Environment

Our manufacturing processes are not yet carbon-neutral.

But we are making good progress.

We emit just half the amount of CO₂ per tonne of corrugated board compared with our competitors and the industry average. This means we have already beaten Switzerland’s CO₂ emissions target for 2030.

We always use recycled fibre wherever possible, playing our part in protecting our forests. If we cannot avoid the use of virgin fibre, we purchase it from FSC-certified sources. Illegal logging does not occur at any point in our supply chain, and damaging chemicals are not used at any stage.

In terms of logistics, we avoid journeys with empty lorries. We use water in a circular fashion and our paper factories have their own wastewater treatment plants. We collect used packaging from our customers, recycle it and turn it into new packaging.

At a glance

83 %

recycled fibre were used in our products in 2020.

600 000

litres of diesel were saved in 2020 through an incentive program.

11,3 %

less fresh water has been consumed since 2017.

8 763

tonnes of CO₂ have been saved since 2017

1. Our ambition

As little packaging as possible

But as much as necessary. Unlike other materials such as plastic, our board and corrugated card mean that goods can be wrapped in eco-friendly packaging. There is no doubt that the manufacture of cardboard is a high-energy and water-intensive process.

That is why we focus on the areas where we can be sustainable. Our paper mills draw district heat from waste incineration plants and use solely Swiss electricity, both of which are almost carbon-neutral. Plus, our mills use recycled fibre wherever possible.

We handle resources carefully and efficiently – and not just in terms of energy, the climate, waste, and water. We investigate issues such as deforestation, soil erosion, and illegal logging when procuring raw materials.

"By 2030, we will have reduced our resource consumption per tonne of paper, corrugated board, and cardboard produced by 10 percent."

2. Our actions

We prefer used goods

Our products are resource-intensive, by their very nature. That is why recycling and energy-efficient manufacturing are at the top of our agenda, from both an environmental and economic perspective.

We analyse, anticipate and reduce the negative effects on the environment as soon as we start the development of a product. We optimise our logistics on an ongoing basis, whether with route planning and innovations or by using return trips to bring back waste paper and cardboard.

We purify wastewater, use recycled fibre where possible and buy only certified virgin fibre, where we need it.

We shorten supply chains

Model Recover offers simple solutions for the collection and recycling of waste paper and cardboard. Whenever our lorries deliver new products, they bring back used items from our customers. This enables everyone involved to save valuable time, logistics expenses and CO₂. Plus, it means we avoid empty trips.

Since 2015, we have obtained wheat starch from our nearby supplier Meyerhans Mühlen AG. This helps us to save 400,000 km in lorry journeys every year and more than 380 tonnes of CO₂.

Our carbon footprint is sizeable

But what is unique about it is that we emit only half as much CO₂ as our competitors and the industry average. By and large, Model had replaced fossil fuels with heat from waste incineration plants as far back as the turn of the millennium, with this heat being practically carbon-neutral. Plus, we like to stand by Swiss electricity, which is almost carbon-neutral as well, thanks to hydropower and nuclear power. By 2030, Switzerland wants its CO₂ emissions to be half of what they were in 1990 – and we have already exceeded this goal.

We have also worked with Switzerland’s Federal Office of Energy (BFE) and the Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU) to agree on additional goals for our manufacturing plants. By 2030, for example, we want to reduce our energy usage and CO₂ output by an additional 15% compared with our 2017 figures.

To reach these goals, we are making optimizations both large and small. We are constructing efficient manufacturing buildings, such as our logistics hall in Moudon, Switzerland, which does not require energy for heating. We are replacing old lighting systems with LEDs and insulating existing halls with modern thermal insulation panels. We are replacing compressors that have energy-guzzling air coolers with new, water-cooled compressors. We use the hot water produced there to heat buildings or our service water.

These are just some of our actions that have seen us save a total of 1,273 tonnes of CO₂ compared with last year. 102,000 beech trees would have to grow for 80 years to soak up this much CO₂.

Waste water is better than fresh water

We are continually improving and modernizing our paper factories. Part of this involves using less fresh water so that we create less wastewater. The less fresh water we use the more concentrated the wastewater, which according to the best available technology is associated with increased use of chemicals. That is why our Weinfelden and Niedergösgen sites feature wastewater treatment plants to repurify the water.

No waste ends up in the tip

Our waste is composed primarily of paper fibre that is recycled in our factories as a raw material. Our packaging consists largely of recycled fibre because recycled paper reduces emissions by more than 20% compared with paper made from virgin fibre.

The waste paper we use as a raw material contains impurities, such as scrap wood, metal, and plastic, which must be sifted out during the manufacturing process. We have our own incineration plant to thermally treat this material and use the heat captured from it to dry the new paper within the paper mill.

We do not apologise for our sources

We use paper fibre up to seven times until it cannot be recycled anymore. If white cardboard coating is required, we make sure we use virgin fibre from sustainable sources. We offer packaging made from FSC-certified materials across all our plants, ensuring that our suppliers meet the most stringent management criteria for eco-friendly forest use.

Offsetting is a load of rubbish...

...if you do it only to assuage a guilty conscience. However, we offer packaging that is carbon-neutral thanks to emissions offsetting. Some CO₂ emissions can be avoided only at exorbitant cost, if at all, and our customers can offset them by funding projects to protect the climate. In collaboration with the climate protection consultancy Climate Partner, we have developed a CO₂ calculator that creates transparency from one end of the value chain to the other.

3. Our goals

What we want to achieve

By 2030, we will have reduced our resource consumption per tonne of paper, corrugated card, and cardboard produced by 10%.

By 2030, we will have reduced our CO₂ output by 15%.

To reach these goals, we will optimize our fibre recovery process, improve our logistics and introduce new technology along the value chain.

GRI information

Documenting GRI indicators

This report complies with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and aligns the key aspects of the GRI with the four pillars of the Model Group’s sustainability strategy.

GRI 301-2

Recycled input materials used

GRI 302-3

Energy intensity

GRI 303-1 – 303-5

Water and effluents

GRI 305-4

Emissions

GRI 306-2

Waste by type and disposal method

TO THE GRI INFORMATION

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Employees

In short, we delegate responsibility. To every single person.

Sustainability

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Supply chain

We stay with what we like. And we like exemplary partners.