Südpack jumps into top ten in WirtschaftsWoche sustainability ranking

For the second time in a row, German plastic film manufacturer Südpack has earned a place on the list of the top 50 most sustainable SMEs in Germany. Last year, the company ranked 36th on the WirtschaftsWoche’s cross-sector sustainability ranking; this year the company edged into the top ten, taking tenth place.

The list was compiled by the Munich-based consulting firm Munich Strategy, who analysed the performance of 4,000 companies in the three categories of environment, social issues and governance (ESG criteria). The project was commissioned by the German weekly business news magazine WirtschaftsWoche.

Munich Strategy used an algorithm to assess the sustainability reports as well as the press and social media activities of 4,000 companies with a turnover of between 10 million and approximately 1.5 billion euros. The experts then used the data to calculate a sustainability score, which whittled the group down to 400. What followed then were extensive interviews with various stakeholders in order to arrive at the fifty most sustainably operating SMEs in the country.

The list appeared in the 23 June issue of the magazine.
Moving up the list took effort, and it did not all happen at once.
“We’ve been investing in a wide range of activities in the field of sustainability for many years. That includes production processes and products, construction projects, in-house recycling streams and extensive investments in a functioning circular economy, and continues on with society, employees and the environment,” said Carolin Grimbacher, a managing partner at the company.
Südpack has created a comprehensive sustainability roadmap comprising all the company’s ESG activities and targets. The results, which are substantiated by reliable facts and figures, are regularly published in sustainability reports that are compiled on a voluntary basis.

And while sustainability at Südpack involves substantial investments and a great deal of work, in the end, the environment, people, the industry and the company all benefit in equal measure, the company said. Its portfolio of more sustainable and recyclable film solutions and packaging concepts give it a competitive edge, as does the expertise gained in the development of these solutions - which are often tailor-made. Sustainable corporate governance ultimately benefits the company by helping to address current challenges, such as energy management, the shortage of skilled staff and the transition to a circular economy.
Südpack has also developed a new LCA tool - available to its customers - that enables the systematic analysis of the environmental impacts and energy balance of its products throughout their entire life cycle – all the way from production to disposal.
“The primary goal has to be to reduce negative effects as far as possible and to systematically develop recyclable packaging based on valid data for individual needs. That is the only way to get closer to reaching our goal of becoming a zero waste business,” said Carolin Grimbacher.
The LCA tool also helps in deciding the most appropriate end-of-life scenario for each product.
The company also has access to feedstock derived from chemical recycling, due to its cooperation with Carboliq. This allows Südpack to offer virgin-quality solutions based on mass-balanced plastics derived from chemically recycled waste plastic.
With in-house regranulation and compounding available, customers also have mechanical recycling options to choose from.