Environment

Our perspective

The global challenges regarding climate change, water security, waste generation, and access to energy services have been accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis in the past 2 years. Jungbunzlauer’s business activities are both affecting our environment and being affected by the global challenges connected to climate change.

Our Responsibility

Because of the global nature of our company, our key concerns focus on challenges such as greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, water usage, waste generation and sustainable procurement, which give rise to opportunities for us to have a positive impact on our environment. This in turn influences all our stakeholders, from our customers, our suppliers and our employees to local communities.

Did you know?

Since 2021, we purchase exclusively renewable energy for our biggest production site Pernhofen, Austria as well as for our production site in Ladenburg, Germany.

Responsible Care® Principles

We are committed to implementing sound environmental management practices into all aspects of our business. All Jungbunzlauer production facilities have implemented a “Health, Safety and Environmental Policy”, which includes, among other topics, energy, water, waste and pollution management, occupational health and safety and sustainable consumption. All our production sites adhere to the Responsible Care® programme to monitor and improve our environmental performance.

Resources for the implementation of Responsible Care® principles are provided in all our plants. The energy management systems of the production sites in Pernhofen, Ladenburg and Marckolsheim are certified according to ISO 50001. In addition, the environmental management system of our Ladenburg site is certified according to ISO 14001.

Monitoring under the Responsible Care® programme ensures that the environmental impacts of Jungbunzlauer’s activities are reviewed internally on an annual basis.

Targets and the company's performance with respect to environmental topics (emissions, energy, water, waste) are summarised by each production site yearly in a Responsible Care® Report.

At Jungbunzlauer we believe it is important to be aware of our responsibility towards the environment and to work together proactively for a more sustainable future.

Emissions

Emissions are a big driver in climate change. On the one hand, our production is dependent on reliable access to energy sources and renewable raw materials (corn). Agriculture and thus the availability of our main raw material is very vulnerable to climate change.

On the other hand, we also have an impact on climate change due to the nature of our business. The fermentation and subsequent downstream processing needed for the production of our products uses large amounts of heating and cooling, which in turn leads to considerable emissions. Energy-saving measures and projects to increase production efficiency are therefore high on our agenda in order to reduce our emissions. Increased use of renewable energy sources is another important factor.

The topic “energy” is evaluated only in terms of its contribution to emissions, not as an individual topic.

Water

Supply and water purity is another serious global concern. Not only is climate change threatening water resources, but unsustainable use of water and industry-related water pollution is accelerating this process. Our business depends on the availability of water for production.

For our fermentation processes, water is a key raw material, which we use for the process itself and for cooling. Jungbunzlauer constantly seeks to improve the use of water in our production plants by investing in water-saving projects.

Waste

Pollution and waste generation is threatening our environment and the availability of natural resources on which we depend. We do our utmost to minimise our waste and strive for optimal recycling flows in our production sites as well as offices. Nearly all by-products resulting from our operations are used in construction, agriculture, feed or for biogas production. Most of our raw materials are delivered in bulk, which means that packaging waste is low. Most of the packaging for our finished products can be returned or recycled.

Did you know?

Since 2021, toner cartridges are collected and returned for reuse in our production site Ladenburg, Germany. Thus, waste should be reduced.

Our environmental initiatives