Transport to SPIES
To sustainably ensure the economic health of SPIES, the dialogue with our Stakeholders and the essential orientation of our sustainability vision is an important component. In product development, we combine our innovations with sustainability and think in cycles. We always keep an eye on the topics that are important to us, such as compliance and legal security.
As a plastic manufacturing company, we are aware of our responsibility towards our environment. For that reason, we have been consistently aligning our actions with economic and ecological criteria for years, combining them into meaningful, holistic process. This way we ensure that sustainability is practiced throughout the whole value chain at SPIES. The chart also shows that the cooperation of many parties is necessary for a functioning circular economy.
As a standard, our products are made of polypropylene. We use recycled material for non-food products. Materials made from renewable raw materials are also an alternative to conserve fossil resources.
From the design of our products to the simulation and construction of our injection molds to production, we choose ways to make our products sustainable. After production, we offer storage facilities for 40.000 pallets.
For transport, we pay attention to efficient utilization of pallets through good stackability of our products and offer reusable transport boxes to save resources.
Our products belong in the yellow bin or bag after usage. Correct disposal is the prerequisite for recycling the materials.
In order for our products to be well recycled, we produce packaging made of monomaterials. We are committed to pure recycling streams so that our food packaging can become food packaging again in the future.
As part of a materiality analysis, the most relevant sustainability topics were identified with all division heads. Two perspectives were taken to meet the requirements of double materiality.
1. Which sustainability topics affect us from the outside? (Outside-In-Perspective)
2. On which sustainability aspects do we exert an influence or which aspects are of great importance for SPIES? (Inside-Out-Perspective)
The identified topics were prioritized and checked for opportunities and risks. All topics that have a high to very high significance for our sustainability development are reflected in our materiality matrix and are our central fields of action. In the future, this analysis will be supplemented by a stakeholder survey. The most important stakeholder groups of SPIES are listed in the overview on the right.
In 2015, the Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) were adopted by all member states of the United Nations within the framework of the 2030 Agenda. SPIES is committed to the goals and makes its contribution. Based on our materiality analysis and value chain, we analyzed our contribution to the SDGs. Every single goal is of great importance to us, but the focus of our commitments lies on goal 9, 12, 13, 14 and 15. The graphic shows our contributions to achieving the goals.
The environmental awareness of our stakeholders is growing and the need for innovative and sustainable packaging solutions is becoming increasingly necessary, especially in the food industry. At SPIES, we consistently combine sustainability and innovation and develop our products according to the “Design of Sustainability” principle with the aim of meeting the needs of our world, people and our partners.
We develop packaging optimally for its intended use.
We optimize packaging according to the (plastic) principle of "as much as necessary and as little as possible" - thus conserving resources.
We set standards by using 100% recyclable monomaterials and thereby support the circular economy.
We continuously develop processes, tools and materials, using state-of-the-art technologies.
As an innovation driver, we stand for the standards of tomorrow and educate about recycling and resource conservation.
Our products are divided into two categories: Recyclables and Renewables.
Recyclables are easily separatable and have a 100 % recyclability.
Renewables protect the use of fossil raw materials and reduce the dependency from our finite resources.
The In Mould Labeling (IML method) enables us to produce curved cups as a 1-material packaging without a sleeve and thus 100% recyclable. Consumers benefit from this because they do not have to separate packaging components, and the circular economy benefits accordingly.
The CO2 footprint is 3.38 Kg / Kg of product.
The SPIES CC is a thin walled plastic packaging with detachable cardboard banderole. With the usage of the banderole the plastic content is reduced and the stability secured. Both substances are recyclable if separated by type properly.
The CO2 footprint is 3.54 Kg / Kg of product.
In order to save up to 50 % plastic, the SPIES PC consists of a slim plastic skeleton connected to a chassis made of PP coated cardboard.
The CO2 footprint is 3.62 Kg / Kg of product.
As a plastics processing company, we see it as our mission to contribute to the realization of a circular economy, in order to reduce the environmental impact of plastics. In the article design of our products, we pay attention to a good recyclability already. For example, thanks to the high-quality decoration technique of in-mold-labeling (IML), almost all our products are made of mono-material and are fully recyclable. Where possible, we use recycled material. In 2022, we were able to produce a series product from our recycled industrial scrap for the first time. This is a major step forward given the high requirements for contact-sensitive packaging.
However, a functioning recycling economy cannot be achieved alone. To be able to guarantee closed recycling loops in the future, we are participating in the Holy Grail 2.0 initiative, among others. Within this project, digital three-dimensional watermarks are applied to large areas of the packaging. In the recycling process, these watermarks can be read using special camera technology and the waste can be sorted. Through this the system can separate food packaging from other packaging and create single-sort recycling streams, which is essential for us due to the strict requirements for recycling materials for food packaging.
The quality of our products is our priority. Low reject rates and low claim rates are important to us to satisfy our customers in the long term and support our optimal use of resources. This is ensured by our quality management team, which regularly checks the quality of the produced articles by camera technology and our hygiene requirements.
Our high quality and food standards ensure the safety of consumers when using our packaging, as confirmed by our FSSC 22000 certification. It goes without saying that all our products that come into contact with food are free of plasticizers such as BPA and phthalate.
Compliance responsibility lies with our business management. Annual assessment of compliance issues in the areas of energy and hygiene takes place in management reviews. As part of the EU Whistleblower Directive to protect whistleblowers, an anonymous reporting channel has been installed on our website.
