SUSTAINABILITY + ECOLOGY
Sustainability responsibility
Sustainable by tradition
As a manufacturer of environmentally friendly, recyclable packaging products, the KOLB Group is committed to creating a binding environmental policy.
The careful handling of raw materials, recycling of internal production waste from our packaging plants in our paper mill, and the efficient use of energy via modern production methods have always had a high priority for our company.
By setting environmental protection targets which are obligatory for both the company as a whole and for every individual employee, we also want to act as a role model when it comes to environmental management.
Wellpappe
100 % recycled material
From its beginnings right through to the present day, our company has distinguished itself through sustainable practices in many areas of the business
Of course, this particularly applies to our corrugated cardboard products, because no other packaging material meets the requirements for a functioning recycling economy to the same degree while also relying almost exclusively on renewable resources. Today, around 80% of all paper used in our production of corrugated cardboard comes from recycled waste paper, with around 20% from virgin fibre.
The corrugated base paper that is produced in our paper mill exclusively for use in our packaging plants is made from 100% recycled materials. On the one hand, we recycle all the waste material produced during production of our packaging, and on the other, we also purchase recycled paper from outside sources. Through FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification of all our locations and products, we also implement sustainable forest management for the virgin fibre paper that we use.
Due to its characteristic sandwich construction, corrugated cardboard is a powerful yet resource-friendly product because it provides high strength and load capacity with relatively low weight and material use. In times of energy transition, the efficient use of energy is of major importance in the production of paper and packaging. Our largest energy consumer is our own paper mill, which we equipped with a highly efficient combined heat and power plant (CHP) in 2011 to completely meet our local demand for electricity and heat.
The introduction of an energy management system and its certification to ISO 50,001 in each of the paper and corrugated board plants highlights our goal of improving the specific energy consumption in the production of our packaging. With an in-house vehicle fleet that is constantly modernised in terms of fuel consumption and emission standards, we are able to provide our plants with the necessary raw materials and supply our customers reliably and efficiently with our packaging products.
However, for the KOLB Group, sustainability means much more
Our five production sites are located in and around the Allgäu in Swabia, south-west Germany. We have deep roots here. It is where we have been dependably providing our customers with high quality packaging solutions for many decades, and also where many of our employees were born and raised — whose families in some cases have contributed to our company’s success for generations. And it is precisely by training young people in many professions and ensuring the constant professional development of our staff that we are able to always guarantee expert customer service. Innovation, modern production technologies and stable economic conditions are further pillars for the sustainable, often very long-term relationships that we have maintained with many of our customers in the past — and will continue to develop in future.
State of the art
We
- Engage in an open and factual dialogue with our customers, relevant authorities and the public and provide the information necessary to foster an understanding of the reciprocal effects between our corporate operations and the environment.
- Inform our staff and business partners about our corporate environmental protection measures concerning the use of products and procedures and empower our staff to take responsibility for and act responsibly with respect to environmental matters.
- Evaluate, monitor and optimise our current effects on the environment. Test and analyse new products and procedures in advance with respect to their effect on the environment.
- Make provisions for avoiding or totally preventing any adverse impact on the environment caused by potential accidents.
- Monitor and, where necessary, intervene and adjust the measures we pursue as part of our environmental protection policy.