Sustainability Report 2021
Enhancing 
everyday life
®

Contents
Introducing The Vita Group	
01
Performance at a glance	
04
Group CEO’s introduction	
02
Enhancing everyday life	
05
Our approach to sustainability	
04
The future of sustainability at Vita	
13
Our purpose and our values	
06
ESG strategy and governance	
10
Driving circularity	
15
Optimising resources	
28
Empowering people	
36
Acting ethically	
43
About this report	
49
The ESG principles and goals 
that guide us	
08
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
Appendices	
52
Our operational context	
11

For over 70 years, we have developed, 
manufactured and marketed a wide range 
of flexible polyurethane foam, Talalay latex 
and flooring products. Our three divisions 
– Comfort, Technical and Flooring – 
cater for a range of customers with 
exacting demands.
Our major markets include bedding, 
furniture, automotive, building and 
construction, medical, hygiene, flooring, 
packaging and products for industrial 
applications. We are a ‘business to 
business’ company, selling semi-finished 
or finished goods to customer designs 
and specifications; our customers then 
add further value to these goods before 
they reach consumers.
We manufacture value-added and differentiated flexible polyurethane 
(PU) foam products and innovative solutions. Our purpose is to 
create comfort, deliver performance and enhance everyday life.
Introducing 
The Vita Group
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
We view improving our environmental performance as both 
a moral and a business imperative. In this report, we have 
set out ambitious targets – and we truly believe they are 
achievable. Accordingly, we are taking action to lead on 
performance-enhancing change.
For example, we have achieved approximately a 50% 
reduction in green house gas (GHG) emissions 
directly under our control, nine years ahead of 
target. We’ve also committed to the Science 
Based Targets initiative (SBTi): one of only 
2,811 companies worldwide and we are one 
of the 1,391 that have committed to the 
more exacting target of reductions that 
help the world on the pathway to limiting 
temperature growth to 1.5°C.
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report
01

Group CEO’s 
introduction
Welcome to 
The Vita Group’s first 
sustainability report
An introduction 
from our CEO 
“I am incredibly proud 
to lead this exceptional 
business with a diverse and 
talented workforce, who 
have a wealth of experience 
and a passion for success.”
	Ian Robb
	 Ian Robb, Group CEO
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
02
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

Our first sustainability report
Welcome to The Vita Group’s first sustainability 
report. I want to begin by thanking all the people 
across Vita who are working hard to make us a  
more sustainable business. Their smart thinking, 
problem-solving and commitment enable us to  
keep up a rapid pace of innovation.
While this may be our first report, sustainability  
and environmental, social, governance (ESG) are, 
of course, nothing new to Vita. For over 70 years, 
we have been striving to improve our processes 
and develop new technology to reduce our 
environmental impact.
Early in 2021, we published our ESG ‘Vision’ 
document, ‘Enhancing Everyday Life’  
(https://www.thevitagroup.com/contacts/driving-
circularity-enhancing-everyday-life/) which will 
ensure we continue to stretch ourselves and 
innovate. We articulated four principles and  
11 underlying goals in that document and, in this 
report, we’ll be explaining the progress we’ve made.
Progress in the year
During 2021, we mapped our Scope 1, 2 and 
3 emissions ahead of schedule. We have now 
committed, through SBTi to reduce Scope 1 and 2 
emissions by 46% and Scope 3 by 13% by 2030  
vs the 2019 Baseline. Our Scope 1 and 2 targets are  
in line with the very stringent 1.5oC climate pathway.  
We decided to set this aggressive target as we have 
direct control over these emissions. For Scope 3,  
we have adopted the 2oC pathway as these are  
not in our direct control. 
In 2021 we are delighted to announce we have 
reduced our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 
approximately 50% and therefore 9 years ahead of 
target. This achievement was primarily driven by our 
policy decision in 2019 to buy renewable electricity 
wherever possible. By the end of 2022 all our  
sites will use renewable electricity.
Last year, we undertook a comprehensive materiality 
exercise to ensure that our sustainability and ESG 
efforts remain focused on the most salient issues 
for our stakeholders. The assessment embraced 
the ‘double materiality’ concept, considering our 
impact on society and the environment, in addition 
to financial materiality. The senior management  
team were active participants in the exercise.
Our safety performance through the year improved 
significantly, a testament to the hard work of all 
our employees. Fundamental changes have been 
made on factory floors and beyond, and we are 
challenging ourselves to maintain the pace of 
positive change as we head into 2022.
Key partnerships, products  
and recognition
Our Orbis™ range is a new flexible PU foam solution 
made from repolyols, which are created by taking 
an end-of-life product (e.g. a mattress) and, through 
chemical reprocessing, turning it back to a starting 
raw material. This notable innovation has been 
recognised via the prestigious Interzum and UTECH 
innovation awards in 2021.
We see it as our responsibility to be at the vanguard 
of the development of sustainable and circular 
technology within our industry. A good example of 
our work in the circular economy are our partnerships 
with Dow Chemical* in France and Evonik in Germany, 
which enable us to repurpose end-of-life PU foam and 
convert it to the raw materials for our Orbis™ range.
We have a long history of repurposing trim materials, 
and converting them into high performing new 
products for other industries. For example, in 2021, 
we were awarded Sustainable/Ethical Manufacturer 
of the Year at the Made in the North West awards for 
Group CEO’s introduction (continued)
RevoSport, a shock pad with a range of applications 
including multi-use games areas, play areas, 
landscaping projects and sports pitch systems.  
We continue to find new opportunities to extend  
the life of PU foam.
Looking to the future
Vita’s most material challenge remains reducing 
Scope 3 GHG emissions. Accordingly, we are 
working with others in our industry, including our 
suppliers, to move beyond disclosure of average 
emission data, so that we can drill down into 
the specific sources of unnecessary emissions. 
We subscribe to the philosophy that incremental 
improvement is better than delayed perfection.  
As this report explains, we are undertaking 
hundreds of small – and a number of quite large  
– ESG initiatives, which together will enable us  
to substantially improve our ESG performance.  
Bit by bit, the pace of change is accelerating.
Finally, I’d like to thank all Vita’s employees once 
again for living up to our purpose of creating 
comfort, delivering performance and enhancing 
every day life. I feel very proud to be one of  
the custodians of this 70-year-old business,  
and I believe that the work we’re doing on  
ESG will ensure that, 70 years from now,  
Vita will still be thriving.
Ian Robb
Ian Robb, Group CEO
*	 RENUVA™ is a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company 
(“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow, used under license.
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
03
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

Our approach 
to sustainability
Performance 
at a glance
We have made significant progress 
against a number of key metrics. 
This progress demonstrates the 
strength of our commitment and our 
environmental management system.
Scope 1 emissions data
T CO2e
Safety performance
Lost Time Incident Frequency Rate (LTIFR)
Zero
notices of socio-economic 
sanctions
Waste sent to landfill
% of total waste
Waste recovered, recycled or treated
% of total waste
Zero
notices of environmental 
non-compliance
Scope 2 emissions data
T CO2e
100%
All new product development 
within 2021 had a sustainable 
alternative built in
100%
of relevant employees trained 
on anti-bribery, corruption and 
our code of conduct
19,995
26,306
‘21
‘19
0.15
13,450
‘21
‘19
0.39
0.65
‘21
‘20
‘19
0.79
97.99
96.49
‘21
‘20
‘19
90.44
2.01
3.51
‘21
‘20
‘19
9.56
-50%
In 2021 we achieved a fivefold reduction 
in waste
-24%
In 2021, we reduced our Scope 1 
emissions by 24% against our baseline
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
04
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

Vita puts words 
into action
Our ambitious GHG targets 
align with the Paris Climate 
Accord. In 2021, Vita signed 
up to the SBTi, one of the most 
rigorous analyses of GHG 
emissions. We are one of only 
2,811 pioneering companies 
globally to submit targets to 
the SBTi. Another example is 
out safety record. We have 
consistently improved our 
safety recordings, halving 
our lost time accidents (LTA) 
across the group in 2021.
Sustainability and 
Innovation go hand 
in hand at Vita
Through our strategic 
partnerships covering 
academic research, raw 
material and wet chemical 
analysis, development of 
new sustainable foams, and 
investment in four Innovation 
Centres, Vita is an enabler of 
the circular economy.
We are continuously 
seeking opportunities 
to work more 
efficiently
Vita has pioneered the  
re-use of trim materials for 
carpet underlay, hydroponic/
green roof materials, and 
Revosport. We continue to 
invest in developing new 
products, ensuring we 
remain a net consumer of  
trim materials. 
We are the 
commercialisation 
partner of choice
Vita is defined by multi-layered 
sustainability breakthroughs: 
re-purposing by-products, 
seeking alternative raw 
materials, enabling customers 
to improve, and processing 
the waste of our customers’ 
customers. We are the clear 
‘commercialisation partner 
of choice’ for advanced 
technologies and 
sustainable thinking.
Our approach to sustainability 
(continued)
It is right for our 
business, the 
environment, and 
the consumer
Putting sustainability at the 
heart of all that we do is 
morally and ethically the right 
thing to do.
Our commitment to enhancing everyday life
It is our ambition to lead the ESG agenda in our industry. We are well positioned to this because:
05
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
About this report

Our 
values
RESOURCEFUL
We relentlessly pursue 
solutions that create 
success for our 
customers
SAFETY
We place safety at the 
heart of everything 
we do
INNOVATIVE
We apply creativity 
to drive change
INTEGRITY
We make the
right choices,
not the easy ones
RESPONSIBLE
We care for each other, 
our world and the 
environment
Our purpose
Every day, we make flexible PU foams that create 
comfort, deliver performance and enhance everyday 
life. While delivering the high-quality products our 
customers expect, we must also mitigate the impact 
our business has on future generations.
We are striving to have a lower carbon footprint 
through the re-use, re-purpose, and recycling of 
our products together with the use of renewable 
feedstocks, which reduces our usage of virgin 
hydrocarbons. Carbon is a special natural resource 
and we ensure that, wherever possible, production 
by-product is repurposed into new materials, 
extending the carbon lifecycle. Working with 
partners, we have developed a pioneering process 
to recycle consumer waste to extract the original 
chemicals and re-use this original carbon. We have 
developed products that use natural feedstocks 
such as soya and pine which are by-products  
and therefore capture and recycle potentially  
wasted carbon.
We work hard to keep employees safe, healthy, 
happy and productive, and to safeguard the  
health of communities that host our operations. 
Robust governance arrangements ensure that  
we conduct business ethically and responsibly.
Creating 
Comfort
Delivering 
Performance
Enhancing 
Everyday Life
Our values
Our approach to sustainability 
(continued)
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
06
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

1949
Vitafoam was founded with 
£100 of capital at Glen Mill  
in Oldham, England
1970
Round block foaming began 
at Accrington for net shape 
forming and to reduce waste
2015
Ultra-Fresh™ anti-bacterial 
treated underlay introduced to 
the Cloud 9™ range
2017
ECO2FOAM launched for Technical 
and Comfort markets, harnessing 
and trapping CO2 in its raw material
1992
Developed the first melamine and filler-free 
combustion modified high resilience foam, 
satisfying UK flammability regulations and 
expectations for comfort and durability
2007
Origin™ launched in the UK, 
created using non-compete 
soya bio polyols
2019
TCPP-free foam with excellent rebound 
and fully compliant with UK 
flammability regulation launched and 
awarded NBF Innovation of the Year
1995
Ball & Young pioneered the flame 
bonding process to produce 
Cloud 9™ domestic underlay, 
becoming the UK’s market leader
2000
First foam developed using renewable  
raw materials, originally made 
from sunflower oils and later  
non-compete bio polyols
2020
Collaborated with Dow Chemical  
to produce Orbis™, a flexible polyurethane 
foam made with RENUVA™ polyol,  
created with raw materials from  
recycled mattress content
2021
Orbis™ range extended based  
on our partnership with Evonik, which 
enables recycling of post-consumer foam 
mattresses to the original polyol material
Key facts
1998
Novada launched for automotive  
applications, its fine cell and low  
porosity structure set an industry  
standard for ester foams
Our approach to sustainability 
(continued)
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
07
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

Our ESG principles 
and goals that 
guide us 
In early 2021, we published our ‘Enhancing 
Everyday Life’ vision document, which set 
out a comprehensive set of ESG principles 
and goals. While we have already achieved 
some of these goals, meeting others will 
take considerable work over the long term. 
We plan to revisit and renew this strategy at 
regular intervals, to ensure that we continue 
to stretch ourselves, and lead on the ESG 
agenda within our industry.
Principle 1
Driving circularity
We are reducing the amount of waste we 
create, transitioning to more sustainable raw 
materials, and innovating with our suppliers 
and customers to increase recycling and 
reduce our GHG emissions.
In 2021 we changed our new business 
development process to embed a sustainable 
option into every new product innovation
Targets in green have been 
achieved by the given date
2030
2025
Embed sustainability metrics into our annual 
supplier performance review
All Vita foaming plants will be able to 
manufacture with sustainable polyols
Principle 2
Optimising resources
We make more from less by using resources 
as efficiently as possible, reducing our energy 
usage and improving our processes to lower our 
environmental impact. We are also harnessing 
pioneering technology that allows us to widen our raw 
material base and use fewer non-renewable sources.
Mapping of Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions 
to be complete by 2022
2023
Scope 1 and 2 emissions to be reduced by 25%
Engage Tier 1 & Tier 2 suppliers to set 
sustainability goals beyond ISO14001
90%+ of our electricity will come from  
renewable sources by March 2021 and 100%  
by the end of 2022 (original target – 2025)
Find out more	
	
15
2050
Net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions
2040
We will send zero manufacturing waste to landfill
Find out more	
	
28
2021
2021
2022
2022
2030
Scope 1 and 2 reduction by 46% and Scope 3  
by 13% in line with SBTi commitments
2025
Our approach to sustainability 
(continued)
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
08
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

Principle 3
Empowering people
We are working hard to improve our safety record, 
and drive a year-on-year reduction on lost time 
accidents (LTAs) until we reach zero LTAs. We are 
embedding our diversity and inclusion policy to 
encourage an inclusive environment and help  
all colleagues to reach their full potential.
Zero occupational accidents every year 
Encouraging a diverse, inclusive and 
engaged culture where our people  
can achieve their full potential
Nurturing a culture where our 
purpose and values are exhibited 
every day in all of our decisions
Principle 4
Find out more	
	
36
Acting ethically
We always act ethically because we only 
want to win if we’ve done things the right way. 
One of our fundamental values is acting with 
integrity: making the right choices and not 
just the easy ones.
Find out more	
	
43
We will continue to operate within the law  
in all countries where we do business
We will train all relevant employees each year 
using a holistic compliance programme focused 
on higher-risk areas involving third parties
We will continue to scan our external 
environment for threats and opportunities  
and transparently manage risks and prospects  
with our leadership team and the ESG Steering 
Committee’s Governance sub-group
Providing ongoing ethics training for 100%  
of all relevant employees
Targets in blue are 
ongoing targets
Our approach to sustainability 
(continued)
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
09
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

ESG strategy and governance
The Vita Group’s leadership team, led by the Group 
CEO, is responsible for the development and 
implementation of our policies, our environmental 
management system, and for ensuring all activity 
is guided by these policies. The Team is also 
responsible for the operational governance of the 
company, including decision making on economic, 
environmental and social topics, and for this 
sustainability report. See also p.44, in the Acting 
Ethically section.
Our ‘Vision’ document sets out clearly Vita’s formal 
ESG targets for the future. In the coming years  
we will report back on our ESG journey.
ESG governance comprises an overarching ESG 
Steering Committee, supplemented by sub-groups 
focused on specific issues, each chaired by senior 
directors. Each ESG sub-group is led by relevant 
specialists within Vita operating to an agreed remit. 
ESG goals as described in each chapter in this 
report are owned by the sub-groups.
Senior leaders in the Group, including the CEO  
and senior management team, had personal 
objectives in 2021 that linked to their bonus  
plans that related to delivering Vita’s ESG agenda.
There is a dedicated environment and 
GHG-focussed budget in place, which is utilised  
to execute actions against our ESG goals.
 
Five working groups,  
focused on critical issues
Wet chemistry 
Examining use of  
bio polyols, repolyols  
and other sustainable 
materials
Product 
stewardship 
Working to reduce GHG 
impact of products,  
reduce VOCs and  
improve sustainability
Reducing waste
Improving operational 
excellence while reducing 
variation from process  
optimisation and 
specification
Social
Improving the safety and 
wellbeing of our people  
and the communities  
where we operate
Ethics
Ensuring our workforce  
is able to uphold the 
highest ethical standards
“In the coming years we will be putting 
in place more structured targets and 
sharing progress against them.”
	 ROB EVANS, PROCUREMENT DIRECTOR
ESG Steering Committee
Chair 
Ian Robb, Group CEO
Environmental (E) 
Sustainability, 
Environmental 
and Energy
Chairs 
Rob Evans and 
Mike Murray
Governance (G)
Chair 
Bridget Groarke
ESG 
Communications
Chair 
Dave Kowal
Social (S)
Chair 
Dave Kowal
ESG Steering Committee Structure
Our approach to sustainability 
(continued)
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
10
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

Macro trends and context
As a responsible business we aim to operate with 
due regard for the limits and demands placed on 
economic, environmental or social systems, at local 
and global levels. Financial growth cannot come  
at any cost; environmental carrying capacity  
must be recognised, and people should not face  
social disadvantage. 
Climate change, resource sustainability, health 
during a pandemic, and increasing transparency  
– all of these factors and more are relevant to  
our agenda. From the Group Board to the  
factory floor, we must be adaptable, resilient  
and forward-looking. At Vita, we continuously 
challenge ourselves to reduce the impact of our 
products while delivering the highest quality,  
most sustainable goods to our customers.
Our markets also demand a meaningful response 
to key global challenges: the UK and EU are home 
to citizens, businesses and investors that expect 
rapid positive progress. Of course, we aim to 
comply with country-level ESG codes and 
commitments, and where we can, we will exceed 
them both in the speed of our adoption and the 
scale of our ambitions. 
Major global trends 
that amplify risks  
and opportunities 
will often have a 
regulatory dimension, e.g. product stewardship, 
sustainable operations, green buildings and 
resource management. To ensure alignment,  
we work with industry bodies, such as EUROPUR,  
to positively influence regulatory frameworks  
and standards.
Our 
operational 
context
UN Sustainable 
Development Goals
We have mapped our potential contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 
Given our purpose and values, and the products we produce, we are, already largely 
aligned with the desired outcomes of the Goals. 
Primary contribution
Our progress on the circular economy, 
materials efficiency, packaging reductions 
and energy conservation measures 
contribute to Goals 12 and 13.
Secondary contribution
Wherever we operate, we are making 
progress to improve employee health, 
safety and wellbeing alongside positive 
contributions to supply chain management 
and community involvement.
Participation in the 
United Nations Global Compact
Vita has taken another important step in advancing our ESG agenda  
by joining the United Nations Global Compact – one of the world’s  
most significant corporate citizenship initiatives.
Vita has committed to making the UN Global Compact and its  
principles part of our strategy, culture, and day-to-day operations.  
We will collaborate on projects that advance the United Nations 
Sustainable Development Goals and their broader development goals, 
including implementing practices to address poverty and inequality  
and endeavouring to build a better world for future generations.
Our approach to sustainability 
(continued)
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
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Acting ethically
About this report

Improving 
sustainability 
standards
We are pleased that external benchmarker 
EcoVadis has recognised our ESG performance. 
12
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report
“Throughout Vita’s 70-year history, we have been  
at the vanguard of sustainable technologies within the  
PU foam manufacturing industry. And in recent years,  
we have invested heavily in improving the circularity  
of our products, including cutting the carbon output  
of our operations, among other initiatives. 
 We are pleased to have been awarded the Silver Ecovadis 
rating, which recognises our strong environmental 
credentials. It’s fantastic to see our hard work recognised 
– but we wouldn’t be ‘Vita’ if we didn’t want to gain 
a higher rating in future. Recent, innovative 
developments mean that  
I am confident we will 
make that happen.”
	 IAN ROBB, GROUP CEO
VITA GLOBAL LTD (GROUP)
has been awarded a
Silver medal
as a recognition of their EcoVadis Rating
2021
- OCTOBER 2021-
Valid until: October 2022
EcoVadis® is a registered trademark. © Copyright EcoVadis 2018 - All rights reserved
You are receiving this score/medal based on the disclosed information and news resources available to EcoVadis at the time of assessment. Should
any information or circumstances change materially during the period of the scorecard/medal validity, EcoVadis reserves the right to place the
business’ scorecard/medal on hold and, if considered appropriate, to re-assess and possibly issue a revised scorecard/medal.
Our approach to sustainability 
(continued)
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

The future of 
sustainability at Vita
Meeting big challenges
Making that happen is a significant challenge. 
And we know that there isn’t a single ‘silver 
bullet’ solution. Rather, it will likely take multiple 
technologies in combination to help us, and the 
industry, achieve GHG neutrality and circularity.  
We believe that Vita is uniquely positioned to 
work with key suppliers to help develop and 
commercialise these technologies, and to prove 
their capabilities. 
Critical investments must be made in ‘end-of-life’ 
materials. For example, we have pioneered  
the reuse of trim materials for carpet underlay, 
hydroponic/green roof materials and Revosport,  
and we continue to invest in the development  
of new products to meet our ambition of remaining  
a net consumer of trim materials.
What we believe
We believe that reaching ‘net-zero’ emissions and a  
fully circular economy are achievable, but only through  
deep, permanent changes within our industry.
These changes will not happen without close 
collaboration with our suppliers to improve the 
recycling of existing resources (repolyoling) and  
to reduce the amount of petrochemical-derived  
raw material we use, for example, broadening  
our range of bio polyols.
Where we’re  
headed 
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
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Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

The Vita Group is a 
catalyst for change
Decades of successfully commercialised  
eco-efficiency in manufacturing and product design 
have afforded the Group a central place in our 
industry: a hub of transformation and an enabler  
of the circular economy.
In practice, that means:
	
➤
Enabling the circular economy and sustainability 
improvements for others, especially customers, 
e.g. using fewer inadequately managed natural 
resources, emitting fewer GHG emissions, and 
repurposing waste
	
➤
Making more, with less – reducing energy and 
non-renewable material inputs means fewer 
physical impacts and lower-carbon operations
	
➤
Forging partnerships with well-known 
petrochemical and specialty chemical 
multinationals to create award-winning  
products such as Origin™
	
➤
Collaborating with Dow Chemical to create 
OrbisTM, by using RENUVA™ polyols, and with 
Evonik to convert PU Foam to the original  
polyol raw material
Vita is defined by multi-layered 
sustainability breakthroughs: reusing 
by-products, seeking alternative raw 
materials, enabling customers to 
improve and processing the waste of our 
customers’ customers. We are the clear 
‘commercialisation partner of choice’ for 
advanced technologies and sustainable 
thinking. With our strong track record 
and clear pipeline of opportunities in our 
stage gate process, we remain a leading 
innovator in our chosen markets.
The future of sustainability at Vita 
(continued)
“With our strong track 
record and clear pipeline 
of opportunities in our 
stage gate process, we 
remain a leading innovator 
in our chosen markets.”
	 HAYLEY CROSBY,  
TRANSFORMATION DIRECTOR
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
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Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

“Putting sustainability 
at the heart of all we 
do is part of Vita‘s DNA. 
I‘m delighted I get to play 
my part in that journey.”
	 Ruby, Sales Administrator
We are committed to conserving natural 
resources, by reducing waste, increasing 
recycling and reusing raw materials in  
pursuit of a ‘net zero’ carbon footprint. 
Driving  
circularity
Principle 1
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
15
About this report
Acting ethically

Introduction
Our industry’s long-term success depends,  
among other things, on the development of ‘internal 
circular economies’, where flexible PU foams can  
be recycled, re-engineered and repurposed within  
our manufacturing processes. 
In line with our company purpose and sustainability 
goals, we systematically reduce the amount of trim 
by-product foam, and ensure that it is combined 
with customer trim as repurposed materials 
in products such as carpet underlay, tiles, or 
recreational and sports surfaces. At the same  
time, through partnerships with Dow Chemical 
and Evonik, we are enabling the increased use  
of repurposed end-of-life materials into new 
products. In other partnerships we are working  
on non-compete bio-based sustainable materials. 
This dual role – developing an internal circular 
economy, while simultaneously acting as the 
commercial partner of choice for more sustainable 
and advanced complex chemistries – allows Vita to 
claim a credible leadership position in our industry.
We have added Orbis™ to our range of sustainable foams, bringing 
our sustainability-focused range to four core offerings:
Origin™ – Origin™ bio polyol derived foam, 
launched in 2007. Bio polyols are sourced from 
castor, pine, sunflower and soy, and must have 
no harmful environmental impact when we 
source them.
Orbis™ – made with polyols extracted from 
post-consumer foam, launched in 2020.  
Orbis™ materials are manufactured using 
repolyol raw materials.
Nemus™ – incorporates CO2-enhanced polyols, 
launched in 2017 as Eco2foam and rebranded 
in 2021. The polyol used in this process brings 
CO2 back into the value chain whilst saving up  
to 20% Crude Oil.
Driving circularity (continued)
Novus™ – reconstituted foam blocks 
constructed through a process of bonding 
granulated post-industrial foam waste.  
We process our offcuts into rebonded foam  
and reintroduce it into the production cycle.
16
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

Driving circularity
at The Vita Group
Extraction
Raw materials in:
– Natural latex, natural rubber
– Isocyanates and polyols (petrochem/specialty chem)
– Catalysts 
– Green benzene
– Biopolyols (alternative, sustainable, from sunﬂowers, 
   soya, pine and castor)
Procurement, design,
product formulations
– Innovation
– Supplier partnerships
– Know your supplier
– Sustainable option built into new product development
– Life cycle analysis
Finished and
semi-ﬁnished products
Subject to highest quality 
checks, in compliance with 
product safety requirements
End of life
Repolyols e.g. mattress recycling 
with industry partners. 
Radium Foam B.V. 
C2C Gold certiﬁcate, held since 2013
Production
Customer use,
consumer use
Packaging, distribution 
Innovation
Internal recycling: reuse, re-bond, re-purpose
e.g. trim via Ball & Young (p20)
– Cloud 9™ carpet underlays
– Revosport certiﬁed artiﬁcial turf underlay
– Mobius™ regrind material
Leakage:
collected for landﬁll 
or energy recovery
Leakage from system to 
be minimized (e.g. landﬁll)
3a
4a
5a
1
2
3
4
5
6
Where packaging is used externally, it is reused wherever possible
Driving circularity (continued)
17
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
About this report

Context
Since the Industrial Revolution, the ‘take-make-
waste’ production model has been standard in 
industry. By contrast, a ‘circular’ economy seeks 
to minimise waste. But, to function, it relies on 
systemic change in many areas, such as business 
models, finance, technology, national infrastructure, 
municipal waste planning, recycled material markets 
and product design. 
Given the need to preserve raw materials and 
reduce carbon emissions, transformation is already 
happening in many industries and regions of the 
world. In fact, many governments have already 
started to place additional requirements upon 
producers, such as the ‘Extended Producer 
Responsibility’ laws, which makes manufacturers 
responsible for the post-consumer stage of the 
product life cycle.
We believe that important steps are now being 
taken towards a circular economy in our industry, 
yet we recognise that there is no single integrated 
solution. Whilst fully developed recycling processes 
and infrastructures may be currently out of reach, 
numerous enabling actions are already available, 
such as bio polyols, material recycling and extending 
trim life. Accompanying these are more nascent 
technologies designed to meet our industry  
goals, such as biomass-balanced polyol and 
isocyanate production.
We have long-term relationships with leading large 
scale suppliers that are shaping the breakthroughs. 
As evidenced by our Dow Chemical and Evonik 
partnerships, we are the clear commercialisation 
partner for suppliers with advanced technologies 
and sustainable thinking.
Performance and plans
Key goals
Performance against goals in 2021
Summary of three-year plan
Staying in Trim:  
As a net consumer of trim, 100% of our  
own trim is repurposed into new products  
or regrind materials
	
➤
30,569 tonnes diverted from landfill and repurposed  
(from Vita production and returned from customers).
	
➤
Remain a net consumer of trim, invest in new product 
development to expand repurposing of by-product 
materials. 
Renewable Materials:  
All Vita foaming plants to manufacture 
products incorporating sustainable  
polyols by 2030
	
➤
Seven of our 13 foaming sites manufacture using sustainable 
polyols.
	
➤
Orbis™ successfully commercialised (p.16).
	
➤
We are working with Evonik to produce and commercialise 
their repolyol material. 
	
➤
Ongoing commercialisation of Orbis™, Nemus™, Origin™ 
and Novus™.
	
➤
Increase the range of products manufactured using 
sustainable polyols.
	
➤
Adding additional repolyol materials to our commercial 
ranges in partnership with key suppliers.
Raw Materials:  
Maximise the use of renewable feedstocks
	
➤
We are working with all our major chemical suppliers  
on renewable feedstocks at the start of their processes, 
including the use of recycled plastic, bio-mass and  
bio-gas to create ‘green benzene’ or materials that can  
be classed as carbon-neutral.
	
➤
Develop a pricing model with major suppliers, since some 
solutions are currently cost prohibitive. As developments 
move from pilot to mass production, economies of scale 
should help reduce costs. 
	
➤
Vita is committed to 1-1.5% of total chemical procurement 
being renewable feedstock material in 2022.
Innovation:  
We will seek to embed a sustainable  
option into every new product 
	
➤
Sustainable alternatives are embedded into 100% of  
new product developments.
	
➤
We launched an additional brand, Orbis™, which uses 
end-of-life repolyol materials.
	
➤
Continue pushing the boundaries of sustainable polyols in 
our formulations.
	
➤
Ensure our product stewardship is ahead of the legislative 
development. 
	
➤
Seek new opportunities for PU foam rebond products to 
extend the life of PU and maximise the locked-in value. 
	
➤
Assess each new product for an overall reduction in  
GHG emissions.
Innovation:  
50% of our product range to have a  
like-for-like option with sustainably-sourced 
raw materials, by 2030
	
➤
We continue to work on embedding sustainability  
attributes into new products.
	
➤
Consistent delivery of optimised properties in line with 
product stewardship commitments. 
	
➤
Ongoing investment in sustainable raw materials and  
their integration into our manufacturing.
	
➤
Developing more products with a sustainable option:  
we are well positioned to enhance our innovation pipeline  
to meet our 2030 goal.
Sustainable Procurement:  
Sustainability metrics embedded into annual 
supplier performance reviews by 2025
	
➤
Working with partners such as Dow Chemical and Evonik  
has allowed us to move forward with our sustainable 
procurement and we have now commercialised repolyol 
products under the Orbis™ brand. 
	
➤
Increased our use of bio polyols by 220% and CO2  
derived polyols by 82% since 2020. 
	
➤
ESG ratings assessed for all major suppliers, accounting  
for 53% of Group spend.
	
➤
‘Know Your Supplier’ process developed and launched in 2021.
	
➤
Scope 3 mapping to enable us to obtain ‘Global Warming 
Potential’ relating to each supplier.
	
➤
Expand ESG rating of suppliers.
	
➤
Assess life cycle analysis (LCA) tools.
	
➤
Full roll out of ‘Know Your Supplier’ programme.
	
➤
Switch additional product ranges away from  
non-renewable-based raw materials. 
	
➤
Expand partnerships and request current suppliers to 
deliver more sustainable and recycled raw materials.
Driving circularity (continued)
18
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

30,569t
of trim prevented going to landfill
250,000t
of trim prevented going to landfill
100%
of our own trim is repurposed
Staying in trim
‘Trim’ is defined principally as offcuts of foam 
created during the production process.  
By repurposing every piece of trim we create,  
and partnering with our customers to return their 
trim to us, we recycled over 30,569 tonnes in 2021.
Products that incorporate trim include the  
Cloud 9™ range of carpet underlays from Ball & 
Young, and our Revosport certified artificial turf 
underlay. With our repurposing expertise, we are 
able to take a wide variety of foam materials and 
densities and convert them into high-performing 
products, including ‘rebonded’ foams which are  
also used in our high-density bedding products. 
Since 2000, by reusing by-products to create 
recyclable materials, we have diverted 250,000 
tonnes of trim from landfill, while providing our 
customers with award-winning and superior 
performance materials – a true win-win.
In this section
• Staying in trim
• Renewable feedstocks
• Innovation
• Sustainable procurement
Cutting waste, 
maintaining 
quality
For several years we have used an 
innovative technology at specific 
foaming sites in Germany and 
Lithuania to produce a material  
we call MobiusTM comprising 
pulverised foam by-products.  
The process creates a raw material 
with a precisely defined grain 
size, meaning it can be added to 
flexible polyurethane foam without 
modifying its structure: the quality of 
the final product is thus unaffected. 
It is also the potential feed material 
for many new repolyol processes, 
providing more solutions to drive the 
circular economy.
Key activities in 2021 included:
	
➤
Reusing 30,569 tonnes of trim, and 
avoiding landfill.
	
➤
Utilising 8,818 tonnes of foam from 
customer by-products.
	
➤
3% of Group sales contain regrind 
materials.
	
➤
Launching ‘Extending the life of PU’, 
a programme to expand the range of 
existing rebond materials and explore 
innovative products.
100%
= 1,000 tonnes
Driving circularity (continued)
19
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

Trim foam 
becomes 
new products
 
Over the next three years...
	
We will continue to work with 
customers to develop more 
sustainable rebond products, that 
lower their carbon footprint and 
drives a more circular economy.
	
We continue to enhance our Ball 
& Young and Revosport product 
ranges. We continue to work with 
customers to ensure they maximise 
their use of trim.
	
Our long-term strategy is to remain 
a net consumer of trim, divert waste 
from landfill, and help enable the 
circular economy.
	
Continue to provide customers with 
an enhanced range of products,  
as a result.
Trim collection
Trim foam is collected from all 
Vita Group plants and shipped 
 to the Ball & Young facility  
in Corby, UK
Material breakdown
The trim is mechanically broken  
down into different crumb sizes.  
The materials are steam-cleaned  
and then mixed with an isocyanate 
pre-poloymer, provided from  
within the Group
Conversion
The mix is moulded, pressed and  
bonded together with a pre-polymer  
and injected with additional steam to  
create a round or rectangular foam  
block which can be converted into  
a range of new products
Ball & Young, part of The Vita Group, is an 
industry-leading manufacturer of high-quality 
flooring underlays. Its growth has come from 
creating highly resilient and durable underlays 
made from PU trim that is ground up and 
cleaned, and then rebonded in moulds.
A sophisticated logistical operation ensures that 
Ball & Young are well-supplied with trim from all 
Vita sites and from our customers. This enables 
us to supply a wide range of underlays that meet 
customers’ exacting standards. This operation 
is structured to ensure efficient logistics and 
lower-carbon transport (see also p.31).
1
2
3
Driving circularity (continued)
20
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

Renewable feedstocks
There are six primary renewable materials used  
by Vita:
	
➤
Bio polyols
	
➤
CO2 derived polyols
	
➤
Repolyol materials
	
➤
Natural latex
	
➤
Natural rubber
	
➤
TDI/MDI/Polyols (from renewable feedstocks 
such as recycled plastic, bio-mass).
Over time, we expect to see demand for bio polyol 
and repolyol materials as base feedstocks for PU 
foam materials increase, until fully-recycled materials 
become available. 
As the case study shows, we also expect to see 
continued growth in other products, such as our 
premium Radium Foam Latex mattress and pillow 
range, where renewable materials, sustainable 
operations and a ‘cradle-to-cradle’ approach  
have existed for many years.
Meeting the 
highest global 
standards
Our Radium Foam plant, based in the 
Netherlands and part of The Vita Group, has held 
the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) Gold certification 
since 2013.
The C2C Gold certificate is the global standard 
for products that are safe, circular and 
responsibly made. The certificate is awarded 
based on five key indicators: material health, 
ensuring materials are safe for humans and the 
environment, product circularity, clean air and 
climate protection, water and soil stewardship 
and social fairness. 
The rigorous assessment indicates that the 
company’s products have been designed in a 
responsible manner. All products are checked 
by the chemists from EPEA (Environmental 
Protection Encouragement Agency) and all the 
materials used in the manufacturing process  
are confirmed not to be harmful to health or  
the environment. 
Radium Foam have also recently renewed their 
FSC (Forest Sustainability Council) certification. 
This ensures that the origin of all manufactured 
products is known, and confirms that the 
company stands for safe and sustainable forest 
and plantation management, including boycotting 
the use of harmful pesticides and fertilisers.
“Through extensive, globally 
recognised certification 
programmes, Radium 
Foam is delivering healthy 
sleep in a sustainable and 
environment-friendly way.”
	 PETER PLEUNIS LEVEAU, GENERAL 
MANAGER, RADIUM FOAM
Driving circularity (continued)
21
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

Dow Chemical’s 
complex 
chemistry 
combined with 
our production 
know-how
Our ICOA facility in France, in partnership 
with Dow Chemical, is transforming Dow 
Chemical’s end-of-life mattress repolyol 
materials into new products. This circular 
innovation relies on Dow Chemical’s 
innovation in combination with Vita’s ability 
to turn complex chemistry into advanced 
products, and our production know-how to 
create reliable, high-quality Orbis™ foams.
In 2021, we commercialised our first Orbis™ product 
made from repolyol materials. This technically 
demanding process requires substantial expertise  
in chemistry, its application and manufacturing in 
order to be successful. 
In 2021, we also signed a partnership with Evonik 
to commercialise their repolyol process, and 
we enabled seven of our 13 foaming sites to 
manufacture sustainable polyols; again, this  
requires specific processes and expertise.
A key benefit of our approach is that, in most cases, 
these raw materials also have lower GHG profiles 
than virgin petrochemically derived raw materials; 
this helps reduce our Scope 3 GHG emissions.
Key activities in 2021 included:
	
➤
Increasing the number of manufacturing 
facilities that can produce sustainable 
polyols to seven out of our thirteen 
foaming plants.
	
➤
Commercialising the OrbisTM range  
of foams.
	
➤
Signing an agreement with Evonik to 
introduce their repolyol materials into 
our Orbis™ range.
“OrbisTM is a real innovation.  
The partnership with Dow 
Chemical has enabled  
The Vita Group to prove  
that the technology works  
and that it can create very  
high-quality products that are 
at the forefront of answering our 
industry’s circularity questions.”
	 MARK LEWIS, THE VITA GROUP’S  
	 REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR BEDDING
Over the next three years...
	
We aim to increase the number of 
sites that can manufacture with a 
sustainable polyol.
	
We will procure more bio polyol and 
repolyol materials and increase the 
number of products that contain 
have more sustainable materials. 
	
We will continue working with key 
suppliers as their commercialisation 
partner of choice for new 
sustainable technologies.
Driving circularity (continued)
22
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

Innovation
Lightweight, durable, resilient and flexible, PU foam 
provides high comfort levels, can be impregnated  
for additional properties, and has a relatively low 
GHG profile in the manufacturing process. PU can 
be used to support light-weighting and other  
GHG-saving initiatives, and it carries significant  
end-of-life value for reuse, repurposing or, 
increasingly, full chemical recycling.
We are excited to work with such a material to  
move our business and industry forward, we build 
long-term partnerships with suppliers, academia 
and industry bodies, we foster a culture of 
openness to new ideas, and we invest heavily in PU 
foam innovation. 
Innovation Awards
“Well done to our team of 
engineers and chemists, who 
have relentlessly pursued the 
possibility of producing foam 
from recycled materials.  
Vita is at the vanguard of 
sustainability, and it is 
imperative that we continue  
to lead and let others follow.”
	 DAVE KOWAL, 
CHIEF PEOPLE AND 
SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER
Innovation is the lifeblood of our business and 
is critical to driving circularity. It powers our 
growth and strengthens our relationship with 
our customers. We apply creativity to create 
change, and our relentless focus has made 
us an award-winning pioneer, trusted to solve 
complex customer challenges.
We continue to receive significant industry 
awards in recognition of our ability to 
consistently innovate. Recently, our innovation 
capability was recognised at the prestigious 
UTECH conference, where Vita won two 
Innovation Awards for Orbis™ foam and the 
VitaRest Origin™ pillow.
Driving circularity (continued)
23
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

Each of our new products in our innovation pipeline 
has a sustainable option built in. Mike Murray, CTO, 
says that “our four new innovation centres are now 
fully operational, and have taken a leading role in 
helping Vita become more sustainable”. This is 
complemented by our recent significant investment 
in putting innovative, technically-demanding, 
renewable feedstocks into operation as part of our 
Orbis™ range of products. We also redesigned our 
new product development processes to ensure 
that sustainability ‘stage-gate’ criteria are included 
and sustainable alternatives are available to our 
customers. These investments and developments 
have enabled us to begin evaluating the potential  
for offering more sustainable alternatives across  
our entire product range.
Pushing 
boundaries 
at our new 
pilot plant
At our Accrington site, we have invested in a 
state-of-the-art ‘pilot’ plant, which enables us 
to improve our understanding of fundamental 
chemistry formulations and processing 
parameters. This means we’re able to design 
products which are inherently easily recyclable 
and ensure our processes are optimised and 
efficient. The work being done in Accrington 
also gives us the capability to further push 
the performance and quality boundaries 
of sustainable polyols and ensure they are 
optimised to maximise use and product 
performance properties.
Find out more at:  
www.thevitagroup.com/sustainability
“Our four new innovation 
centres have become 
fully operational and 
have taken a leading role 
in helping Vita become  
more sustainable 
and innovative.”
	 MIKE MURRAY, 
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
Driving circularity (continued)
24
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

Natural, sustainable 
materials for better 
sleep 
The VitaRest Origin™ pillow, launched in 2021, incorporates Origin™ 
foam, made from bio polyols based on sunflowers, soya, pine and 
castor. It’s also infused with sustainably sourced castor oil, renowned 
for its calming effects. Origin™ is one of our global flagship sustainable 
brands, and offers the same level of comfort as traditional PU foam. 
Meanwhile castor oil has therapeutic properties and is used in  
medicine and skincare for its natural anti-inflammatory and moisturising  
effects. The addition of UltraFresh™ also offers anti-fungal and 
antibacterial properties.
Find out more at:
www.thevitagroup.com/sustainability
Key activities in 2021 included:
	
➤
Building sustainability into our new product development processes.
	
➤
Operationalising our four innovation centres, helping to accelerate 
sustainable development projects.
	
➤
Employing more than 60 people working in R&D across our business.
	
➤
Commercialising our Orbis™ range of repolyol products.
	
➤
Working with EUROPUR, where we contribute to four working 
groups: Product Stewardship & Impurities, Plant & Workers Issues, 
Circular Economy and Communication.
	
➤
Innovating extensively on product stewardship matters, partnering 
with several universities to accelerate research timelines.
	
➤
Further optimising resources and removing waste from our 
production processes.
Over the next three years...
	
We will continue to ensure that 
every new product developed in 
our Innovation Pipeline will have a 
sustainable option built in.
	
We will accelerate the pace of new 
product development, so that by 
2030 we can meet our target of 
providing sustainable alternatives  
for 50% of our product range.
	
We will continue to innovate in 
extending the life of PU foam, 
renewable feedstocks and product 
stewardship.
	
We will continue to form 
relationships with universities and 
suppliers, where their expertise 
can help accelerate product 
development.
“Innovation sits at the heart of 
everything we do. Each of our 
four state-of-the-art innovation 
centres has a unique purpose, 
working together to drive sustainable 
innovation and the circular economy.”
	 STUART ROBY, 
	 MANAGING DIRECTOR –	 FLOORING AND TECHNICAL 
“Innovation is what sets 
us apart and is why we 
are the partner of choice 
for our customers.”
	 GILBERT DAVIDS, 
	 MANAGING DIRECTOR – COMFORT
Driving circularity (continued)
25
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

Sustainable 
Procurement  
System
Sustainable procurement
Much of the initial research into sustainable  
materials is undertaken by large chemical suppliers. 
Our role in enabling the circular economy is the  
post-research follow-up: our development 
know-how, production expertise and ability to 
commercialise complex chemistries. We are 
experts at fine-tuning material properties, enabling 
complex raw materials to be produced at scale, 
and developing additional product characteristics 
to make the materials and resulting products more 
attractive to our customers. 
Rob Evans, Director of Procurement, says “we 
are proud to work with many chemical suppliers 
who value innovation and sustainability as much 
as we do. We understand that we cannot achieve 
our ambitious ESG goals without robust supplier 
relationships in place. We value working with  
our suppliers, and we are proud to be regularly 
selected as a partner of choice when introducing 
new, more sustainable offerings”.
In 2021, we launched our Sustainability Policy and 
our Sustainable Procurement Policy, embedded our 
Supply Chain Responsibility Policy and undertook 
self-certified supplier assessments on sustainable 
performance. We undertook ‘roadshows’ with  
many of our suppliers where we explained our  
ESG strategy, our expectations of them, and how  
we plan to monitor their progress in the future.  
We shared with them the areas that we see as 
being material to our – and their – performance, 
such as GHG emissions, human rights in the supply 
chain and other areas covered by our Sustainable 
Procurement Policy.
The chemicals we manufacture with are largely 
subject to REACH (Registration, Evaluation, 
Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals).  
Much of our business is providing customers  
with finished or semi-finished products. As such,  
numerous REACH obligations apply to our 
production processes (for example, restrictions on 
using isocyanates); however, as the vast majority 
of our products are either finished or semi-finished, 
they are considered “articles” for the purposes of 
REACH. As a significant consumer of isocyanates 
within our industry, we work closely with EUROPUR 
and the European Diisocyanate & Polyol Producers 
Association (ISOPA), and we are subject to on-site 
audits from ISOPA accredited suppliers, which 
contributes to product safety throughout the supply 
and manufacturing chain. Our foaming sites are 
SEVESO-regulated, placing specific requirements 
on them concerning documentation, production 
management, disaster and emergency recovery  
and specific governmental audit requirements.
Of course, upstream conditions in supply chains 
affect downstream impacts. We only ever supply 
products that are safe for our customers to use. 
This requirement is governed by our Group Safety, 
Health and Environment Policy and includes 
providing appropriate information on product 
use to our customers, for example, material data 
safety sheets where they are required. We take our 
product stewardship role very seriously (please see 
the Product stewardship section in the ‘Optimising 
resources’ chapter). We seek to substitute 
materials wherever we can to reduce, for example, 
volatile organic compounds (VOC) from our 
production emissions.
Vita has considered the risks of forced and child 
labour in its supply chain, and details of the results 
can be found in our Slavery and Human Trafficking 
Statement. While inherent risk exists in countries 
which play a part in our supply chain, we have 
controls in place to mitigate them, and we believe 
this results in no negative impacts.
We procure very small amounts of products which 
contain tin, mainly catalysts which assist the  
reaction between TDI and polyols, which accounts 
for less than 0.25% of Group spend). However,  
as a conflict material we ensure that our suppliers, 
who are purchasing tin for their products provide 
us with conflict mineral reporting. While we are the 
ultimate end user of the tin, it is our supplier that is 
subject to completing the CMRT requirements, as 
we do not buy tin directly. As part of our sustainable 
procurement process, we require their CMRT data 
to be shared with us.
“We are proud to work  
with many chemical 
suppliers who value 
innovation and 
sustainability as  
much as we do.”
	 ROB EVANS, 
DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT
Sustainable 
Procurement and 
Sustainability Policy 
framework in place
1
2
3
4
Strategic 
communications  
with suppliers
Monitoring of conduct 
through self-certification, 
supplier review meetings 
and exceptions reporting
Data reviewed by the 
ESG Steering Committee 
sub-groups to inform 
additional actions/ 
policies/etc. required
Driving circularity (continued)
26
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

Key activities in 2021 included:
	
➤
Launching our ‘Enhancing Everyday Life’ ESG vision for The Vita 
Group, shared with suppliers.
	
➤
Launching our Sustainability Policy and our Sustainable 
Procurement Policy.
	
➤
Working with key suppliers on enabling the circular economy  
by recycling end-of-life materials (repolyol).
	
➤
Training our buyers on sustainability-related matters, including 
sustainability in their performance review process and 
future objectives.
	
➤
Working with EUROPUR and ISOPA to constantly enhance product 
safety and to enhance communications on product use within  
our industry.
	
➤
Introducing enhanced ‘Know Your Supplier’ processes that 
incorporate a range of ESG-related matters, including sustainable 
performance and human rights protection.
	
➤
Formally assessing our suppliers’ approach to REACH 
requirements.
	
➤
Offering training on environmental matters across most of our 
facilities, including more than 90% of our sales personnel;  
trained commercial teams on GHG and sustainability.
Over the next three years...
	
We will ensure that our suppliers’ 
sustainability performance will be 
a core component of their annual 
assessment by 2025.
After 2025...
	
We will make sustainability 
performance a core consideration  
of our buying decisions.
	
We will continue to train more 
people in our organisation on 
sustainability-related matters, 
building on work undertaken in  
2021 with our commercial team  
and senior leaders.
	
We will continue to work with 
key suppliers to help innovate 
the circular economy and act as 
their commercialisation partner of 
choice for complex chemistries 
and sustainability-focused 
developments.
Driving circularity (continued)
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
27
About this report

“I’m proud to work for an 
organisation that puts its 
words into action and takes 
its responsibility to the 
environment seriously.”
	 Laura, VBI Marketing
Climate change and resource stewardship are 
critical: by taking responsibility for the types 
and volumes of energy we consume, we seek 
to reduce our impact on both the climate and 
on the communities in which we operate. 
Optimising 
resources
Principle 2
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
28
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

Introduction
Reducing GHG emissions to reach ‘net-zero’ carbon 
is a moral, economic and societal imperative.  
We are very proud to be a signatory to the SBTi  
and we have committed to stretching targets to 
reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 
2030 by 46%.
As explained in the previous section, we reuse 
most of our production by-product. This focus on 
recycling by-product is ingrained in our culture 
and management practices. Our commitment to 
product stewardship means substituting materials, 
improving their environmental performance, and 
lowering the need for virgin, petrochemically-derived 
raw materials. We work relentlessly to reduce the 
amount of raw materials from non-sustainable 
sources. We want to optimise resources to make 
sure we truly live up to our purpose of enhancing 
everyday life. 
 
Context
Climate change and responsible use of natural 
resources are the most critical concerns of our  
time. Companies everywhere recognise that  
actively managing, and reducing, GHG emissions  
is fundamental to running a successful business  
and prospering in a lower-carbon economy. 
Companies pursue GHG reductions through 
efficiencies that benefit the bottom line and  
GHG targets. We recognise that efforts to reduce 
environmental impacts create trade-offs: emissions 
reduction can be costly but more beneficial for  
the environment. Renewable energy, for instance,  
is often more costly than conventional energy.  
We also recognise external resources that offer 
new approaches to a business model or support to 
corporate sustainability strategies. Examples are  
the UN Global Compact, CDP, the Global Reporting 
Initiative (GRI), the VRF (SASB and IIRC merged  
to become ‘the VRF’), the SBTi and the Future  
Fit Foundation. 
 
Performance and plans
Vita’s GHG emissions and climate risk are material topics (see p.50). Part of our response is the formal 
submission of our data and targets to the SBTi and alignment with the GRI Standards for disclosure and 
reporting.
Key goals
Performance against 
goals in 2021
Summary of 
three-year plan
GHG emissions:  
Measure and map Scopes 1 and 2 
by 2021, and Scope 3 by 2022
	
➤
All scopes mapped.
	
➤
Scope 1 and 2 emissions fully 
mapped. 
	
➤
Ongoing monitoring of GHG 
emissions including more detailed 
analysis of global warming 
potential for materials sat within 
Scope 3 emissions.
90% of our electricity from 
renewable sources by March 2021
	
➤
99.92% of our electricity in 2021 
was from renewable sources.
	
➤
We will achieve 100% of our 
electricity from renewable 
sources in 2022, eight years 
ahead of our initial target.
100% renewable electricity by 2030
Combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 
reduction by 25% by 2030
	
➤
Achieved 50.29% reduction  
by 2022.
	
➤
We will continue to invest in 
energy efficiency programmes 
that reduce our GHG emissions.
Net-zero carbon (Scope 1 and 
Scope 2) by 2050
Material use and waste:  
100% division of all cardboard, 
metals and plastics by 2030
	
➤
100% of our own trim was 
repurposed in our manufacturing.
	
➤
98% of all waste diverted from 
landfill.
	
➤
100% of our own production 
by-product is repurposed, and 
we are developing a pipeline of 
alternative products so we can 
consume our additional waste  
as volumes grow.
Material use and waste:  
Zero manufacturing waste to 
landfill by 2040
Product stewardship:  
Ensuring that all new product 
developments have a sustainable 
alternative available
	
➤
50% of the development projects  
added to the innovation pipeline 
incorporated a product 
stewardship dimension.
	
➤
Conducted a Life Cycle Analysis 
(LCA) for a major growth market  
for Vita.
	
➤
All new products in new product 
pipeline have a sustainable 
alternative built in.
	
➤
We will build capability to 
conduct LCAs for a wider  
range of our product families.
	
➤
We will continue to invest 
in product stewardship 
programmes and work  
with industry bodies such  
as EUROPUR.
Optimising resources (continued)
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
29
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

Greenhouse gas 
emissions
During 2021, we conducted an extensive Carbon 
Audit of all our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, based 
on the GHG Protocol. 
We have now mapped our Scope 1, 2 and 3 
emissions ahead of schedule. We have measured all 
energy consumption and CO2 emissions across all 
sites. We also incorporated analyses of risk, supply 
contracts, budgets, targets and fuel bill validation. 
Vita is a low energy usage business: making PU 
flexible foam involves an exothermic reaction – a 
net release of heat. The conversion of rebonded 
parts and other processes consume most of the 
production energy we use, followed by office  
heating and lighting. In some manufacturing 
facilities, we use the heat of the PU blocks to  
keep warehouses warm.
Our science-based targets
At the end of 2021, we committed to targets aligned 
with the SBTi. Targets are ‘science-based’ if they 
are in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Accord 
of limiting global warming to well below 2ºC above 
pre-industrial levels, while targeting a warming limit 
of 1.5ºC. We are one of only 2,811 companies that 
have undertaken the detailed mapping required to 
commit to the SBTi. We expect our submission to  
be validated in the third quarter of 2022.
	
➤
We have set targets to reduce Scope 1 and  
2 emissions by 46% by 2030 in line with the 
1.5ºC temperature rise pathway (2019 baseline). 
	
➤
For Scope 3 emissions, our target is a 13% 
reduction by 2030, in line with the 2ºC 
temperature rise pathway. 
	
➤
Vita has committed to reach Scope 1 and 2 
‘net-zero’ carbon emissions by 2050. 
We have set ourselves such demanding Scope 1 
and 2 targets because we have more control over 
our own emissions. Our suppliers are responsible 
for the majority of our Scope 3 emissions. In 2022 
we will continue mapping our Scope 3 emissions 
with our major raw material suppliers. Currently 
we can only use the average Global Warming 
Potential (GWP) measure for the major chemicals, 
as published by ISOPA; however, we intend to have 
a supplier-by-supplier comparison mapped during 
2022, and from 2025 we have advised suppliers that 
this will be part of our sourcing decision process.
In 2021 Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions were 787,919.15 
T CO2e, an increase of 240,203.15 T CO2e. The 
increase is in relation to our Scope 3 emissions, 
derived from the intensity calculations within  
the ‘WRI Scope 3 Evaluator Tool’, recognised  
by the SBTi but affected by volatility in raw  
materials pricing.
We have reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 
19,760.85 T CO2e. 
Reduction targets in place
	
➤
Scope 1 and 2 – reduce by 25% against 2019 
baseline by 2030	
	
	
	
➤
New Scope 1 and 2 target – reduce by 46% 
against 2019 baseline by 2030	
	
	
➤
New Scope 3 target – reduce by 13% against 
2019 baseline by 2030	
	
	
Our Scope 1 and 2 emissions represent 2.5% of  
our total emissions, while Scope 3 emissions 
represents 97.5%.
GHG intensity
Absolute data from different years provides a useful 
measure of impact scale, but our GHG intensity  
is more meaningful, particularly as we grow;  
for example, we acquired three business in 2021.  
We express intensity by taking the total GHG 
emissions from Scopes 1, 2 and 3, and dividing 
them by the total weight of products sold during 
the year. We have separated out the GHG intensity 
by Scope so that we can monitor progress on the 
emissions we control (Scopes 1 and 2) as we work 
with our suppliers on Scope 3 reductions. Although 
we use intensity as an internal management tool, 
we have made commitments on absolute GHG 
reductions. As such, for 2021 we will report our 
absolute GHG performance and not our intensity.
The ‘WRI Scope 3 Evaluator Tool’ offers a first step 
towards a full Scope 3 inventory, and in 2022 we are 
working with a third party to refine our Scope 3 data.
Renewable electricity
We are set to beat by eight years our initial target  
to use 100% renewable electricity by 2030. 
In 2022, all of our sites are set to use 100% 
renewable electricity.
In 2019, we took a policy decision to buy renewable 
electricity wherever possible, as existing contracts 
expired. In 2021, 99.92% of procured electricity 
was from renewable sources (92% from renewable 
power and 7.92% from Energy Attributable 
Certificates (EACs). These EACs are in compliance 
with both SBTi and RE100 requirements. The use 
of EACs applies to selected ongoing contracts on 
leased sites (not under Vita’s control, such as in 
Poland) and our Albanian site, where it was not 
possible to purchase renewable energy (the Albania 
site closed 30th June 2021).
Environmental management
At the close of 2021 five sites, accounting for 18% of 
Group sales, had a certified ISO14001 management 
system in place. The entire Vita environmental 
management system approach is guided by the 
principles and philosophy of ISO14001. In 2022,  
we will conduct a full review of the remaining sites. 
All major foaming and conversion sites were audited 
by an external third-party for environmental risk 
during 2020/21.
Energy efficiency
All Vita sites in the scope of the European Commission’s 
Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) have been shown 
via independent audit to be compliant with the 
Directive. In the UK, all of our sites are Energy 
Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) compliant and 
are again independently audited. Currently, we have 
42 energy efficiency projects in place across Vita, 
with a further 415 possible projects identified, all of 
which would help reduce our emissions whilst also 
reducing costs.
In this section
• Greenhouse gas emissions
• Material and waste
• Product stewardship
1.	 At the time of writing.
“Vita is only one of 1,391 
companies to set exacting 
targets in line with a 1.5oC 
commitment.”
Optimising resources (continued)
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
30
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

Water
The production of flexible PU foam uses a very small 
amount of water, hence water consumption falling 
outside of Vita’s high materiality threshold. Similarly, 
any water used in the flexible PU foam production 
process is consumed within the formulation: there 
is no waste water. As a Group, we consumed 
159,512m3 during 2021. Of this, more than 80,402m3 
was consumed by a single site (i.e. just over 50%): 
Vita Talalay – which represents c. 3% of our sales, 
uses water as part of its latex moulding process. 
During 2022 we will continue to monitor water usage 
and implement water-saving programmes as part of 
good house-keeping on site. We will also review our 
consumption in areas of mild or severe water stress. 
Whilst we do not see this as a material contributor 
to our sustainability challenge, we believe it is good 
practice to take a proactive approach.
Transport
Our foam products are compressed in preparation 
for transport. Products are relatively light of course 
– typical loads weigh two to four tonnes. Our 
state‑of‑the‑art packaging equipment compresses 
rolls of foam, thus reducing the amount of space 
needed – one container of compressed rolls is the 
equivalent to three containers of uncompressed foam. 
We also deploy ‘press trucks’, specialised trailers 
that compress foam in transit, thus increasing the 
capacity by at least a factor of three. By using this 
method in 2021 we reduced haulage distances by 
2,300,000 kilometres and saved 696,157 litres of fuel.
We also work with our major chemicals suppliers 
to increase the payloads delivered, with an annual 
review of performance and targets. We recorded a 
clear reduction of inbound TDI and polyol delivery 
payloads since 2016.
Innovative 
raw materials 
Nemus™, developed in collaboration 
with Covestro, is made using polyols 
derived from captured CO2. In these foam 
formulations, CO2-based polyols are 
substituted for a portion of petroleum-based 
polyols. Products such as foam mattresses, 
flooring, and even clothing can, up to a 
point, ‘lock in’ CO2 and act as a carbon 
sink. Research at Covestro shows that 
up to about 20% of polyols can become 
renewable. Additionally, for every one million 
pounds (453,592 kg) of BiOH polyols used, 
over 2,050 barrels of crude oil are saved.
Certified product 
energy savings
As we look at ways to reduce our GHG emissions 
and improve sustainability, Radium Foam, part of  
The Vita Group, has been working on processes 
to decrease energy and gas consumption, in the 
production of TalalayTM latex.
During our latex production there is a 9-step 
process, in which the materials are exposed 
to extreme temperatures. The process uses 
temperatures as low as -30oc and as high as 
115oc. These extreme ranges in temperature 
along with the increased demand of Talalay™ 
latex products have meant a rapid development 
in our production processes to improve efficiency 
and sustainability. In 2021, we invested in  
4 state-of-the art glycol pumps which run 
continuously 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 
These state-of-the-art pumps with energy saving 
technology built into their design, allow us to  
save 334,000 kWh of electricity per year
During the production process we were using  
8 compressors to help with the cooling of the  
latex. These compressors were running at full 
capacity and using a large quantity to electricity 
(each had 170 kW of cooling power).
We recently chose to replace 2 of these 
compressors with 1 large compressor with  
900 kW of cooling power. The power of the new 
compressor is so efficient it can almost support 
the whole factory alone, and it has reduced 
energy use by around 800,000 kWh per year.
We also improved the steam boilers, which 
are used to shape the products. By improving 
the efficiency of the existing boilers, we have 
managed to reduce gas used by 40,000 m3 per 
year. Thus, reducing the amount of emissions 
released into the atmosphere. 
All 3 innovations have had positive impacts on 
the sustainability of the business, so much so 
the Dutch authorities have acknowledged these 
initiatives for being highly energy efficient and for 
their positive ESG impact. 
Average payload
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
TDI
23.3
23.3
23.7
23.8
23.7
23.9
Polyols
23.8
23.8
23.8
24.0
24.0
24.1
In late 2020, we outsourced the majority of our 
UK fleet to an external service provider (their GHG 
impacts therefore became Scope 3 emissions).  
This has resulted in the removal of 16 old ‘tractor’ 
units, which were replaced with seven new,  
fuel-efficient vehicles. Route optimisation and 
network efficiency has also helped reduce  
GHG emissions. 
Our increased use of bio polyol and repolyol materials 
(with their lower carbon characteristics) has positively 
impacted our Scope 3 emissions. As we have 
introduced sustainability requirements to suppliers, 
many have invested in sourcing their own renewable 
energy, which typically accounts for a significant 
component of their emissions.
Optimising resources (continued)
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Key activities in 2021 included:
	
➤
Undertaking detailed Scope 1, 2 and 3 
emissions mapping.
	
➤
Setting targets aligned with the SBTi.
	
➤
Reducing Scope 1 emissions by 
becoming more energy-efficient.
	
➤
Reducing Scope 2 emissions to near 
zero: 99.92% renewable electricity.
	
➤
Reducing Scope 3 via new, lower-carbon 
products and lower-carbon supplies.
Over the next three years...
	
We will continue to monitor our 
Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
	
We will invest in energy efficiency 
programmes including electricity, 
gas and process emissions-focused 
improvement activities.
	
We will work with suppliers to switch 
products to lower-carbon materials.
	
We will attribute greater weight to 
sustainability performance when 
assessing suppliers, including actions 
to reduce their GHG emissions.
	
We will continue to decrease our 
Scope 1 and 2 emissions and work 
towards our Scope 3 reduction 
target of 13% by 2030.
	
Run water usage reduction projects 
to minimise waste and leakage from 
the system.
Our Scope 1 emissions have reduced significantly 
for two reasons. Firstly we changed our cleaning 
chemistries to ones that have a lower global warming 
potential, this has significantly lowered our process 
emissions. Since 2020 approximately 70% of our UK 
fleet has been outsourced to a dedicated transport 
provider. This has led to increased efficiencies as 
our logistics provider has been able to optimise the 
transport network and invest in new, more energy 
efficient equipment, whilst also resulting in emissions 
moving from Scope 1 to Scope 3. This only accounts 
for ~1% of Scope 3 emissions. 
Scope 2 emissions have decreased significantly.  
Our sourcing policy introduced in 2019 requires 
us to buy renewable electricity wherever possible, 
with a small number of exceptions. Where its 
not available (Albania), or where we do not have 
sourcing control (Landlord sites). Where we have 
been unable to switch to renewable electricity, we 
have purchased EACs in line with RE100. In 2021, 
we emitted 0.15T of Scope 2 GHG emissions versus 
a baseline of 13,450T in 2019. We are very proud 
of this achievement and look forward to having 
completely renewable electricity in 2022.
Our reported Scope 3 GHG emissions have increased 
overall, and we are emitting more CO2e per unit of 
volume produced. The data reported are based on 
the ‘WRI Scope 3 Evaluator Tool’ which is recognised 
by the SBTi and offers a first step to quantifying a 
full inventory of Scope 3 emissions. In 2022, we 
are working with a third party to refine Scope 3 
quantification relating to the supply chain of 80%+  
of our products.
In 2022, we are working with a third party to develop 
a volume-based Scope 3 model that reflects actual 
GHG intensity, based on actual output, within our 
supply chain. Our ambition is to accurately map 
80%+ of our supply chain’s products for their global 
warming potential, with the remaining ~20% being 
captured by the ‘WRI Scope 3 Evaluator Tool.
Reduction of emissions since 2019
Scope 1
Scope 2
Scope 1 + 2
Scope 3
Absolute 
emissions
(T CO2e)
Emissions 
change 
(T CO2e)
-6,311
-13,449.85
-19,760.85
+259,964
Emissions 
change
-24%
-99.99% -49.7%
+51%
Vita is one of c.1,000 companies, and the only company in our industry, to set ambitious 
Scope 1 and 2 targets aligned with reductions required to meet a 1.5° pathway.
Reduction targets in place
Scope 1 
and 2 target
Reduce by 25% 
against 2019 
baseline by 2025
New Scope 1 
and 2 target
Reduce by 46% 
against 2019 
baseline by 2030
New Scope 
3 target
Reduce by 13% 
against 2019 
baseline by 2030
2030
2025
2030
Optimising resources (continued)
2019
26,306
22,715 19,995
2020
2021
13,450 12,007
0.15
2019
2020
2021
 39,756
34,722
19,995.15
2019
2020
2021
767,924
507,960
2019
2021
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
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Material use, waste and 
by-product materials
We have been reducing waste and diverting trim 
from landfill since 1970 when we ran our ‘round 
block’ production processes at our Accrington 
site. We have contributed significantly to reducing 
material use through sophisticated trim management 
as described in the previous section. 
We reduce waste and by-product materials through  
many continuous improvement programmes in  
our manufacturing. For example, we work with  
our waste and by-product contractors to find  
more sustainable re-grind solutions and ensure 
continued high standards of hazardous waste and 
by-product disposal.
In 2021, we produced 21,751 tonnes of trim, waste 
and by-product materials. On top of this, we 
collected 8,818 tonnes of trim from our customers. 
Of the combined total, 92.2% was either repurposed 
into new products or recycled, 4.2% was converted 
to energy, 0.9% was incinerated, and 0.8% was 
treated as hazardous waste in accordance with local 
regulations; 2% was sent to landfill. The majority of 
trim is reused, so we can report that 32 of our sites 
sent zero waste and by-product materials to landfill. 
Significant progress has also been made on 
segregating cardboard, metals and plastics across 
our facilities, and we are on track to reach our 2030 
target of complete separation of cardboard, metals 
and plastics. Furthermore, we have reduced the 
amount of packaging we use; currently, over 60%  
of our products are sold without any packaging. 
Where packaging is required, it is for customer 
safety, product protection or aesthetic reasons.  
We make every attempt to collect packaging  
for reuse.
Waste and by-product 
materials recovered,  
recycled or treated
% of waste
Zero
notices of environmental 
non-compliance
97.99
96.49
‘21
‘20
‘19
90.44
In 2021, almost 98% of 
our waste was recovered, 
recycled or treated
~98%
Hazardous waste and 
by-product materials 
produced (and 
subsequently treated)
% of waste
0.81
0.94
‘21
‘20
‘19 0.88
In 2021, less than 1% of  
our waste and by-product 
materials were hazardous
<1%
Waste and by-product 
materials sent to landfill
% of waste
2.01
3.51
‘21
‘20
In 2021, approximately  
2% of our waste was  
sent to landfill
~2%
32 sites
send zero waste and by-product 
material to Landfill
Optimising resources (continued)
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Collaborating on 
next-generation foams 
Our ongoing research with Bolton University 
focuses on developing alternatives to TCPP and 
melamine, two commonly used flame retardants. 
The aim is to find an alternative flame retardant 
that does not affect the physical/mechanical 
properties of the foam. The solution must be  
economically viable and comply with the Furniture  
and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988,  
and any future standards that may be introduced.
As well as offering safety benefits, removal 
of TCPP and melamine would ensure that all 
post-production scrap and trim foam from the 
customer could be more easily repurposed  
for a broad range of rebond applications.  
Further work is focusing on legacy chemicals, 
with a goal of broadening the options for  
post-consumer recycling.
This ongoing Knowledge Transfer Partnership 
has seen a PhD student seconded to the 
Vita Group to share their academic expertise, 
allowing the business to innovate and develop  
next-generation foams and supply a growing 
market. Bolton University is recognised 
internationally for its research into and extensive 
knowledge of chemistry and materials relating to 
fire performance across textiles and polymers.
Less 
packaging, 
fewer 
emissions 
The finished bedding teams at TAOS and 
Savigny-sur-Clairis have installed new  
micro-packaging machinery that wraps 
mattresses significantly smaller, enabling 
more mattresses to be transported per 
vehicle and reducing packaging used 
per mattress. The teams have developed 
this technology and process without 
compromising product quality. 
Key activities in 2021 included:
	
➤
Reusing 30,569 tonnes of trim foam,  
repurposing it to high-quality products 
and avoiding landfill.
	
➤
32 sites sent zero waste to landfill.
	
➤
Reduction of Group waste to landfill  
to 2%. 
	
➤
All hazardous waste (0.8% of total) 
treated in line with local laws.
	
➤
Waste separation improvement: 87.5% 
of sites undertaking waste separation.
Over the next three years...
	 We will continue to repurpose 100% of 
our trim foam and collect customers’ 
trim too.
	 We will increase the number of sites 
that do not send waste to landfill, and 
work with local authorities to improve 
disposal of waste.
	 We will continue to train our  
employees on the importance of  
waste segregation.
	 We will continue to reduce the amount 
of hazardous waste we produce.
Optimising resources (continued)
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Product stewardship
We strive to produce high-quality products that 
meet all safety standards. We operate entirely in 
accordance with international regulations such 
as REACH as well as with and local laws. We 
experienced no product recalls during 2021. 
As explained in the ‘Driving Circularity’ section, 
we invest in innovation which embraces product 
stewardship and finding materials with fewer 
negative environmental impacts, such as reduced 
VOC emissions. As we de-carbonise our product 
range we also continue to innovate to reduce  
odour, to use low emission additives, and to  
cut VOCs in our manufacturing. In addition,  
in the UK, our comfort foams are tested to the 
CertiPUR™ standard. 
In 2021, 50% of the new product developments 
in our innovation pipeline incorporated a more 
sustainable product stewardship benefit. 
We continued to commercialise our FRee™ product 
range, and we created Exor™, our ‘free-from’ range 
of materials. We also conducted a LCA on our core 
growth family of products: mattresses and bedding. 
Initial analyses are complete with detailed LCAs on 
a wide variety of product families to follow. Initial 
findings illustrate the powerful attributes of PU foam 
– its superior characteristics, often with a lower  
GHG emissions profile compared to other materials 
which may offer sustainability attributes.
An important part of our product stewardship 
programme is leading on legislative change in 
product safety and environmental toxicity. To do 
this, we work with bodies such as Europur, and we 
partner with numerous universities and academic 
institutions, which help us accelerate our product 
stewardship development.
Our Sustainability Policy and our Code of Conduct 
commits us to ensuring that all communications 
regarding product properties, components and 
ingredients are honest, ethical and responsible. 
Customers and end-users are informed about any 
risk of negative impacts of products, and no false 
claims about product benefits are permissible. 
Where required, material safety data sheets are 
sent with products and product properties are 
communicated on part of the sales process. 
Vita has a watching brief of all legislation changes 
that comes through Europur and from regular 
reviews with our suppliers. 
The benefits of forging industrial and academic 
alliances are clear. They help us accelerate 
investments in both pure innovation and those 
focused on enhancing product safety.
50%
of the new product developments in 
our innovation pipeline had a product 
stewardship element in 2021
Key activities in 2021 included:
	
➤
Launching Exor™ and ongoing 
commercialisation of FRee™ products 
that focus on substituting materials for 
even lower impact chemistries.
	
➤
Ensuring half of the additional 
development projects in the new 
product development pipeline have  
a product stewardship element.
	
➤
Ongoing work with EUROPUR, with Vita 
having significant input to EUROPUR’s 
product stewardship Working Group.
	
➤
Switching to raw materials with lower 
GHG impacts, such as bio polyols 
(Origin™) and repolyol materials 
(Orbis™) wherever possible.
	
➤
Developing a range of reduced cyclic 
siloxane silicone improvements that 
exceed all industry requirements.
	
➤
Conducting LCAs on products going 
into the bedding and mattress market 
to understand their GHG profile  
and how this compares against 
competing products.
Over the next three years...
	
We will continue to invest in our 
Exor™ and FRee™ ranges and 
continue to identify new chemistries 
that lower VOCs.
	
We will work with industry bodies 
such as EUROPUR, to help set high 
standards for product stewardship 
and customer safety within our 
industry.
	
We will be investing significantly in 
our ability to conduct LCAs for our 
products and develop an engine for 
reviewing alternative chemistries.
Optimising resources (continued)
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
35
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

The way we manage human resources 
practices makes Vita a safer, better and 
more enjoyable place to be, helping us retain 
the hard-earned trust of our stakeholders. 
Empowering 
people
Principle 3
“At Vita, we have a culture 
of actively supporting  
one another to be the 
best we can be.”
	 Mark, Senior Quality Engineer
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
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Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

Introduction
Vita is a purpose-led business. Our purpose is  
‘to create comfort, deliver performance and enhance  
everyday life’ and it underpins everything we do, 
how we behave and the decisions we make. It’s our 
ambition that Vita employees are able to achieve 
their full potential whilst at work. We work to ensure 
that each employee is respected, is offered good 
opportunities for professional development, and 
belongs to a workplace where their opinions are 
actively solicited, and where they can contribute to 
shaping our diverse and inclusive culture. 
Context
Employee safety, wellbeing, non-discrimination, 
and high levels of employee engagement are 
increasingly – and rightly – seen as fundamentals 
at work. For example, on safety, the human cost 
of workplace accidents is often substantial, with 
a ripple effect on the injured employee’s family, 
friends and colleagues. But also, discrimination is 
still too common: it violates a fundamental human 
right and exacerbates inequalities, with broader 
social and economic consequences; ultimately, 
non-discrimination and inclusive practices improve 
business outcomes, and make it easier to attract 
talent. Recent research supports this, such as a 
2019 survey of 13,000 enterprises in 70 countries  
concluding that almost three-quarters of 
respondents acknowledge the benefits of gender 
diversity in management1. Further, respect 
for human rights and non-discrimination also 
demonstrates integrity, and helps manage 
reputational risks.
1.	 ‘Women in Business and Management: The business case for 
change’ reports respondents claiming profit increases of between 
5% and 20% https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/
newsroom/news/WCMS_701767/lang--en/index.htm 
Performance and plans
Key goals
Performance against goals 
in 2021
Summary of three-year plan
Safety: 
Zero occupational accidents  
every year
	
➤
0.39 LTIFR.2
	
➤
Launch of behavioral safety 
programme.
	
➤
Ongoing deployment of policies 
and standards.
	
➤
Continue behavioural safety 
programme roll-out.
	
➤
Continue to implement policy  
and mandatory standards. 
	
➤
Ongoing review of safety risks, 
expansion of long-term risk 
reduction plans. 
	
➤
Greater focus on leading safety 
indicators. 
Culture: 
Nurturing a culture where our 
purpose and values are exhibited 
every day in all of our decisions 
	
➤
95%+ of our employees took part 
in our ‘VitaCraft’ purpose and 
values training. 
	
➤
81% of our employees took part 
in the behavioural safety survey. 
	
➤
Over 40% of employees trained  
in behavioural safety.
	
➤
44% of our leadership team  
has a protected diversity 
characteristic (as defined by  
the UK Equality Act).3 
	
➤
Undertake an all-employee 
survey with a specific focus on 
diversity, equality and inclusion. 
	
➤
100% of employees to be trained 
on behavioural safety. 
	
➤
Undertake ‘Better You, Better  
Life’ focus on wellbeing and 
mental health. 
	
➤
All senior leaders to receive 
diversity and inclusion training. 
Culture: 
Encouraging a diverse, inclusive 
and engaged culture where our 
people can achieve their full 
potential 
Development: 
Offering development opportunities 
so that our people can flourish  
at work 
	
➤
Launch of our leadership 
development programmes, 
eleVate and Velocity.
	
➤
Appraisals conducted with 
100% of top three layers of 
management, and other key  
roles within the business.
	
➤
Continue eleVate and Velocity 
programmes. 
	
➤
Deliver training on coaching 
techniques for senior and  
mid-level managers. 
	
➤
Introduce performance 
management training. 
	
➤
Pilot a ‘job chat’ process 
where all employees in the pilot 
organisation receive an informal 
appraisal.
2.	 Lost Time Incident Frequency Rate = the number of lost time accidents (LTAs) divided by total hours worked, multiplied by 100,000.
3.	 Two female leaders and two leaders from ethnic minorities within our senior management team.
Empowering people (continued)
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Safety
Our number one priority is making sure that every 
employee, contractor and visitor to a Vita Group 
site returns home safe. We see safe operations 
as a moral imperative. We also believe that safe 
operations are synonymous with high quality, 
productivity and customer focus. We are proud of 
our achievements to date in creating a safe and 
high-performance culture within our operations. 
Throughout 2021, we saw our safety performance 
improve. We ended the year with a lost time injury 
frequency rate (LTIFR) of 0.39 (2020: 0.65), down 
from 0.90 in 2018. 
When it comes to safety governance and 
management we operate a multi-layered series 
of approaches. Our Group Safety, Health and 
Environment (SHE) Policy and mandatory standards 
on safety aim to deliver zero harm for all employees, 
contractors and visitors on our sites. The Vita 
Group’s leadership team advises on SHE risk 
reduction and strategy, and supports the business 
in its execution and auditing. The Group Board 
establishes levels of acceptable risk and makes 
capital and other resources available as required. 
Senior management sets Vita’s safety performance 
goals while the Group safety council governs  
overall safety strategy including policy, standards, 
and behavioural/culture change activities.  
Divisional safety councils adopt the Group  
strategy accounting for divisional priorities  
and responsibilities. 
Key activities in 2021 included:
	
➤
Refreshing policies and mandatory 
standards concerning the areas of 
greatest risk in our operations,  
e.g. mobile plant, permit to work  
and ‘lock out tag out’ (LOTO). 
	
➤
Actively encouraging employees to 
undertake risk assessments and write 
safe operating procedures. 
	
➤
Launching our behavioural safety 
programme ‘Caring for each other’ 
(see case study on page 39).
	
➤
Providing occupational health 
support and industrial hygiene/health 
monitoring, e.g. health monitoring for 
employees working with isocyanates.
	
➤
Sharing information about accidents 
and their causes to prevent any 
reoccurrence. 
	
➤
Monitoring a set of leading and lagging 
safety indicators with active monitoring, 
feedback and engagement, e.g. an 
average of two hazards per employee 
were raised in 2021, with a 90%  
closure rate. 
	
➤
Launching ‘Vita Towards Zero’ projects 
to further engage employees, facilitated 
by a site-level VTZ safety committee,  
to reduce risk and potential harm. 
	
➤
Auditing all foaming facilities for  
process safety and spot-auditing  
a number of our sites for general  
safety performance. 
In this section
• Safety
• Our culture
• Learning and development
Regional directors and site managers implement 
site-specific safety management in line with 
Group SHE management system policy, site-level 
procedures and checklists, and other ‘zero harm’ 
initiatives. Council meetings are monthly.
Each Vita Group business has a formal written 
SHE management system in place that details 
compliance with legislation where we operate,  
with policy, and with Group mandatory standards. 
The safety management system follows the plan,  
do, check, act (PDCA) cycle.
Vita Towards Zero (VTZ) is our behavioural safety 
training programme and engagement campaign 
to help deliver the Group’s safety priorities,  
enable visual safety leadership, and set the tone  
and culture.
Employees are actively involved in risk reduction 
activities and contribute to writing risk assessments 
and safe operating procedures.
Our safety management system aligns with 
recognised standards such as ISO18000 and the 
DuPont Bradley Curve, a measure of maturity for 
behavioural safety. Our Policy ensures clarity of 
responsibilities, including the appointment of a  
SHE Coordinator for each site.
Understanding and improving our safety culture 
In 2017, we launched our safety programme 
‘Vita Towards Zero’ which focuses on safety 
conditions and employee engagement. A critical 
output was vital safety documentation to guide 
colleagues on safety at work every day. While 
this constitutes a strong foundation upon which 
to build, we know that the only way to make 
a real step-change in safety performance is 
through better ‘behavioural safety’. Since 2018, 
we have reduced our LTIFR across the business 
from 0.9 to 0.39 by focussing on this core value. 
Our safety partnership with DuPont Sustainable 
Solutions enables us to focus on three  
critical things:
	
➤
A safety perception survey to help us 
understand the safety culture throughout  
the business
	
➤
Manager and supervisor training. 
	
➤
‘Safety champions’ training, who will then  
go on to train our employees.
We also invest heavily in staff wellbeing 
campaigns. For example, during the first  
quarter of each year we run our ‘Better You, 
Better Life’ campaign. This initiative includes 
Group-wide and local team activities, all 
designed to promote the benefits of, and 
techniques for, staying active both physically  
and mentally. Alongside the business-wide 
activities, we have trained designated ‘mental 
health first-aiders’ so that our people always 
have someone to go to for support. 
By supporting the physical and mental  
wellbeing of our people, in addition to putting 
safety first, we will make good on our aspiration 
of Zero Harm.
Empowering people (continued)
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Over the next three years...
	
We will continue the roll-out of our 
behavioural safety programme.
	
We will revisit higher-risk activities 
across the Group, and deliver 
updated policies and mandatory 
standards on risk reduction. 
	
We will set more demanding ‘stretch 
targets’ for performance, measured 
through leading (pre-emptive) 
indicators, including an additional 
‘safety observations per employee’ 
metric, to be added to existing 
leading indicators.
	
We will appoint a dedicated head  
of behavioural safety.
Behavioural 
safety training,  
in partnership 
with DuPont 
February 2021 saw the launch of our behavioural 
safety programme, ‘Caring for each other’, in 
partnership with DuPont Sustainable Solutions. 
Employees completed a safety performance 
perception survey for their site, which was then scored 
against the DuPont Bradley Curve, a measure of 
maturity for behavioural safety. More than 300 people 
attended the site manager and supervisor training  
on the importance of behavioural safety, alongside  
75 behavioural ‘safety champions’. By the end of 2021, 
these champions had delivered the ‘Caring for each 
other’ programme to over 30% of our workforce; this 
will reach 100% by April 2022.
“This programme has helped explain 
to our employees that their safety 
comes first. You can have policies, 
processes and safe operating 
procedures, but we will still have 
accidents if people choose to take 
shortcuts. I am proud of the way our 
people have responded to this challenge.”
	 GILBERT DAVIDS, 
MD COMFORT – A SPONSOR OF THE PROGRAMME
Empowering people (continued)
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Our culture
The Vita Group’s overall purpose has remained 
consistent since 1949; to create comfort, deliver 
performance and enhance everyday life. 
Living up to our purpose requires a highly engaged, 
diverse workforce of exceptional people. The Vita 
Management Team thanks every employee for their 
hard work, dedication and commitment during 
2021, even as COVID-19 caused disruptions to 
supply, production and customer demand. Our 
employees have proven resilient when faced with 
these challenges, and the improvements made, in 
areas such as safety, would be impossible without 
our talented workforce. 
Gamifying our 
approach to 
purpose and values 
In partnership with a third-party facilitator, we developed a 
training programme which ‘gamified’ our efforts to introduce  
our purpose and values to our people. The resulting programme, 
‘VitaCraft’, included exercises where employees were 
encouraged to use our values to make decisions, to discuss 
how they ‘live the values’ in practice, and what opportunities 
they, and the Group, can find to embed the values more deeply 
into how Vita operates.
“The Vita Management 
Team thank every Vita 
employee for their 
dedication, commitment 
and resilience. Each day, 
you are enabling Vita  
to meet our purpose:  
to create comfort,  
deliver performance and 
enhance everyday life.”
	 STUART ROBY, 
MANAGING DIRECTOR – 
TECHNICAL AND FLOORING DIVISION
Empowering people (continued)
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Culture depends on active participation by each of 
us, and in 2021 more than 95% of our employees 
attended a one-hour training programme, ‘VitaCraft’. 
This programme included discussions on our 
purpose and values, where employees were 
asked to rank the values by how hard they are 
to implement and live by, and by impact on the 
company. Employees identified the values of Safety, 
Responsibility and Integrity as particularly critical  
to enabling better company performance. 
A positive culture embraces differences and  
resists discrimination. 
Of the nine people in our executive senior 
management team, four have a protected diversity 
characteristic, as do 28% of our senior leaders. 
These numbers have not changed since 2020. 
Vita reports gender pay information for our UK 
business. Our 2021 mean gender pay gap is 11.76% 
(2020: 9.11%) and our median gender pay gap is 
12.33% (2020: 14.41%). Our data shows that senior 
management are mostly male, which to a large 
extent reflects our company demographic profile.
We believe that good diversity management is  
about ‘widening the gate’ not ‘lowering the bar’. 
That means we aim to consider more people from 
diverse backgrounds when we hire and promote, 
thus ensuring that we have the best chance of 
finding the very best person for the job. 
Maintaining strong employee relations is very 
important to us and our culture. Strengthening 
relations means encouraging productive 
relationships with our employee representatives.  
We have representatives with four main types of 
entity: trade union, Works Council (where required 
by law), workers’ committees (similar to a Works 
Council, which facilitates employee dialogue even 
when not required by law) and safety committees. 
We are pleased that during 2021 we continued 
to have good relationships with our employee 
representatives. These entities cover approximately 
55% of our sites. 
Key activities in 2021 included:
	
➤
Running the VitaCraft training 
programme, completed by more than 
95% of our workforce. 
	
➤
Carrying out a safety perception survey, 
with a response rate of 81%, to identify 
opportunities to improve our safety 
leadership, processes and culture. 
	
➤
Undertaking mental health awareness 
activities and launching an employee 
assistance programme in the UK.
	
➤
Introducing a new Diversity and 
Inclusion Policy, supported by  
anti-discrimination training completed 
by 17% of our employees. 
	
➤
Revising recruitment procedures to 
ensure discrimination is absent from 
shortlisting and recruiting senior hires, 
and representative of the demographics 
of our operating locations.
Over the next three years...
	
We will continue to embed our 
values. 
	
We will launch an all-employee 
survey with a specific focus on 
equality, diversity and inclusion 
(ED&I); this feedback will inform 
a focused ED&I strategy that will 
ensure all employees can bring their 
whole selves to work and perform  
at their best. 
	
We will run ED&I workshops within 
our UK business to understand 
more about the experiences of 
our employees there, and any 
challenges they face. 
	
We will launch our ‘Better You, 
Better Life’ programme, focusing 
on physical, emotional and mental 
wellbeing, with the aim to equip 
our employees with tools and 
experiences to live a healthier life.
	
We will be launching our first 
Employee Resource Group – 
Women at Vita Everywhere (WAVE).
Like many companies, Vita saw  
a lower participation of females  
in the workforce through COVID.  
Our number of senior female 
leaders increased from 23.7%  
to 24.3%.
Gender Split across 
the Group
Male
Female
24.8%
75.2%
2020
25.1%
74.9%
2019
Empowering people (continued)
23.8%
76.2%
2021
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Learning and 
development
To ensure our employees reach their full potential, 
we invest significantly in their development.  
Within the Group, inductions and on-the-job  
training, such as safety and employee performance,  
are completed as standard by all employees.  
In addition, we selectively offer apprenticeships, 
sponsorships for specific qualifications such 
as accounting and engineering, and leadership 
development training. 
We commenced two leadership development 
programmes, ‘eleVate’ and ‘Velocity’, training a 
cohort of around 30 of our current – and future – 
leaders. The programmes are being delivered  
with a third-party provider and are based around 
helping Vita drive its ESG ambition. 
In 2021, appraisals were conducted with every 
member of our top three layers of management, and 
with those in other key roles within the business. 
Key activities in 2021 included: 
	
➤
Providing 18% of our employees with 
professional development training.
	
➤
Offering behavioural safety training for 
over 300 managers and supervisors. 
	
➤
Undertaking ‘Train-the-trainer’ training 
for our 75 ‘Safety Champions’.
	
➤
Running our eleVate and Velocity 
leadership programmes for  
30 employees. 
	
➤
Completing appraisals with the top 
three layers of management.
Over the next three years...
	
We will continue running our 
eleVate and Velocity leadership 
development programmes.
	
We will run coaching training for 
senior and mid-level managers. 
	
We will train our senior management 
and mid-level managers in good 
performance management, to 
embed the practice of taking 
appraisals and actively managing 
performance. 
	
We will create a ‘job chat’ process 
where all employees, regardless of 
role or seniority, are encouraged 
to have at least one semi-formal 
conversation with their manager 
each year relating to their 
performance and development 
needs.
Developing 
core leadership 
skills
Our eleVate and Velocity programmes are 
helping us develop capable and potential 
future leaders in core leadership skills. The 
programmes cover emotional intelligence, 
coaching, the difference between leading 
and managing, delegation, strategy and 
change management. Both programmes 
also have ESG at their heart; for example, 
participants must research sustainability 
best practices, make recommendations  
on how to implement these within Vita and  
then make change happen.
elocity
ACCELERATING YOUR CAREER
Empowering people (continued)
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“Vita’s annual compliance 
training programme means  
I know the importance  
of acting with integrity  
and honesty.”
	 Jolanta, Purchase Manager Assistant
We hold ourselves to the highest 
standards of management, and ensure 
that we operate in an open, accountable 
and responsible way. 
Acting 
ethically
Principle 4
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Introduction
One of our core values is behaving with integrity – 
making the right choices, not just the easy ones. 
For us, acting ethically means accepting our social, 
ethical and legal responsibilities, while putting in 
place a governance structure which monitors risk 
and compliance. 
We are proud of the high standards we set for all 
Vita employees, and the way we conduct ourselves 
through our Code of Conduct and associated 
policies. Omar Khan, CFO, says “we have a 
zero‑tolerance approach to corruption, bribery  
and anti-competitive behaviour”. 
Acting ethically at Vita means going above and 
beyond ‘compliance’. It means operating in the 
spirit, not just the word, of the law in the countries 
where we operate. It means being a responsible 
employer, member of the community and keeping 
our promises. 
Context 
According to Transparency International, corruption 
is “likely to adversely affect long-term economic 
growth through its impact on investment, taxation, 
public expenditures and human development1.” 
In addition to the overwhelming weight of evidence 
for the detrimental economic impacts of unfair 
practices, there is a clear legal rationale for behaving 
ethically, with legislation such as the UK’s Bribery 
Act making the costs of poor ethical performance 
extremely high, for the company and individuals. 
 
Performance and plans
Key goals
Performance against goals 
in 2021
Summary of three-year plan
Compliance:  
We will continue to operate  
within the law in all countries 
	
➤
Zero fines or sanctions against The Vita 
Group during 2021. 
	
➤
All new suppliers/customers checked 
via third-party (Dow Jones) as part of 
third-party due diligence assessments. 
	
➤
Code of Conduct refreshed in 2021 to 
reflect updated core policies. 
	
➤
We will continue to comply with 
all local laws.
	
➤
We will continue to conduct third 
party due diligence checks on 
suppliers and customers.
Training:  
We will train all relevant 
employees each year using a 
holistic compliance 
programme focused on 
higher-risk areas involving 
third-parties
	
➤
100% of relevant employees trained  
on our Code of Conduct and key  
Anti-bribery and Corruption policies.
	
➤
Refresh our learning content 
each year to maintain a focus  
on core ethics policies. 
	
➤
Continue face to face 
compliance training biannually 
to supplement online training.
Governance:  
We will continue to scan our 
external environment for 
threats and opportunities, 
while transparently managing 
risks and opportunities through 
our Board and Governance 
committees 
	
➤
Monthly Management Board meetings 
took place with minutes, actions and 
follow-up. 
	
➤
Management Board meetings took 
place across the Group’s entities.
	
➤
New policies launched as part of our 
Environmental Management System, 
including sustainability and sustainable 
procurement policies. 
	
➤
Ongoing enforcement of existing core 
policies. 
	
➤
Risk framework refreshed and core 
risks and opportunities for the Group 
assessed.
	
➤
Develop additional policies 
including a Group Human  
Rights Policy. 
	
➤
Update risk framework 
and launch/embed risk 
transparency/management 
system.
	
➤
Create risk dashboard covering 
all risks across the Group.
“We have a zero-tolerance 
approach to corruption, bribery 
and anti-competitive behaviour.”
	 OMAR KHAN, 
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Acting ethically (continued)
1.	 www.transparency.org/files/content/corruptionqas/ 
Impact_of_corruption_on_growth_and_inequality_2014.pdf
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Compliance
It is critically important that we comply with  
the law in the 14 countries where we operate.  
We have zero reported cases of child labour,  
human trafficking or modern slavery within our 
operations. We have a zero-tolerance approach 
to breaches of our Anti-bribery, Corruption and 
Anti-competition policies. In 2021, the vast majority 
of our sites were in Europe, with one small satellite 
site in China (subject to specific local governance 
arrangements). 
We set Group policies which are mandatory 
minimum standards for the business, and then  
we work with legal partners in each of the 
jurisdictions we operate within to set any  
additional standards that are required to meet  
local compliance standards. 
During 2021, we recorded zero socio-economic 
sanctions or notices of environmental non-compliance, 
across all the countries where we operate. 
Key activities in 2021 included: 
	
➤
Training 100% of relevant employees on 
compliance-related matters. 
	
➤
Requiring 100% of new suppliers and 
customers to complete a third-party 
due diligence testing process, as 
required by our Code of Conduct.
	
➤
Updating our Code of Conduct to 
reflect new core policy introductions, 
translating it into all 14 of the languages 
spoken in the countries where  
Vita has sites, and communicating  
these changes to key stakeholders.
	
➤
The whistleblowing policy was updated, 
with one case raised and investigated 
during 2021.
Over the next three years...
	
We will continue to follow the laws  
in the countries we operate. 
	
We will continue to train our 
employees on expectations in 
relation to compliance.
In this section
• Compliance
• Training
• Governance
• Tax strategy
An accessible and 
engaging Code of Conduct 
We launched our first Code of Conduct in 2013. The Code of Conduct is personally 
sponsored by Vita’s Group CEO, and summarises core policies and requirements that all 
relevant Vita employees are trained to understand. Sections include Health and Safety,  
Our People, Sales and Commercial Transactions and Responsible Personal Conduct. 
Acting ethically (continued)
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Training
Our Code of Business Conduct sets out our 
standards in relation to corporate responsibility and 
expectations for employee behaviour. This Code is 
available on the company’s intranet in 14 languages. 
It is widely communicated within the organisation 
and through our supply chain, including through our 
Compliance Training Programme for employees who 
work directly with customers and suppliers, as well 
as our senior managers, agents and Non-Executive 
Directors. Our Code of Conduct is the foundation  
for our compliance training programme. 
During 2021, all relevant employees (senior 
managers and employees with third-party contacts) 
were trained on a range of compliance-related 
matters, including our Code of Conduct, anti-bribery 
and corruption, and competition.
Over the next three years...
	
We will undertake annual online 
training and biannual face to face 
training, covering areas beyond 
compliance, e.g. better risk  
and prospect management,  
non-discrimination, anti-bullying  
and harassment.
Online 
training builds 
engagement
All employees who deal with third parties 
receive annual online training in relation to 
our Code of Conduct and our anti-bribery, 
corruption and anti-competitive behaviour 
expectations. The content for this training, 
provided through an externally hosted 
platform, is reviewed regularly to ensure it is 
fresh, relevant and engaging. Face to face 
compliance training takes place biannually 
under the supervision of the Group legal 
team and our external law firms. 
Acting ethically (continued)
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Governance
Our governance approach is based upon  
Vita’s Board setting the strategy for the Group. 
Meanwhile, the Vita leadership team is responsible 
for providing the resources to pursue that strategy, 
monitoring associated risks and opportunities,  
and implementing its execution. 
The Group Board and leadership team meets 
monthly and has a number of sub-committees in 
place which set detailed execution plans and follow 
the PDCA cycle of healthy management systems. 
These committees include the Group Safety Council, 
the ESG Council, the Innovation Council, GDPR 
Steering Committee and the Commercial  
Excellence Council. 
The Group Board meets monthly with Executive 
and Non-Executive Directors that provide additional 
oversight. This Board has a Remuneration 
Committee, Audit Committee and Risk Committee 
in place. All entities have been set up in line with the 
articles of association and have a mix of Executive 
and Non-Executive Directors on their Boards. 
The Vita Group is a privately owned company,  
set up in 1949 and headquartered in Middleton,  
UK. The Group has 40 sites across 14 countries.  
The Group’s ultimate shareholder is US-based;  
this means that Vita must also comply with US 
sanctions and regulations affecting US incorporated 
entities and their foreign branches and subsidiaries. 
The Vita Group operates and trades in a variety of 
countries, some of which are part of the European 
Union. As such, certain entities within the Group 
are prohibited by law from trading with certain 
individuals and certain countries. Accordingly,  
we are compliant with the Economic Sanctions  
and Trade policy, and review and check each 
proposed customer and/or supplier in line with  
these restrictions. 
Core policies in place within the Group include:
Anti-Bribery 
and Corruption
Intellectual Property
Sustainability
Business 
Ethics
Whistleblowing
Sustainable 
Procurement
Competition 
Policy
GDPR and Data 
Protection
Tax Strategy
Confidentiality
Health and Safety – 
multiple policies 
focused on core risks
Slavery and 
Human 
Trafficking
Document 
Retention
Human Resources – 
multiple policies in 
place including on 
Diversity and Inclusion, 
Disciplinary, 
Grievances. Employee 
Engagement, Training 
and Recruitment
IT Security
Economic 
Sanctions  
and Trade 
Use of IT
Manufacturing 
industry 
leadership 
We’re very proud that our Group CEO,  
Ian Robb, has been recognised as one of 
the UK’s Top 100 leaders in manufacturing. 
The ‘Manufacturer’s Top 100’ celebrates the 
most dynamic leaders and innovators in the 
industry, as judged by leaders of industry, 
academic institutions and manufacturing 
associations. After leaving school at 16 and 
gaining an engineering apprenticeship, Ian 
has forged a strong and successful career 
working around the world. Now, in his work 
at Vita, he finds passion in developing the 
next generation of engineers to ensure the 
continued prominence of manufacturing in 
the UK and Europe. 
Implementation of these policies occurs via the 
Vita Management Board, and monthly reporting 
is in place for policy breaches. Where breaches 
do occur, thorough investigations take place and 
remedial action is applied. Such remedial action 
can range from a refusal to work with suppliers or 
customers who do not share our values, through to 
disciplinary action (where relevant) for employees 
who fall short of the standards required. 
During 2021, Management Board meetings took 
place at multiple levels within the Group. Core 
steering committees met and put in place execution 
plans and monitored their inclusion, including 
on matters relating to ESG. New policies were 
developed to enhance the Group’s management 
system, including specific ESG policies. Reporting, 
including on GHG emissions, was enhanced too,  
to enable frequent monitoring of key ESG 
performance indicators. 
Acting ethically (continued)
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
47
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

Key activities in 2021 included: 
	
➤
Maintaining the leadership team  
and Group Board oversight of  
The Vita Group. 
	
➤
Holding meetings of core management 
committees (e.g. Safety, Innovation, 
ESG).
	
➤
Training the Group Board on key 
matters, such as compliance. 
	
➤
Reviewing and updating core policies.
Over the next three years...
	
We will develop additional policies, 
including on Human Rights,  
to supplement our existing  
strong practices. 
	
We will launch an IT-enabled risk 
platform to better monitor, measure 
and manage key risks across  
the Group. 
	
We will uphold the standards 
of governance required by the 
UK Companies Act and similar 
legislation in the countries in  
which we operate.
Tax strategy
Our Tax Strategy is published on the Group’s 
website. The strategy helps create value for the 
Group through the use of robust tax controls and 
eligible tax reliefs, while ensuring that we pay the 
correct amount of tax at the right time and comply 
with all laws, regulations, reporting and disclosure 
requirements. 
We seek to meet all of our statutory and regulatory 
tax obligations. This means acting with reasonable 
care in relation to all tax filing and payments and 
disclosing where appropriate all relevant facts 
and circumstances to the tax authorities when 
undertaking non-routine transactions and/or 
claiming reliefs. 
We recognise that our tax obligations are for the 
most part clearly determined in law and practice, 
but there will be areas where judgment is required, 
and choices are available. The uncertainty arising 
from the interpretation and application of taxation 
laws and regulations gives rise to tax risk.  
To manage tax risk, we encourage an environment 
of openness and transparency throughout the 
Group, in which risk management is embedded  
in day-to-day business. 
Our Tax Strategy is ultimately overseen by the 
Group Board. It is reviewed annually and whenever 
there are material changes to the Group’s tax 
environment. Any proposed changes will be 
discussed with and approved by the Group Board. 
Responsibility for the day-to-day management of 
the Tax Strategy is delegated to the Chief Financial 
Officer, who is supported by the Head of Tax and 
the Group Financial Controller. 
Our Tax Strategy applies alongside the Anti-bribery 
and Corruption Policy, Code of Business Conduct 
Policy and Transfer Pricing Policy. All employees 
are expected to adhere to the Code of Business 
Conduct Policy, which states that Vita does not 
tolerate tax evasion or the assisting taxpayers in  
the evasion of tax under any circumstances in  
any country. 
“Vita encourages an 
environment of openness 
and transparency 
throughout the Group.”
	 BRIDGET GROARKE, 
GROUP GENERAL COUNSEL AND 
COMPANY SECRETARY
Acting ethically (continued)
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
48
Overview
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Empowering people
Acting ethically
About this report

We are pleased to share with you 
our first sustainability report on 
management’s approach and 
performance relating to ESG/
sustainability topics and impacts. 
This report represents our active 
commitment to transparency with  
our stakeholders. 
In this report, a material sustainability, or ESG, 
topic is one that reflects Vita’s most significant 
environmental, social and governance impacts, 
or one that could substantively influence the 
assessments and decisions of our stakeholders. 
Regarding topic impact boundaries, all material 
topic impacts are relevant to our operations, our 
suppliers and our products unless otherwise stated, 
for example human, resources impacts that reside 
predominantly within our site boundaries. 
The content of this report is shaped by a materiality 
assessment, which identifies and evaluates the most 
material sustainability topics for our business and 
our stakeholders during the previous year and on 
a five-year time horizon into the future. We provide 
information on our materiality assessment and  
GRI alignment below. 
Scope of report
Information provided in this report relates to all 
assets and sites in The Vita Group. Where possible 
we provide historic data for comparisons. The 
reporting period is the calendar year 2021. Unless 
otherwise stated, we report data for our operations 
on a 100% ownership basis. Data is reported using 
the metric system and EUR. Unless otherwise 
stated, all workforce data is limited to permanent 
full-time and part-time equivalents. We declare no 
material restatements, since this is our first report.
Our data scope is as follows:
	
➤
Environmental data: 35 sites; excludes Naples, 
Italy.
	
➤
Social data.
	
➤
Economic and governance data.
Management approach
Information about how we manage our material 
topics is indicated in the report, with detailed 
supporting policy documentation available on 
our website. Supporting information on site 
certifications, risk management and audits are  
also available online.
The Vita Group conducts audit and review 
processes for all management approaches  
(policy, programmes, accountabilities, training etc.) 
periodically using our established internal audit 
protocol, including reports to our owner on  
the outcomes.
Readers can find additional supporting publications 
on our website including our explanation videos, 
documents and articles as well as mandatory 
statements such as our Gender Pay Gap report  
and Modern Slavery Statement.
About 
this report
49
Overview
Driving circularity
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Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021
Optimising resources

Materiality 
assessment 2021
In 2021, we conducted a materiality assessment.  
By doing so, we hoped to ensure that this report 
covers topics that (i) reflect The Vita Group’s 
significant economic, environmental and social 
impacts, or (ii) substantively influence the 
assessments and decisions of our stakeholders.  
We wanted to assess the relevance and significance 
of a range of topics, to ensure our ESG Vision 
‘Enhancing Everyday Life’ remains fit for purpose. 
The assessment took the form of a senior-level 
workshop, run with the support of an external 
agency. It was designed to meet the materiality 
principle at the heart of reporting frameworks such 
as GRI Standards, SASB and the VRF. It meets the 
requirements of GRI Disclosure 102-46 and clause 
6.1 in GRI 102: General Disclosures. 
The senior management team mapped the  
Vita Group (business model, operations, existing 
topics identified) to the Future Fit Business 
Benchmark (FFBB), an open-source framework 
which translates over 30 years of sustainability 
research, codes and guidance into a resource 
to support strategy-making. The aim of the 
assessment was to generate a list of material topics. 
The team assigned scores to the relative importance 
of a set of impacts expressed by the FFBB  
‘break-even goals’, which align with system 
conditions and global challenges. The scores 
represented the internal perspectives on relevance 
and significance. Assumptions based on Vita’s 
knowledge of external stakeholder opinion were 
then used to generate an external perspective  
on the relevance and significance of the FFBB 
break-even goals. No external stakeholder 
engagement was sought on this occasion. 
This assessment embraces the ‘double materiality’ 
concept in that it considers impact on society and 
environment as well as financial materiality. Such 
outward-looking materiality is best practice, and, 
by way of reference, will be a condition of the EU’s 
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) 
coming into force in 2023 for reports produced  
in 2024. 
The topics were validated by the senior executive 
team at The Vita Group. Notable changes included 
some expansion of definitions of existing material 
topics, some subsequent rewording of topics, and 
some merging of topics. Water management was 
assessed to be less material although its importance 
is seen to be increasing. No new material topics 
were identified. Some additional topics were 
recorded on which to keep a watching brief,  
e.g. biodiversity, social exclusion/cohesion and  
tax reporting. 
 
The validated material topics
Material topic
Alignment with Enhancing Everyday 
Life roadmap
Responsible procurement in pursuit of sustainable outcomes 
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Product stewardship, product circularity, repurposing, packaging 
Driving circularity
Operational greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy use 
Optimising resources
Products emit no greenhouse gas emissions 
Optimising resources
Operational waste is eliminated 
Driving circularity
Optimising resources
Employee health & safety 
Empowering people – skills, opportunities
Employee wellbeing, satisfaction 
Empowering people – skills, opportunities
Inclusion, diversity, anti-discrimination 
Empowering people – skills, opportunities
Employee engagement 
Empowering people – skills, opportunities
Responsible marketing: product communications 
Acting ethically
Ethical behaviour, business governance 
Acting ethically
Topics close to being material
Topic
Alignment with Enhancing Everyday 
Life roadmap
Water use is environmentally responsible and socially equitable 
Optimising resources 
Operational emissions do not harm people or the environment 
Optimising resources
Empowering people – skills, opportunities 
Natural resources are managed to respect the welfare of ecosystems, 
people and animals 
Optimising resources
Empowering people – skills, opportunities 
Employees are paid at least a living wage 
Empowering people – skills, opportunities 
Tax integrity 
Acting ethically 
See Appendix on p.52 for details.
About this report (continued)
50
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About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

GRI Standards Content Index summary 
We provide here a summary of our GRI Standards Content Index. Please also refer to our separate full Index, available on our website. This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option.
GRI Standard 
Disclosure codes
Principal page references
Comment
General disclosures
Organisation profile
102-1 to 102-13
Pages 1, 6, 7, 14, 17-18, 
20-22, 26-27, 35
Average of 2,709 permanent employees; with 40 main sites under our control and net sales (for private sector organisations) of €31 billion. Total capitalization 
(for private organisations) broken down in terms of debt and equity is not publically available from The Vita Group. Quantity of products or services: exact 
numbers are not meaningful owing to the vast number of items of varying shapes and sizes, and modular configuration.
Strategy, ethics, 
governance, 
stakeholder 
engagement
102-14 to 102-18, 102-40 to 
102-44
Pages 2-3, 6, 8, 9, 22, 25, 34,  
27, 51
Our vision and strategy 'Enhancing Everyday Life' was developed using interactions and engagement with a variety of stakeholders including investors, 
customers, industry bodies, and employees (mainly senior management). This process is the basis for the identification and selection of stakeholders with 
whom we engage in our delivery of the strategy, and informed the materiality assessment in 2021, for example. 
Reporting practice
102-45 to 102-46
Pages 49, 51-53
All Vita Group assets are in scope of the report. In terms of topic boundaries (GRI Completeness Principle, and clause 2.4 (2020)), boundaries are identified  
in line with the terms of our Sustainability Policy and other relevant policies and with due regard for our relationship to positive/negative impacts (location, 
reversibility, severity, for example). Most impacts are within our operational control except for those upstream in our supply chains, and downstream with 
customers. Our management approaches account for this relationship. No material impacts occur at the level of consumer.
Reporting practice
102-47 to 102-56
Pages 49, 51-53
This is our first sustainability report, it covers the period 01 Jan to 31 Dec 2021, we do not have a policy on external assurance; we are reviewing this for 
future reporting. Please send us your feedback at info@thevitagroup.com. 
Management approach
103-1 to 103-3
Pages 44, 47-49
Our overall management approach generally applies to all material and additional topics. Some topics require specific management approaches, as 
described in the report and referenced in the full GRI Content Index. See our core policies: https://www.thevitagroup.com/legal-csr/.
Topic-specific disclosures
Tax, Anti-corruption 
207, 205
Pages 6, 44, 47-48
Materials
301
Pages 19, 33
Energy, Emissions
302, 305
Pages 29-32
Waste
306
Pages 20-25, 33
Environmental & 
Socioeconomic 
compliance
307, 419
Pages 44-45
Supplier Environmental 
& Social Assessment
308, 414
Pages 26, 45
Employment 
401
Pages 37, 41, 45
Occupational  
Health and Safety
403
Pages 38-39
Training and Education
404
Pages 37, 41-42
Diversity and Equal 
Opportunity,  
Non-discrimination
405, 406
Pages 41, 45
Customer Health  
and Safety, Marketing  
and Labelling
416, 417
Page 35
About this report (continued)
51
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Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

Appendices
Material topic
Description
Alignment with Enhancing Everyday Life roadmap
Responsible procurement in pursuit 
of sustainable outcomes 
Policies and processes must enable Vita to anticipate where negative supply chain impacts are likely to occur (energy, water, natural resources,  
GHG emissions, pollution, waste, physical presence, people), avoid them where possible, and take measurable steps to address concerns that arise. 
Driving Circularity	
Optimising resources
Product stewardship, product 
circularity, repurposing, packaging 
Products do not harm people or the environment, are benign to people and nature in use, and at end-of-life, whatever remains can be separated  
to maximise post-use recovery value. Customers must have access to recovery services capable of extracting such value. 
Driving Circularity	
Operational greenhouse gas 
emissions, renewable energy use 
All energy consumed – as electricity, heat or fuel – is derived from renewable energy sources. We must aim for net zero GHG emissions across  
all operations; includes emissions from stationary and mobile sources owned or controlled by us (Scope 1 emissions), and emissions from the 
generation of purchased or acquired energy (Scope 2 emissions). 
Optimising resources
Products emit no greenhouse  
gas emissions 
Vita must verify that its goods and services do not cause emissions of GHGs, and – until it reaches this point – it must estimate  
the extent of any such emissions caused as a result of its sales. 
Optimising resources
Operational waste is eliminated 
Eliminate all avoidable waste generation, and repurpose all remaining forms of waste (in ways that minimise quality loss and prolong the life of  
the materials). 
Driving Circularity
Optimising resources
Employee health & safety 
Vita must ensure the safety of all workers, foster physical health (e.g. nutrition, smoking), and mental wellbeing (e.g. bullying and harassment). 
Empowering people – skills, opportunities
Employee wellbeing, satisfaction 
Employees are subject to fair employment terms, e.g. relating to human rights, freedom of association, fair working hours, leave from work. 
Empowering people – skills, opportunities
Inclusion, diversity, 
anti‑discrimination 
Each employee is working under conditions and supported by systems that protect them from discrimination. 
Empowering people – skills, opportunities
Employee engagement 
Employee concerns are actively solicited, impartially judged and transparently addressed; minimise employee concerns and implement internal 
controls to identify and deal fairly with issues that do arise. 
Empowering people – skills, opportunities
Responsible marketing:  
product communications 
Communications are honest, ethical, and promote responsible use; users are informed about any negative impacts of products, no false claims 
about product benefits arise. 
Acting ethically
Ethical behaviour, business 
governance 
Corporate integrity governance processes that identify high-risk areas for ethical issues within the business, commit publicly to ethical conduct; 
establish internal controls to ensure Vita lives up to the commitment. 
Acting ethically
Additional, non-material topics identified 
Topic
Description
Alignment with Enhancing Everyday Life roadmap
Water use is environmentally 
responsible and socially equitable 
Responsible water management: consumption is sustainable, notably with respect to any water-stressed source; responsible water discharge 
(effluent, wastewater) must be verifiably treated before it is emitted back into nature. 
Optimising resources
Operational emissions do not harm  
people or the environment 
All harmful or pollutive emissions must be eliminated: 
	
➤
Gaseous, solid, liquid (e.g. air pollutants, toxic fumes scarce metals; spills, toxic waste, chemical fluids).
Optimising resources
Empowering people – skills, opportunities
Natural resources are managed to 
respect the welfare of ecosystems, 
people and animals 
To be Future-Fit, a company must:
	
➤
Preserve the health of all natural resources it owns or manages.
	
➤
Protect the health of any ecosystems and communities impacted by harvesting and extraction activities.
Optimising resources
Empowering people – skills, opportunities
Employees are paid at least a 
living wage 
To be Future-Fit a company must pay all its employees at least a living wage.
Empowering people – skills, opportunities
Tax integrity 
The right tax is paid in the right place at the right time: governance processes that commit publicly to responsible tax policy and reporting, and not 
deliberately seek ways to obey the letter but not the spirit of regional tax laws.
Acting ethically
About this report (continued)
52
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Acting ethically
About this report
The Vita Group  Sustainability Report 2021

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