Sustainability


Our Commitment

, SustainabilityOn July 11, 2022, NPI achieved a top 50% sustainability rating from EcoVadis and was awarded the EcoVadis Bronze Medal. We are committed to continuously improve the environmental and economic performance of our company and automation systems for improved upstream and downstream sustainability. 

Corporate Sustainability Initiatives

Environment

  • Policies
    • Environmental policy on materials, chemicals and waste management
    • Environmental policy on energy consumption and GHGs
  • Actions
    • Improvement of energy efficiency through technology and equipment upgrades
    • Measures to reduce hazardous waste of solvents and chemicals
    • Measures to reuse or recycle waste
  • Results
    • Reporting on total water consumption
    • Reporting on total energy consumption

Labor & Human Rights

  • Policies
    • Labor & human rights policy on diversity, equity & inclusion
    • Labor & human rights policy on career management & training
    • Labor & human rights policy on employee health & safety
  • Actions
    • Actions to prevent discrimination in professional development and promotion processes
    • Compensation for extra or atypical working hours
    • Employee satisfaction survey
    • Health care coverage of employees in place
    • Whistleblower procedure on discrimination and/or harassment issues
    • Provision of protective equipment to all impacted employees
    • Transparent recruitment process communicated clearly and formally to all candidates
    • Two-way communication system in place to facilitate employee voice regarding working conditions
    • Provision of skills development training
    • Training of relevant employees on health & safety risks and best working practices
    • Promotion of career development and advancement
    • Transparent recruitment process
  • Results
    • Reporting on the percentage of workers from minority groups and/or vulnerable workers in top executive positions
    • Reporting on the percentage of women in top executive positions

Ethics

  • Policies
    • Policy on conflict of interest
    • Disciplinary sanctions to deal with policy violations
    • Employee signature acknowledgement of ethics policies
    • Policy on information security
  • Actions
    • Implementation of a records retention schedule
    • Specific approval procedure for sensitive transactions

Equipment Sustainability Initiatives

Environment

  • Policies
    • Continuous improvement of system efficiency
    • Standard parts and engineering reuse
    • Lean manufacturing
  • Actions
    • Servo motors on conveyors for improved energy consumption
    • Servo motors for diverters for improved energy consumption
    • LED illumination and displays for improved energy consumption
    • Large diameter urethane coated bearings for reduced drag
    • Hard anodized aluminum slats for reduced friction and drag
    • Use of oil impregnated plastics for reduced friction and drag
    • IE4 rated primary drive option. Working toward servo replacement
    • Use of distributed I/O over EtherCAT for reduced cabling
  • Results
    • Reduced energy consumptionoReduced parts
    • Reduced manufacturing labor and production times

Labor & Operator Safety

  • Actions
    • Ergonomic designs for optimized work conditions
    • Semi-automated induction for increased productivity with minimized labor
    • Easy to use touchscreen HMIs for minimized operator training
    • Easy to use software for minimized operations management training
    • Reduced noise through removal of catenary sag and sound dampened parts
    • Optimized safety through use of guards, sensors, fencing, alarms/alerts, disconnects, pull cords, estops, and minimized gaps between conveyors
  • Procurement
  • Policies
    • Downstream promotion of sustainability for suppliers
    • Use of COTS parts
  • Actions
    • No tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold, and/or their derivatives