Challenge

In our Household Products business field, we produce a large number of different household and food packaging films, as well as garbage bags and vacuum cleaner bags, for domestic and commercial use. Our operating division ACW-Film also develops, produces, and supplies various composite films for the storage and transportation of food for the consumer goods industry. In addition, we use plastics for the packaging of some of our product ranges.

In our value creation area “Plastics and plastic products”, the ecological impact of plastics entering our environment that do not decompose, or only slowly, presents numerous sustainability-relevant challenges: if plastics do not enter the materials or energy recovery system, they can pollute soils and bodies of water for decades. Studies show that no effective collection, sorting, and recycling systems are used in many countries, meaning that the lion’s share of plastics produced worldwide are not adequately recycled or recovered.

Nevertheless, it has become clear in recent years – for example during the coronavirus pandemic – that plastics are an important and sometimes irreplaceable material for packaging and products. We therefore see future growth opportunities in the production and supply of plastics, provided we continue to develop them in line with the principles of the circular economy and help establish plastics on the market that are not harmful to the environment.

Targets and KPIs

Our objective is that as of 2030, we will only process and sell plastics which we call the “Plastic of the Future”:

To achieve this goal, we want to do the following by 2025

• further increase the proportion of high-quality recyclates in our products,
• raise the share of recyclable products and packaging,
• develop plastics which decompose within an eco-friendly length of time,
• expand our range of reusable products and packaging, and
• make proactive contributions to developing and implementing a high-performance circular economy system for plastics.

We firmly believe that a consistent and comprehensive implementation of the circular economy principle can reduce the environmental impact of plastics. After all, from a holistic viewpoint, plastics have a better eco-balance in many applications than many other materials. We therefore advocate a reorganization of plastics production and recycling in line with the approach “ReDesign – ReCycle – ReUse – ReDuce”. To this end, we actively seek a dialogue with other market participants, initiatives, and scientific institutions, for example via the forum of experts regularly hosted by our operating division Cofresco.

Over the past ten years, we have already revamped many of our plastic products with a view to greater environmental compatibility. This includes, in particular, a higher proportion of recyclates and renewable raw materials in the films and vacuum cleaner bags we manufacture. Since the end of 2022, half of Cofresco’s products are already made from recycled waste materials from the production of renewable resources or recyclates. The largest share of these products are food wrapping films and bags with 70 percent recycled resources and bin liners made from 80 percent recycled plastic.

In order to achieve the above mentioned targets in a systematic and coordinated manner, we launched the “Plastics at Melitta Group” project in 2020. Representatives of all our operating divisions are involved in the project, whose aim is to establish a common understanding of our objectives and approaches, to intensify collaboration, and to jointly develop forward-looking solutions. This will result in a consolidation of the individual roadmaps of the operating divisions to create an overall commitment for the Melitta Group, which will also be reviewed by an independent third party with regard to its content and implementation. As the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has not accepted any new subscribing companies since 2022, we will develop the commitment in accordance with the relevant principles, but will finalize it with another suitable and credible partner for the year 2030. Given the planned revision of the European legal framework as a result of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which is expected to set new framework conditions until 2030, we have also revised our timeframe.

What we achieved in 2022

• Expanded the use of post-consumer and post-industrial recyclates from 19 to 31 percent
• Started using plastic recyclates produced from plastic waste at our social business in Bangalore (India) (“Fair Recycled Plastic” initiative)
• Determined CO₂ footprint of various plastic products we manufacture as the basis for further optimization measures
• Increased the proportion of recycled or renewable raw materials in many of our plastic products, e.g. bin liners, aluminum foil, cling film, freezer bags
• Replaced plastics in our products with alternative, more sustainable materials
• Launched N-Viron-Flex, a single-material composite film for the food sector which is recyclable and made using just one material type
• Launched products that can be used multiple times, e.g. silicone lids
• Changed packaging materials, e.g. use of more environmentally friendly alternatives, multiple use of materials, and conversion to reusable outer packaging
• Founded the start-up “B!anana OnlineDivision” to offer sustainable product solutions, e.g. detergents, concentrated cleaning agents
• Renewed our support of the “Don’t Throw Me Away!” educational initiative of the Hollen Environmental Center (since 2015)
• Expanded the “Cukipedia” information platform, a knowledge database for consumers on the correct storage of food in the fridge
• Continued to host the Cofresco Forum, a forum of experts dedicated to the further development of food packaging (held regularly since 2001)
• Further developed the recording and KPI system, analyzed supply chains, evaluated risks, and derived improvement potential
• Developed and specified roadmaps for each affected division with the aim of merging all roadmaps into a Group-wide plastics roadmap with a corresponding external commitment for the year 2030

What we are currently working on

• Further integration of sustainable raw materials in our household product ranges
• Establishment of a working group for reusable solutions
• Continuation of the above-mentioned cooperations and projects
• Development of the Group-wide roadmap and the corresponding external commitment