Our Contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

We offer our employees comprehensive occupational health management. In all our operations, we apply the principle of “safety first”. Occupational health and safety are a top priority for us. We develop and produce products that are harmless to health in order to contribute to preventive health protection. Our manufacturing processes are low in emissions and we are continuing to reduce our emissions where it is possible and expedient to do so.

As a “BEST PLACE TO LEARN®”-certified training provider, we place great emphasis on individual personal development. We actively invest in high-quality education and support the “Sustainable Science and Technology” study program at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University. In addition, we offer everyone who works for us access to high-quality further education courses in the spirit of life-long learning.

Every one of our employees has a right to equal treatment and respect, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, religion, worldview, disability, age, or sexual identity. We do not tolerate individuals being disadvantaged, bullied, or marginalized. The German Equal Treatment Act (“Gleichbehandlungsgesetz”) forms the basis of our demand for and encouragement of equal treatment.

We diligently treat our wastewater and are careful with how we handle fresh water and chemicals. We reuse water where possible and are continuously optimizing processes. We operate hydroelectric power plants, we have equipped weirs with fish ladders, and we participate in adopt-a-creek programs. The wastewater treatment plant at the Kehl mill has been significantly expanded.

We are visionaries when it comes to climate action. The Koehler Renewable Energy business unit produces renewable energy for Koehler's own production processes and for customers. In our climate strategy roadmap we set out ambitious objectives and measures that we are consistently striving to achieve. We already manage our energy very efficiently and we are continuing to optimize in this area. As a member of “Modellfabrik Papier,” we create solutions for climate-neutral, future-proof paper production. We are developing new processes for recycling previously unused biomass and are continuing to invest in wind and solar facilities.

Our supply chain also stimulates economic growth in rural areas. We develop future-proof products that usually have a significantly better environmental footprint than predecessor versions and competitor products. This allows us to decouple growth and emissions in our own processes and in those of our customers. Compensation is based on pay scales and we rarely hire temporary workers. When developing innovative products and processes we always take circularity into account so that we can create more value with fewer primary resources.

We are constantly investing in our production facilities. Together with industry associations, we are working on securing Germany's position as an industrial center. With our cash register rolls, labels, and packaging, we help to create a functioning infrastructure. We develop new products and processes, and in doing so we frequently cooperate with external partners and scientific institutions. We come up with multimodal logistics solutions to transport goods by road, rail, and water. As we use biomass and process waste timber for reuse, we are also part of the waste disposal infrastructure.

Our products are recyclable. With our NexFlex® products, we offer a material for effective and recyclable packaging solutions. Our Blue4est® thermal paper contributes to preventive consumer protection. At our Greiz mill, we exclusively use wastepaper as a raw material and convert it into high-quality recycled paper. At the Kehl mill, we make design pigments out of waste gas components in our PCC¹ system, pigments we then use as a raw material in our products. We only incinerate leftover materials if we cannot use them in any other way. We are working on the latest generation of biogenic substances for coating materials.

Our new NexFlex® products can replace plastics in packaging and therefore help to prevent accumulation of microplastics. We minimize our impact on local bodies of water through our effective wastewater treatment facilities.