In the public perception, the social and ecological responsibility of a company increasingly extends to its choice of business partners, in particular suppliers. The Executive Committee of GF therefore determined that environmental and social aspects must be taken into consideration along with price, quality and delivery reliability when selecting and assessing suppliers. In the case of bids that are otherwise equal, preference is given to suppliers and service providers that have an environmental management system certified to ISO 14 001 or EMAS and that place special emphasis on ecological products and production methods. Social aspects that are relevant in such decisions are occupational health and safety protection as well as social benefits. These include, for instance, appropriate working hours, defined work breaks or payment in line with national standards. GF has defined the goal of ensuring that by the end of 2009 more than 80 percent of suppliers will have a certified quality and environmental management system and apply social standards comparable to those of GF.

Close cooperation with customers is one of the main prerequisites for developing successful, innovative products and services. Customer wishes are agreed upon with users at the concept stage, i.e. before a development project is even finalized. This approach is documented in the description of the development process.
Key customers are involved in the entire product creation process from concept to operational testing of prototypes and market launch.
Georg Fischer's profound technical expertise is passed on to our customers via numerous training courses, and all Corporate Groups have customer advisors specializing in product applications.

Many of Georg Fischer's products are recyclable. Even during the manufacturing process waste is avoided or reused if at all possible. By recycling materials we can reduce waste disposal costs and optimize raw material consumption. Thus, for example, foundry wastes or sorted plastics are reused in the production cycle.
Ideally, the raw materials used will find their way back into the production process at the end of a product's life cycle. In the case of components used in vehicle construction, this is already common, although for plastic piping the recovery cycle between manufacturers and customers is still in its infancy. Processing machines from GF AgieCharmilles have long service lives and often continue to be used second-hand. This has a positive effect on raw material consumption. At the end of the machine's life cycle, metal parts and electronic components can then be recycled.
To the extent that transportation costs do not outweigh the benefits, packaging is also reused. For example, packaging can be returned to its point of origin for reuse via everyday traffic between plants.