Sustainability strategy

Innovations are the lifeblood of successful transformation processes. We try out every idea that brings us closer to our goal of closed loops – even if we risk failure by doing so. This is the only way to create the kind of disruptive changes that our linear economy needs.

We provide our cust­omers with support for their efforts to profes­sionalise their sustain­able practices and integrate sustain­ability into their reporting processes by fully exhausting the digital­isation potential of our services

We extend product lifetimes by tapping into new markets and ex­panding the business models we have devel­oped for them to achieve an annual revenue growth with these models.

To ensure that manufacturers and retail can use resources more efficiently than before, we work with our customers to develop new design-for-recycling approaches.

We believe that resource usage is future-oriented only if it involves absolutely no waste at all. This is why we work on new ways of closing material loops every day.

To rid the planet of plastic waste in the long term, we develop new upcycling solutions for plastics. We also improve the quality and quantity of our recycling raw materials that we offer to manu­facturers for use in their production processes.

If global warming is to be kept under the limit of two degrees Celsius, global resource consumption must be­come decoupled from economic growth. This is why we are developing new material and log­istics loops with which we intend to save at least 5 million tonnes of resources and 800,000 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalents annually.

To achieve significant reductions to the per capita environmental impact, especially in urban areas, we also take an integrated approach to waste prevention and to achieving a substantial increase in recycling rates.

Our employees and their capabilities lie at the heart of our expertise as an environmental services provider. In order to make sure they can perform at their best for our customers every day, we need to provide for and guarantee their health and safety, motivation and career development.

We want to promote the physical and mental health of our employees while reducing our sick­ness, accident and staff turnover rates to below the averages for the in­dustry. This is why we provide a safe, value-oriented and innovative working environment that actively supports personal development.

We want to guarantee full and effective parti­cipation to absolutely everyone at all levels of our company – and independently of age, gender, ethnicity, religion or social status. This is why we ensure that equal opportunities are truly equal for all (poten­tial) employees within our company.

In order to develop a comprehensive circular economy, we have to share our experience and knowledge – and not only with our customers, but with all areas of business and society at large. This is the only sure way to raise awareness about the ecological and economic benefits of efficient closed-loop management.

We see it as our duty to promote sustainable lifestyles and patterns of consumption. In this context, we act as an intermediary to ensure that knowledge about the closed-loop solutions economy is established in education, politics, business and civil society.

We want to develop and (internationally) scale up approaches and stan­dards for circular econ­omy solutions suitable for any industry. To do so, we are working close­ly with our partners, stakeholders, suppliers and customers. At the same time, we give our employees the creative space they need to participate in relevant initiatives for developing solutions in the circular economy.