Sustainability at BRITA

Light, durable and flexible: plastic is a valuable raw material. In view of the stringent hygiene and quality requirements that we insist upon at BRITA, plastic is virtually ideal. However, we have a critical view of the impact of plastic production and consumption on the planet and we take our contribution to this very seriously indeed. That's why we want to greatly reduce the use of plastic in our products – by 30% by 2025! To achieve this, we are researching various alternatives. In doing so, we pay attention to a wide variety of factors: In addition to quality, hygiene and safety criteria, manufacturing costs are just as relevant as CO₂ emissions and the ability to recycle.

Innovative: bio-based materials replace virgin plastic

An innovative material called bio-based plastic has turned out to be particularly suitable. It is made entirely or partly from renewable biological sources such as plants – and it is just as durable and recyclable as conventional plastic. Any differences can only be detected in the laboratory through scientific analysis.

At BRITA, we believe that agricultural land should be used to grow food for people and animals, not raw materials for the plastics industry. Therefore, our bio-based plastic contains only residual materials from other processes, for example from food or paper production. In the case of the Style eco water filter jug, we use what is called tall oil, which is a by-product of wood processing.

Sustainable and certified

Through the use of bio-based plastic, we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint and the consumption of conventional plastic – and we will continue to do so in the future.

Whenever we talk about bio-based plastic in connection with our products, you will find a percentage figure as well as the reference to the so-called mass balance approach. This means that you can see exactly how much bio-based plastic is in a product - a concept that is also used in the green electricity market, for example. The mass balance approach is an accounting method in which (in our case) bio-based materials are mixed with fossil materials during the production process and then allocated to the final product. All our suppliers work according to the specifications of the internationally recognised ISCC label - a certification standard that tracks the bio-based material throughout the entire production process.

Sustainability on the move: our packaging

In addition to sustainable production, the packaging and shipping of our products are equally important to us. After all, packaging waste is a global problem. We also want to do our bit to reduce the amount of waste and the associated CO₂ footprint of our planet. This is a real challenge because packaging serves very specific purposes: it must protect our products from contamination and transport damage.

We are therefore developing concepts on how to use less packaging, and at the same time, deploy more sustainable packaging materials. For example, we are working towards packaging our products completely without plastic. Where this is not yet possible, we are reducing the use of plastics as extensively as we can while ensuring that they can be easily recycled. In eCommerce, we are already using so-called "ship-in-own-container" concepts. These are product packages that can be used directly as shipping boxes. In this way, we are already conserving important resources.

It is already anchored in our corporate vision that sustainability and corporate responsibility are integral to everything that we do. With our product portfolio, we have an excellent starting position to fulfil this vision. However, our responsibility does not end here. As a company we buy, produce and transport goods as well as consuming electricity and other resources – and all of these actions produce CO₂ emissions. We face up to this responsibility.

We have placed sustainability at the centre of our corporate strategy. The Planet Contribution is a new sustainability indicator that measures our success on an equal basis with turnover and profit. And with our Sustainability Charter, we have defined concrete goals that we want to achieve by 2025.

For us, acting sustainably means keeping the planet habitable for future generations. This also includes being aware of our contribution to climate change and reducing it wherever possible. To make further progress on this path, we have defined concrete climate protection targets, for the very first time, in our Sustainability Charter.

Since 2015, we have annually recorded the emissions produced by buildings, production, travel and transport of goods at all of our locations. When evaluating our carbon footprint, we use the Greenhouse Gas Protocol calculation standard and our results are then independently verified. Starting in 2023, we aim to offset relevant and unavoidable emissions from our operations through carefully selected compensation projects. However, we know that we need to do more in the long term. For example, to make our value chain more climate-friendly or even climate-neutral. By the end of 2024, we will therefore define a roadmap towards net zero emissions - in order to ultimately remove as many emissions from the atmosphere as we emit.

Don't plan – act!

Long-term climate strategies are important but climate protection must happen today! At BRITA, we are already implementing numerous measures to become more climate-friendly:

• Certified green electricity at many BRITA Group sites
• Promotion of electric company cars and over 40 free charging stations at BRITA SE locations
• Generating our own electricity using photovoltaic systems
• Climate-efficient construction methods and energy-saving technologies in new and renovated BRITA Group buildings
• Optimised logistics routes and switching transport to ship and rail
• Use of sustainable materials with a smaller CO₂ footprint in products