Embedding Sustainability Management in the Company: New Staff Position Created

Doing business in a sustainable way is a central existential responsibility of our time. And it is an area where I can really make a difference!

This was Frank Hofmann's spontaneous response when asked what his new role as sustainability manager is all about. He further emphasizes:

We are not just doing this because the law requires it, but also because sustainability management, when done right, can help move the company forward and ensure PI's long-term survival.

This is why PI is in the process of making sustainability an integral part of its global corporate strategy. The fact that the sustainability manager reports directly to the management underscores the importance of this issue.

Hofmann, who joined PI in 1994 and knows the company backwards and forwards, outlines two priorities for this year: laying the foundations for the first sustainability report and establishing a sustainability strategy for PI. This report will be a mandatory requirement for the first time in 2025 (with publication to follow in 2026). It is on a par with the financial report. Therefore, it is subject to an external audit and must be certified.  

The reporting primarily concerns environmental issues like energy consumption and emissions, but also how PI and our products affect the environment. This is definitely an area where PI can score points, says Hofmann, because our products often help reduce environmental impacts. For example, silicon photonic (SiPh) chips help reduce general demand for energy, and our alignment systems allow series manufacturing of these chips. But seemingly simple things like the energy consumption of PI's vehicle fleet and heating systems of the company buildings also matter. What is important is taking a global view. The associated data needs to be collected for all locations.  

Other topics concern social aspects, especially in relation to the company's employees, and economic issues: Is PI's commercial stability sustainable in the long term?  

Sustainability needs to be firmly embedded in the company. Essential objectives include raising awareness of the topic throughout the entire organization, establishing structures, and installing an appropriate data management system. To start with, PI's impacts on the environment, and the environment's impacts on PI, are recorded and analyzed. In sustainability reporting, this is referred to as a “double materiality analysis.” It is important to take all stakeholders in the process into account, meaning all internal stakeholders like the various technical departments, but also all customers, suppliers, and shareholders, as well as the communities in which PI maintains locations.   

I see my new position as a kind of program manager who coordinates and structures the responsibilities that come our way. The sustainability requirements are so complex that meeting them requires the cooperation of everyone in the company. Every technical department will have to contribute,

says Frank Hofmann, explaining the current situation.

Contact persons: Andreas Schneider, CMO; Frank Hoffmann, Professional  Sustainability Management

Frank Hofmann joined PI in 1994 as a development engineer. At that time, the company had just under forty employees. In 1999, Hofmann took over leadership of the “Micropositioning Technology” group before moving to organizational development management in 2004. In 2008, he was appointed head of “Industrial Engineering,” and in 2021 he took over leadership and further development of the “Project and Order Management” support function, which was created while setting up DPG.