For more than 30 years, Hettich has been committed to a sustainable future. Indeed, sustainability principles have been an integral part of the company philosophy since the early 1990s, consistently applied at various levels. Today, even more companies in the Hettich Group take responsibility for preserving the environment and protecting the health of their employees through social commitment on many fronts and constant investment in environmentally friendly and resource-conserving technologies. Hettich believes that acting socially and environmentally in compliance with the law does not hinder, but rather promotes and ensures a company's economic success.
 

In the flyer "Act today thinking about tomorrow" Hettich illustrates the many activities implemented so far and indicates the ambitious goals for an increasingly green future.

 

Certified environmental management

Hettich continuously improves its environmental performance by participating in EMAS (Eco Management and Audit Scheme) the world's strictest European environmental management system. Six of Hettich's European sites have already achieved EMAS certification; they undergo annual audits that require evidence of continuous improvement and full compliance.

As far as electricity is concerned, from 2021 all German production plants will obtain 100 per cent green electricity from renewable sources. Hettich is also relying on solar energy through the constant expansion of its photovoltaic systems. The Group wants to achieve climate neutrality at locations worldwide by 2030. Between 2016 and 2021, the company was able to reduce specific CO₂ emissions at its production sites around the world by 60 per cent, while absolute CO₂ emissions fell by 40 per cent.

 

Sustainable building projects

Sustainable building projects are an integral part of ecological responsibility, which is why the company pursues important goals both in new Hettich buildings and at the Kirchlengern and Bünde sites. This commitment is evidenced by the awards received for energy-efficient architecture and sustainable buildings such as the Green Building Award, the Best Practice Energieeffizienz, the Holzbaupreis NRW or the Sustainable Industrial and Commercial Building Award.

The C3 production plant, currently under construction in Kirchlengern, will have an annual primary energy requirement of less than 84 per cent according to the requirements of the German Energy Conservation in Buildings Act.

 

Durability of products

The long life of the products, due to their high quality, is also an important sustainability factor. Hettich products energise furniture in a practical and durable way, thus ensuring a long service life. For continuous monitoring and optimisation, the company uses the ISO 9001 certified quality management system. Hettich has also implemented its own dynamic regulatory framework for over 15 years. Thanks to this, the manufacturer voluntarily identifies, evaluates and regulates product components that are suspected of being harmful, or actually harmful to the environment, exceeding legal requirements such as the European chemical regulation REACH or the European RoHS directive on the restriction of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. Similarly, Hettich continues to work on constantly improving the recyclability of its products.

 

Goals for the future

For the future, Hettich has ambitious goals: to avoid CO₂ emissions, steadily reduce remaining emissions, save resources and increase energy efficiency, further optimise the recyclability of its products and promote biodiversity at the company's sites.

To achieve this, Hettich relies on wide-ranging activities to reduce emissions in the entire supply chain, with production and procurement of electricity from renewable sources, climate change awareness workshops, incentives for the use of environmentally friendly means of transport, improving the recyclability of Hettich products or research into alternative sustainable materials in cooperation with suppliers.