For us, sustainability is not just a fancy word. We breathe life into this term, because we view all our actions in terms of preserving resources and the environment.
Environmental sustainability at WALTHER Faltsysteme
Environmental sustainability
Act environmentally friendly
Green business
Sustainability is firmly anchored in our corporate mindset and applies to all our processes. One example is the modern building with in-house solar technology we work in, allowing us to save considerable amounts of greenhouse gases since 2013. Electricity that we cannot produce ourselves, we obtain from green sources - locally and from the region. Our reusable load carriers are produced on state-of-the-art, energy-efficient injection moulding machines.
We have taken a further step by changing the vehicle fleet for our employees to hybrid or all-electric vehicles. These can easily be charged with green WALTHER electricity at our own charging stations. By using the DKV Card CLIMATE, we also fund climate protection projects from myclimate in the amount of the CO2e emissions caused by the fuel consumption of our vehicles.
Conserving resources with reusable solutions
Reusable load carriers made of plastic often generate higher emissions during production compared to single-use packaging made of cardboard or wood. However, their long service life quickly offsets this initial disadvantage. The environmental benefit of reusable load carriers increases with every cycle: material and production demand decrease, as fewer single-use packages are required. In addition, CO2e emissions from transport, disposal or recycling are eliminated.
Our Corporate Carbon Footprint
Climate neutrality is one of the issues of the future that drives us and motivates us to become even better and to push further. We therefore conduct an annual carbon footprint assessment for the entire WALTHER Faltbox Group to identify our environmental impact and develop optimisation measures.
For 2024, we have calculated a corporate carbon footprint of 3,182.43 t CO2e. After reporting only Scope 1 and 2 emissions in the previous year, we have included selected categories from Scope 3 in the 2024 footprint.
- Scope 1: 181.33 t CO2e
- Scope 2: 1,722.23 t CO2e
- Scope 3: 1,278.87 t CO2e
Significant reductions have been achieved compared to the previous year: in 2023, our emissions from Scope 1 and 2 totaled 2,553.75 t CO2e and were reduced by around 25% in 2024.
As with our reusable products, we focus on avoiding emissions so that resources are saved and not needed in the first place. Our major source of emissions is purchased electricity, as plastics processing is energy-intensive. We are therefore constantly working on making our processes more energy-efficient and reducing emissions. Another measure is the ongoing increase in our use of renewable electricity. We have set ourselves specific targets for the upcoming years:
- Reduction of our Scope 1 emissions by 10% by 2030 compared to the base year 2024 to a maximum of 163.2 t CO2e
- Reduction of our Scope 2 emissions by 46% by 2030 compared to the base year 2024 to a maximum of 861.1 t CO2e
- Complete measurement of all Scope 3 emissions along the value chain for the reporting year 2025
Ecolabel "Blauer Engel"
The "Blauer Engel” or “Blue Angel" is the ecolabel of the Federal Ministry for the Environment and identifies particularly sustainable products. We received our first ecolabel back in 1985. While at the time the aim was primarily to avoid waste, the focus today is on holistic climate protection with the help of environmentally friendly products and services.
By now, every folding box from WALTHER and our Düsseldorf plastic pallet have been awarded the "Blue Angel" - their reusability is the reason why. Because our reusable plastic boxes not only avoid any packaging waste during use, they are also in circulation for decades and are then recycled and re-manufactured into new containers again.
Foundation "Stiftung Initiative Mehrweg"
The aim of the "Stiftung Initiative Mehrweg" (SIM) is to conserve resources and encourage environmental protection. It wants to create the necessary conditions to sustainably stabilise and increase the proportion of reusable packaging in all economic sectors - and thus avoid waste. With our many years of expertise as a manufacturer of reusable load carriers made of plastic, we have been supporting the SIM as a member since mid-2021.
Every year, the SIM focuses on individual topics and advocates for the promotion of reusable systems in the environmental policy dialogue. Dominik Lemken, Managing Director of WALTHER Faltsysteme, is an honorary board member of the foundation and helps to promote reusable systems.
Recognised as ÖKOPROFIT® Company
In 2024, we participated in the first ÖKOPROFIT® round in the Kleve district and were officially recognised as ÖKOPROFIT® company in January 2025. ÖKOPROFIT® or EcoProfit (Ecological Project for Integrated Environmental Protection) is a collaborative initiative involving local authorities, businesses and other regional partners. Its goal is to reduce operating costs through practical environmental measures while actively contributing to climate protection.
Over the course of a year, we successfully took part in expert workshops, enhanced our environmental management practices and implemented targeted measures to use resources more efficiently. Even after the official project period, we remain committed to continuously improving our efforts in environmental and resource protection.
The pro-K "Zero Pellet Loss" initiative
The aim of the initiative "Zero Pellet Loss" of the German industry association for semi-finished products and consumer products made of plastic, pro-K, is to prevent the loss of plastic pellets along the entire supply chain and to reduce waste in the world's oceans. While only a small part of the plastic waste in the world's oceans consists of pellets, they are also found in rivers, on beaches and in the sea.
We at WALTHER Faltsysteme are also participating in the initiative in order to minimise the waste of raw materials and at the same time the environmental impact of spilled pellets and colour batch.
By signing the initiative, we committed ourselves to three things:
- Providing the necessary technical and organisational conditions to prevent spillage of pellets and to ensure that once spilled, pellets do not end up in the environment.
- Training employees to avoid and, if necessary, effectively clean up spilled plastic pellets.
- Regularly reviewing the effectiveness of the measures.
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