Swiss multinational The Hüni Group, producer of tannery drums and supplier of process control equipment for the leather industry, has signed a 3-year sponsorship deal with the Tannery of the Future Foundation. The ‘Tannery of the Future’ is a freely available CSR self-checklist for tanneries that was released in 2016 on tanneryofthefuture.org. The Hüni Group and Tannery of the Future are keen on combining their efforts to make the international leather supply chain more sustainable, socially-responsible, and clean.
The ‘Tannery of the Future’ self-assessment was developed and released by the Dutch CSR Netherlands foundation, Egbert Dikkers from Smit & zoon, independent leather expert Hans Both and Antoinette Gast from fair-trade leather importer FairForward. Since its release in March 2016, the self-assessment tool has been downloaded by over 600 tanneries, brands, retailers, traders and experts in more than 65 countries worldwide.
The Hüni Group has been in the tannery business since 1728, tanning on the banks of lake Zurich in Switzerland until the late 1960’s. Today Hüni is a multinational company producing patented advanced technology drums and tools for process control and process automation. Wooden drum production was started in 1988 followed in 2003 with the production of PPH drums. The company is active in over 30 countries, and corporate social responsibility in leather production has long been a priority for Hüni.
“The Hüni Group aims for environmental sustainability. Hence its products prioritise reduced water, power and chemicals consumption in the tanning process, with a keen eye on operator safety. Hüni identifies strongly with the Tannery of the Future’s goal of assisting the leather industry become more sustainable, socially responsible and cleaner,” said Ralph Arbeid of The Hüni Group.