Sustainability
Sustainability? Reducing CO2? Climate protection? Here at Rotpunkt Küchen, we have been embracing questions and subjects such as these for a long time now. We have never looked away - but we have not always considered and thought about all the consequences that our everyday actions and our decisions have for our environment and the climate.
A few years ago, we began to ask ourselves more nuanced questions: How do we, as a producer of kitchen furniture, reduce our CO2 footprint? How do we reduce the use of fresh wood to save valuable resources? And how do we make a positive contribution to protecting the climate?
Our mission:
Zero emissions
How and where do you start to reduce CO2 emissions? Quite simply: with a balance sheet. With bare figures. With results, in black and white.
So we had our locations in Bünde and Getmold checked and a CO2 balance drawn up. This was followed by many findings and even more meetings. And an important decision: Using the "avoid-reduce-compensate" approach, CO2 emissions will be reduced gradually.
This means specifically: All emissions that cannot be avoided or reduced will be offset in sustainability projects through a certified partner (myclimate).
Our green production
How do you create a sustainable production environment?
We at Rotpunkt Küchen are constantly looking at how well-known processes and structures can be optimised, how we can reduce the proportion of fresh wood used in chipboard, use production waste and offer employees a healthy working environment.
We are looking (even) more closely today than we did a few years ago. Considering how we can improve material efficiency. Thinking about how we can support our production and administration teams to work more healthily.
together to zero
Since 2017, we have been continuously working on rethinking processes and questioning habits – always with the aim of making our company and our products more sustainable and climate-friendly. Decisions are no longer only about economic aspects, but also about ecological and social aspects. Every day we move a little further towards climate neutrality – and we know that we still have a long way to go. Join us on our journey.
UN 17 -
sustainability goals
Heinz-Jürgen Meyer, Andreas Wagner and Sven Herden
Since 2017, we have been working continuously to find answers to these – and many other questions revolving around the topic of sustainability. Our actions are based on the 17 global goals of the UN for sustainable development of the Agenda 2030, the so-called Sustainable Development Goals.
In the following section, we will show you what we have already changed so far to improve the global climate and your home – and what goals we have set ourselves for the future. Join us as we work toward these goals. together to zero.
Our focus
- 1 No poverty
- 3 Good health and well-being
- 4 Quality education
- 5 Gender equality
- 7 Affordable and clean energy
- 8 Decent work and economic growth
- 9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure
- 12 Responsible consumption and production
- 13 Climate action
- 15 Life on land
UN
The UN 17 Village is under construction in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark – a development focused on implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. What does one of the world’s most ambitious construction projects have to do with Rotpunkt kitchens?
Quite a bit. After all, each of the 536 apartments will be equipped with our sustainably produced and certified kitchen and bathroom furnishings. After a month-long application and review phase, our bid was finally accepted, and we are proud to be part of this rigorously sustainable project, with which the investor, NREP, and architectural firms Lendager and Sweco Architects intend to set new standards for the future of construction. Our participation was made possible partially by the greenline BioBoard Gen2 – our chipboard made of up to 90 percent recycled wood.
UN17 Village
When we at Rotpunkt Küchen think about the climate, our first thought is you, our customers. Why, you may be asking? It is quite simple: every piece of furniture has an influence on the indoor air climate in your home due to the materials used. In order to optimise this and to improve everyday health, our products are certified in accordance with JIS F**** (F4Star). This is the emission class of the Japan Industrial Standard (as an equivalent to the DIN standard), which sets the highest requirements for formaldehyde emissions in the world.
In practical terms, this means that products that are F4Star certified, such as our Greenline BioBoard Gen2 chipboard, release around 50 percent less formaldehyde into the room air than conventional products. This is not just pleasant for us - it is of particular importance to your health.
Our Greenline BioBoard Gen2 is the solution for everyone who wants a sustainable and climate-friendly kitchen. Whilst conventionally produced chipboard is almost always made of fresh wood, up to 90 percent of the wood used to make the Greenline BioBoard Gen2 is recycled wood. Why is that a good thing? This high proportion of recycled wood supports carbon sequestration and relieves the atmosphere as a natural CO2 store. Through the use of our Greenline chipboard, we save a forest area of around 50 football fields every year.
On the way to more sustainability, less CO2 emissions and improved climate protection, we have already taken a good look at our production and our products. But without the commitment, ideas and will of our employees, it would not be possible to pursue the goals we have set. Each and every one of them makes a valuable contribution towards achieving the goals every day – for example, by using a bike to get to work. Because the path to climate neutrality? – we are all in it together.
You have probably come across the abbreviation FSC® before. It stands for "Forest Stewardship Council®" – an international organisation that promotes the conservation and responsible management of forests worldwide. Already, 95 % of the Rotpunkt kitchen product range is FSC®-certified. This means not only that we use wood from forests in Germany, Austria and France for our products – but also that attention is paid to sustainable forestry, respec for human rights and fair working conditions. In this way we are assuming responsibility not only for our environment, but also for our social coexistence.
Since 2019, we at Rotpunkt Küchen have been a partner of myclimate. Together with myclimate, we offset all unavoidable emissions from the areas of production, vehicle fleet and employee mobility. Here is a practical example: Through a joint carbon offset project, myclimate and Rotpunkt Küchen are supporting hundreds of families in Kenya with efficient cookers on their way to a more carefree life. Currently, 849 Kenyans are already benefiting from a better indoor air climate and more leisure time thanks to less time spent collecting firewood. In addition, the activities have preserved a forest area of 5.25 ha (equivalent to the size of 7 football fields) as a natural CO2 reservoir.