As a production company, our consumption of primary energy and raw materials is high. By formulating and pursuing ecological objectives, we manage our activities so as to improve our sustainability.
Our ecological objectives
Since the company was founded in 1882, its headquarters have been on the Wuppertal Cronenberg, surrounded by woodland and natural vegetation. Conservation areas are our direct neighbours. We invest in protecting our countryside.We want to increase the ecological stability on our land, in other words the ability of an ecosystem to compensate for pollution or damage. With the support of the Heinz Sielmann Foundation, we have prepared a concept for a natural layout on our company premises as part of the national “biodiversity” programme, and implemented initial measures. We want to achieve an ecological upgrading of the company premises through the creation of additional habitats and the associated increase in biodiversity.
In Egypt, we are taking part in the revegetation of desert areas jointly with SEKEM, the partner with whom we are collaborating. In 2015, 25,700 young trees (saplings) were grown on behalf of KNIPEX, and will be planted out on a 40-hectare area of desert in the Libyan desert (approximately 370 km south-west of Cairo). With the reforestation project in Egypt, we want to make a contribution to improving our CO2 balance; in addition, further areas are being developed for agricultural use.
In the first year the trees planted by KNIPEX will reduce CO2 by 1.9 tonnes. This amount will increase as the trees grow, capturing 1,500 tonnes of CO2 in the first five years.