Industry-leading environmental and social standards

Ebersdorf bei Coburg, Germany, 3 March 2021 +++ The Schumacher Packaging Group, one of the largest family-run manufacturers of corrugated and solid board packaging solutions (www.schumacher-packaging.com), achieved fantastic results in its EcoVadis assessment. The plants in Bielefeld and Wrocław were awarded Gold status, placing them in the top five percent of the sector. The Sonneberg plant was awarded a Silver medal. Schumacher Packaging has proven once again that its production sites meet the highest standards of sustainability, ethics and environmental protection.

CSR is in our DNA

"Environmental protection, sustainability and social engagement have always held a really central role at Schumacher Packaging," explains Volker Hummel, Plant Manager of the Bielefeld site. "The EcoVadis Gold and Silver medals awarded to our plants in Bielefeld, Wrocław and Sonneberg demonstrate once again that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not only an integral element of our corporate strategy, but something that we do all live by each and every working day." It started with the Wrocław site, which received the EcoVadis Gold award back in April 2020. "Coinciding with our 20th anniversary, it made for a lovely birthday present to ourselves," recalls Anna Sokół, Managing Director of the Schumacher Packaging plant in Wrocław. Bielefeld became the first German plant of the corporate group to go through EcoVadis's assessment, earning itself Gold status; shortly after that, in mid-February, the Sonneberg site joined them in the top ranks by attaining Silver status. More plants are currently in the process of being assessed for a rating.

Assessment criteria tailored to the industry and the company

EcoVadis conduct in-depth, fact-based analyses of whether, and to what extent, a company fulfils its social responsibility. The questionnaires, based on international CSR standards – such as those of the UN or the International Labour Organisation (ILO) – are therefore extensive. What makes the EcoVadis assessment different is that the assessment criteria are adjusted to the specifics of the industry in question. "For paper and cardboard packaging manufacturers, decisive factors include energy consumption and waste rates, for instance," explains QM Officer Dmitrey Ivanov, who undertook a lot of preparatory work for the EcoVadis rating at the Wrocław site. This work was then continued in the German plants by CSR Officer Felicia Höllein. Other parameters such as the size of the company, and the country are also taken into account in the assessments. "That way, competing companies can easily draw comparisons based on objective factors," explains Höllein. "Social and environmental standards are of ever-growing importance in business partnerships. By taking part in an EcoVadis assessment, we are demonstrating just how important these considerations are to us at Schumacher Packaging."

Modern sustainability management

The EcoVadis rating certificate is valid for one year. In order to retain its top spot in subsequent assessments, Schumacher Packaging is always working to make further improvements in the relevant areas. "Going forward, our actions will also focus on energy efficiency and resource efficiency, as well as our ecological footprint," says Plant Manager Hummel.