Marabu is one of the first ink manufacturers to achieve climate neutrality. All Marabu Business Units will, where possible, make a specific contribution to achieve the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with PROJECT GREEN and, therefore, participate in the Green Deal.
"We are safeguarding the future of the next generations and are proud that we have managed to be a climate neutral company from July 2021 with the Tamm and Bietigheim sites. All our products, whether printing inks or creative colours, are climate neutral, too," explained York Boeder, CEO Executive Committee. "Our so-called PROJECT GREEN combines all measures that are taking us on our journey to climate neutrality. Climate protection is a particular concern for us, to which we have made a binding commitment within the scope of an extensive sustainability strategy. In accordance with our Marabu Green Deal, we avoid and reduce emissions wherever possible, e.g. by using green electricity, energy-saving schemes, mobility concepts or environmentally friendly materials. We offset all unavoidable CO2 emissions by supporting internationally certified climate protection projects. We are continually implementing measures to improve our carbon footprint and update them annually to make their success measurable. We have, therefore, set ourselves the active goal of reducing our CO2 emissions by another 25% by 2030."
For decades, Marabu has invested in the research and development of safe production processes, environmentally friendly products, and clean technologies with the aim of preserving the natural environment. Marabu has worked with Climate Partner to analyse all the CO2 emissions from the sites in Tamm and Bietigheim and determine its carbon footprint. Including all product-related factors, such as raw materials and logistics, Marabu currently generates approx. 18,500 tons of unavoidable CO2 emissions. This value is the positive result of a number of climate-friendly measures pursued by Marabu, such as the early switch to green electricity in 2007.
Marabu’s main activities to avoid and reduce CO2 emissions
Energy – by switching to green electricity from hydropower, it eliminates almost 2000 tons of CO2 every year, the equivalent of the annual CO2 footprint of 175 German citizens. By landscaping roofs, it barely needs any air-conditioning. The company is also constantly investing in renewable projects for saving energy in other areas, such as the switch to modern lighting systems.
Mobility – electromobility is the future. In view of this, it is continuously investing in the migration of its company vehicles to electric and hybrid cars, as well as in e-charging stations. It supporst home office and ‘cycle to work’ initiatives. It is replacing laborious business trips with productive online conferences. Where on-site visits are unavoidable, it always minimises the number of travellers. Green modes of transport like train and public transport enable it to largely eliminate domestic and international flights.
Production – in its production facilities, it uses renewable energies and resource-efficient production processes. It uses water treatment and solvent recovery, as well as open-air cooling and low power cooling systems to avoid environmentally damaging coolants.
Its packaging protects the products, presents the contents and is impressively durable. Whether glass, aluminium, cardboard or plastic, the use is carefully weighed up according to the principle: as little material as necessary, as much recycling as possible. That’s why it prefers monomaterials and materials with a high recycled content.
Raw materials – in its in-house laboratories, experts conduct daily research to replace critical substances with environmentally friendly alternatives for new and existing products. It also extends this environmental commitment from Marabu to its upstream supply chains.
Transporting – green transportation is already part of its climate strategy. Climate-neutral freight carriers and lower-emission transport methods like shipping or road transport replace air freight wherever possible. And at all Marabu sites, consistent waste management is practiced as a matter of course.
Product technology – it has been developing modern, low-emission products for decades. Tests in independent laboratories and test centres confirm itsr commitment to responsible products. The proportion of water-based systems for its creative colours is already more than 90%, plus it is working hard to develop new formulations based on renewable raw materials. In the printing inks division, it expects to be able to increase the proportion of water-based systems by more than 300% over the next five years. In addition, the well-established UV-curable ink systems and, in particular, the LED-curable systems helps it increasingly to avoid ceramic paints and solvent-containing systems, thereby further reducing VOC emissions generated by the printing process.
Marabu is a partner of selected climate protection projects
It offsets unavoidable CO2 emissions with selected climate protection projects. All projects are certified to the Gold Standard CER (Certified Emission Reduction) and meet particularly high requirements. With a branch office in Brazil and a production site in Paraguay, it feels a strong connection to South America. The idea behind the forest conservation project in Portel is to support the Ribeirinhos, one of the poorest populations in the Amazon, and sustainably protect the rainforests. If its deforestation continues, millions of tons of CO2 will be incessantly released. By giving the Ribeirinhos the official land rights, agricultural companies can no longer occupy the area. This rescues about 3000 hectares of rainforest from destruction each year and enables them to be managed in a resource-conserving manner.
With a subsidiary in Shanghai and strong business partnerships throughout Asia, it maintains close communications with the continent. In China, it supports the biogas project in Haikou. And successfully so: 15,555 small farmers have so far been able to set up small biogas systems for their own use. The resulting gas covers all of a household’s heating requirements.
As a leading printing ink manufacturer for the packaging industry, the company feels a particular sense of responsibility towards the protection of the oceans. more than eight million tons of plastic waste end up in the world’s seas and oceans every year. Through Project Plastic Bank, people in Haiti, Indonesia, Brazil or the Philippines collect plastic waste and exchange it at local collection points for food, drinking water, mobile phone credit or school fees. The collected plastic is carefully reintegrated into the product cycle.
Marabu’s climate protection projects, therefore, not only save CO2, but also contribute to sustainable local development.
The label ‘climate neutral´ represents transparent and credible climate protection. Its carbon footprint, as well as its climate protection projects can be tracked via an ID number and the Climate Partner ID tracking system. But this is only the beginning – the journey to climate neutrality is far from complete. Detailed information on Marabu PROJECT GREEN can be found in its new brochure and on: https://www.marabu.de/en
