Environment Sustainable packaging materials Wherever possible, we use packaging materials that are recyclable, certified or reusable, or made using renewable raw materials or as much post-consumer recycled content as possible. The EU's new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, which came into force in 2025, presents us with new challenges in packaging development. However, we believe we are well equipped for this in view of the sustainability criteria we have defined for packaging. We are already committed to avoiding packaging materials and conserving resources (principle of avoidance and minimisation). All the materials we use are technically recyclable and are also largely recycled in practice. Depending on the type of material, our packaging is certified with a sustainability label (e.g. FSC©), comes from renewable raw materials or is made from recycled materials. In the pulp-based segment (corrugated board, cardboard, paper), our recycling rate was already 80 % in the reporting period. In the case of soft plastic packaging we achieved a recycling rate of around 43 %. By 2026, over 80 % of the total volume purchased will contain at least 50 % recycled materials, and we plan to increase this to 100 % by 2027 in Austria. By the end of the reporting period, stretch wrap for pallet wrapping at all sites will have been converted to 30 % post-consumer recycled content. We are also working hard to increase the amount of recycled content in our reusable transport packaging. We have had to postpone our goal of introducing an ECO-Pack with an outer container made from 100 % recycled material by 2025. The internal packaging that holds the products in place still has to be made from virgin material to ensure it delivers complete protection for our products. Overall, Blum purchased a total of 18,717 tonnes of packaging (wood, paper and plastics) during the reporting period compared to 16,289 tonnes in the previous year, of which 98.4 % was made from renewable packaging materials (not including reusable transport packaging). Proportion of recycled content in our packaging materials Renewable and non-renewable packaging materials used during the reporting year Packaging material Proportion of recycled content* (in %) Wood 0.0 % Soft plastic 43.2 % Plastic foam 0 % Hard plastic 19.1 % Paper and cardboard 85.1 % Corrugated board 76.5 % Total 74.1 % Type of packaging material Purchasing volume (in %) Renewable 98.4 % Non-renewable / fossil-based 1.5 % *Wei ghte d average base d on purchasing volumes The f i gures quote d in thi s sec t i on relate to our Aus t r ian si tes. The p ropor t i on of pac kaging mater ia l s use d at our internat i ona l si tes c an be found in the tot a l mater ia l c onsumpt i on (GRI 301-1). Wor k i s under way to gradua l l y imp rove the dat a ava i lab l e for the internat i ona l si tes. 44 © Copyright by Blum
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy