FSC^®-Certification

The energy generated at our incineration plant heats our headquarters and other buildings. Starting in 2016, our entire electricity requirement will be met by green electricity, a trend-setting decision made for the good of the future. Climate protection and saving energy are not just issues facing the production side of our business. We insist on printing our marketing catalogs and flyers in a climate-neutral manner using certified printers.

It goes without saying that waste separation and recycling are key issues for us. As a matter of course, we reuse packaging several times in our dispatch department, in order to avoid waste and to save on raw materials. Central to recycling are the packaging regulations, according to which we, as manufacturers, are required to collect, sort and process sales packaging, sent to private end consumers, in a dual system. This serves to avoid packaging waste and to ensure we reuse or reprocess these materials. Our business environment was deliberately designed to be environmentally friendly. Have you ever heard of eco-plaster? This ecological, water-permeable surface material is used almost everywhere throughout our site. This permeable ground-covering material ensures the run-off of precipitation, so that the natural water cycle is not interrupted.

We have been demonstrating this aim since 2010 via our FSC^® certification, and we are the first manufacturer worldwide to produce Orff instruments from certified woods. You can recognize these products from the FSC^® tree logo. The Forest Stewardship Council™ (its German branch - www.fsc-deutschland.de), FSC^® for short, is a non-profit, independent organization with its headquarters in Bonn and has national working groups in 43 countries. The objective of the FSC® is to foster the responsible management of forests worldwide. It is supported by environmental organizations (WWF, Greenpeace, NABU, Robin Wood, and others), social associations (IG BAU, IG Metall, and others), as well as numerous companies.

A key focus of its work is to give equal consideration to the social, ecological and economic aspects of the use of natural products. For us, the FSC^® is a certification standard with the highest credibility in terms of legal and exemplary forest management. We purchase other imported wood exclusively from suppliers who adhere to worldwide norms relating to species protection.

This ensures that imports of this kind conform to ‘CITES’ and ‘EUTR’. CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) is a treaty that aims to regulate the international trade in wild animals and plants to the extent that the survival of animal and plant species living in the wild are not endangered. The EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) seeks to prevent the sale of illegally sourced wood within the European Union. It prohibits the import of wood and wood products from illegal logging into the EU domestic market .

We use reconstructed veneers alongside natural ones. These veneers are produced by the company Alpi in Italy. Alpi's ecologic strategy: to use wood from plantations and controlled forestry to achieve a sparing use of natural resources – completely in harmony with our environment. Since 2004, we have employed an ecological finish for the surfaces of our wood products. Known as Proterra, it is produced from shellac, oil and carnauba wax. Instead of a lacquer-based wood stain, we insist on using a water-soluble, environmentally friendly stain. We do this not just for environmental reasons, but also to protect the health of our staff and customers around the world.

The future of our company is ensured by means of targeted training and further education in various fields. Fair working conditions, occupational safety, human resources policies based on differing phases of life, and remunerating our staff in line with negotiated contracts, all of this is a matter of course for our business.

Integral to our business philosophy is the strengthening and safe-guarding of our company’s site at Bad Berleburg-Aue., Germany. Securing the future of the site of our headquarters is also part of supporting the region in which it is based. Whenever possible, we involve regional suppliers and service companies, we support cultural events and work together with social facilities.