KURZ Issues Sustainability Report

Optical security feature and foil manufacturer KURZ has published a report – Communication on Progress – which presents the company’s sustainability performance to date in detail and also discusses its goals and plans.

In 2021 it joined the UN Global Compact initiative, has put in place extensive environmental management systems and appointed an environmental officer, is mapping out its scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and is signed up to ISO 14001, 50001 (energy management) and 45001 (occupational health and safety).

At a product level, KURZ has introduced a customer take-back and recycling programme for any residual materials, RECOSYS®, and started using a high-quality recycled granulate which is made from production waste, RECOPOUND®. The RECOSYS waste is processed into new raw materials for the company. RECOPOUND allows up to 40% of the CO2 to be saved compared with using new material. The declared aim for the future is to reuse the recycled PET carrier for the production of new transfer carriers, creating a true circular cycle. .

KURZS obtains its entire electricity demand in Germany from renewable sources, partly through purchased green electricity, and partly through its own photovoltaic systems. At its Sulzbach-Rosenberg site, where its foils are manufactures, it will soon have a solar farm in operation providing 20-25% of the site’s electricity, saving 6,000 tonne of CO2 a year.

At a lower level, the company is placing emphasis on e-mobility and hybrid technology, and the lighting is being switched to LED.

The full report can be viewed here.