Orientation towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals
In our sustainability strategy, we combine external requirements from society, politics and the economy with our previous achievements within the company. They are the benchmark for our actions at the Elsdorf site. The United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serve as the basis for our sustainability focus. We derive five key areas of action from these: “Social”, “Agriculture”, ‘Processes’, “Purchasing & Processes” and “Products & Consumers”. In this way, we actively contribute to ecological, social and economic sustainability.
Social
Our employees are the heart of our company. We are actively committed to their development and well-being. Continuous training and career development are just as important to us as health days, vaccinations, support with fitness offers, bike leases, team events and company parties.
We live by values such as openness, respect, enthusiasm, individuality, team spirit, responsibility and trust. We want every employee to be proud to be part of our team. We welcome new ideas and suggestions! We believe in personal responsibility and give everyone the freedom to actively shape their own area of responsibility.
This makes our employees irreplaceable and valuable parts of the bigger picture.
We assign the following overarching UN sustainability goals to our areas of activity:
Rohstoffe & Einkauf
Wir überprüfen die Einhaltung unserer hohen Qualitäts- und Nachhaltigkeitsanforderungen durch Lieferantenzulassungen und -audits. Bei der Beschaffung achten wir auf umweltfreundliche Distributionsprozesse und bevorzugen regionale Lieferanten, um Transportwege zu minimieren. Unser Engagement für Verpackungsoptimierungen umfasst die Reduktion von Kunststoffmaterialien und die Förderung von Recyclingfähigkeit, mit dem Ziel, möglichst 100% recyclingfähige Verpackungen zu verwenden. Dabei gewährleisten wir stets die Produktsicherheit über die gesamte Prozess- und Lieferkette hinweg.
Unseren Handlungsfeldern ordnen wir die folgenden übergeordneten UN-Nachhaltigkeitsziele zu:
Processes
Energy efficiency plays a major role for us as a production company. We work around the clock in three-shift operation and implement targeted measures to continuously increase the energy efficiency of our technical systems. Optimised production planning enables us to achieve high capacity utilisation, conserve resources and reduce operating costs.
In our dairy, product quality, safety and hygiene are our top priorities. Although our cleaning cycles are water-intensive,
we reduce water consumption through new technologies and
process optimisation. We operate our own biological wastewater treatment plant to purify wastewater.
We assign the following overarching UN sustainability goals to our areas of activity:
AGRICULTURE & ANIMAL HEALTH
We attach great importance to a long-term partnership with our farmers, who supply us with fresh milk every day. All our milk producers are part of the ‘QM-Milch’ quality management system, which monitors and continuously develops nationwide standards. We only process milk from northern Germany, which is collected directly from the farm within a maximum radius of 90 kilometres by our own transport company. In this way
we avoid long transport routes and strengthen regional agriculture.
The welfare of our dairy cows is our top priority: our strict production and quality guidelines go far beyond the legal requirements and guarantee species-appropriate
husbandry without tethering. Our in-house vet regularly visits the farms to advise and support the farmers in matters of animal health and welfare.
We also offer them free annual training events on the subject of animal health.
We assign the following overarching UN sustainability goals to our areas of activity:
PRODUCTS & CONSUMERS
Our consumers' desire for tasty, sustainable and healthy food is at the centre of our product development. This is why we mainly use GMO-free milk and UTZ-certified cocoa. We also offer a wide range of plant-based milk alternatives and protein-rich products with a low sugar and fat content. By working closely with our customers and observing the market, we identify consumer wishes at an early stage and successfully implement innovative food concepts.
We assign the following overarching UN sustainability goals to our areas of activity:
CERTIFICATION OF OUR SUSTAINABILITY ACTIVITIES
Since 2018, we have been certified in accordance with the ZNU Standard for Sustainable Management of the University of Witten Herdecke. ZNU certification is the result of an annual, multi-day audit by independent auditors from TÜV Rheinland. This holistic standard covers the environmental, economic and social dimensions and promotes the development of an integrated management system for sustainable management. The focus is on continuous further development. Sustainability is based on open communication and reporting. This also includes the clear presentation of our goals and progress in achieving them.
Current information and links on the topic:
Download ZNU Certificate
More info about ZNU
Download current Sustainability goals
