability Standard (January 2023) and a Supplier Code of Conduct that outline and expect adherence to enhanced humanitarian procurement standards from business partners, covering labor, ethics, environmental protection, and responsible sourcing, including the avoidance of conflict minerals, forced labor, and child labor. The Code of Conduct, last updated in 2022, defines clear ethical principles, but these do not specifically codify bans on weapons categories.

Planet-Friendly Business

FUCHS SE's total Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions were 2,336,201 tCO₂e in 2024, showing a slight year-on-year decline.

The company has developed science-based targets aligned with a 1.5°C pathway, but validation from the SBTi is pending, with an intention to obtain it by 2025. In 2024, 76% of the company's operational electricity was sourced from renewables, with a target to reach 100% by the end of 2025. Water consumption per revenue was 98.83 m³/revenue in € in 2024. One newly built headquarters has achieved Silver LEED certification. In 2021, 40% of capital expenditure was aligned with the EU Sustainable Taxonomy. FUCHS has a net-zero target for operational emissions (Scope 1 & 2) by 2040 and for value chain emissions (Scope 3) by 2050. The company uses high-quality carbon offsets with UN Gold Standard or VERRA certifications, covering 50% of residual emissions. Since 2023, FUCHS continuously requests Product Carbon Footprint information from raw material suppliers and assesses all raw material and packaging suppliers globally via a third-party platform. The company is working with suppliers to reduce carbon emissions until 2050. FUCHS participates in forest protection projects in Brazil and reforestation in China. There were no material environmental compliance violations reported during 2021-2022. FUCHS calculates a partial Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) using a "cradle-to-gate" approach. Small Packs in Europe were converted to 100% recycled material in 2024, and increased recycled content in packaging is a measure for Scope 3 reduction.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Formal grievance mechanisms and an electronic whistleblower system are available.

The company complies with the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) since January 1, 2024, which mandates such mechanisms.

Safe & Smart Tech

FUCHS SE employs standard encryption practices, utilizing recognized methods like SSL or TLS for website communication.

The company has no documented incidents of unauthorized data use and states its commitment to protecting privacy and treating personal data with confidentiality. Users are afforded industry-standard privacy controls, including rights under GDPR such as access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability, and the right to complain to a supervisory authority. Data minimization practices are standard, with data collection limited to necessary information for specific purposes, and log files retained for 14 days. However, shareholder data is retained as long as the individual is a shareholder, which is a longer period, albeit legally driven. FUCHS SE demonstrates basic compliance with applicable privacy regulations, explicitly referencing and adhering to GDPR, the German Stock Corporation Act, and the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

FUCHS SE has made progress in packaging sustainability, with 68% of packaging from the retail sector and over 60% of packaging used by BU Industry being recyclable.

The company's small packs in Europe converted to 100% recycled material in 2024, and new automotive aftermarket range packaging uses 100% recycled post-consumer materials. Overall, small packs contain at least 30% post-consumer recycled material since 2021. Efforts to reduce single-use plastics include prioritizing the avoidance of disposable packaging at Épices FUCHS and gradually phasing out disposable boxes. For liquid products over 25 kg, reusable steel containers are returned as part of a recycling process. The company is integrating circular design principles through its Advanced Circular Technologies (ACT) model, aiming to transform its value chain from linear to circular. Waste reduction initiatives include research into refining used frying fat for new raw materials and optimizing energy and water consumption. Hazardous waste management is strong, with only very small quantities of used oil and lye accumulating at sites. FUCHS has ambitious waste reduction targets, aiming to reduce cradle-to-grave emissions by at least 90% by 2030 compared to 2021 levels, and achieve net zero by 2040. The company has comprehensive waste requirements for all direct suppliers, assessing raw material and packaging suppliers globally since 2023. Customer waste education includes using a multi-vendor symbol for waste separation on Ostmann brand packaging since 2023 to assist customers.