Kiefel Driving Sustainability

Our permanent striving for future-oriented acting in all our activities is among the most important ingredients for being the leading solution provider for the development and implementation of the most sustainable technology.

EcoVadis

The world's largest provider of sustainability ratings, EcoVadis, has awarded the company, consisting of the Freilassing-based Kiefel GmbH with subsidiaries in Micheldorf (Austria) and Sprang-Capelle (Netherlands), a silver medal in the overall ranking. This places Kiefel among the most sustainable 15% of all companies audited by EcoVadis and even among the top 4% of the industry.

The EcoVadis certification is based on an extensive questionnaire on the four categories of "Environment", "Labor and human rights", "Ethics" and "Sustainable procurement". Since the last assessment in 2023, the overall score has improved thanks to the implementation of additional policies and measures. According to the provider, they already certify more than 130,000 companies in over 180 countries in a wide variety of industries worldwide.

Trust is the cornerstone of our business: Compliance, responsibility, and ethical behavior define our values.

Our commitments are guided by our Code of Conduct, the core of our corporate culture and a reflection of our ethical responsibilities

Sustainability guides our path when it comes to innovation. We rethink product design and functionality, materials and composition with a view to a more sustainable product. Correspondingly, we adapt manufacturing processes and optimize machines and tools for production.

You can choose to use classic, recyclable plastics such as rPET, bio-based materials such as PLA or natural fibers – Kiefel has the machine solution. Your sustainable product can thus more easily be recycled and returned to the circular economy, be biodegradable or even compostable.

In addition, we have determined the Product Carbon Footprints (PCF) for our machines and reference customer products in accordance with the DIN ISO 14067 and GHG Protocol Product Standard. The PCF is subject to an annual review process.

NATUREFORMER KFT 90 receives Gold Award at the German Packaging Award 2023

NATUREFORMER KFT 90 as Advanced Version receives Gold Award in the German Packaging Award 2023 in the Packaging Machines Category.

Our KFT 90 as Advanced Version, which allows customers to reduce cycle times by up to 30% in fiber-packaging production, was further honored with the Gold Award for particularly groundbreaking innovation among the winners.

>> German Packaging Award

>> World Star Award

>> German Sustainability Award

Digitalization is continuously making processes more efficient and, most importantly, more sustainable.

For machinery and equipment, the Group companies rely on intuitive human machine interfaces (HMI), enabling, among other things, resource-efficient control of the various processes as well as decentralised maintenance. We received the red dot award design in 2020 for the design of our HMI.

After sales services are also performed remotely. Not only do they help you reduce time and save travel costs, but also prevent C0₂ emissions.

We take an active role for a better future and are committed to contributing to a healthy environment and a society worth living in through sustainable action. We want to achieve our economic success only in accordance with internationally recognized human rights standards and laws.

In this context, we have committed ourselves to the ten principles of the UN Global Compact and we support the 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda.

The people who work together at Kiefel are the cornerstone of our success.

Therefore, we do everything for a healthy working environment, from state-of-the-art work clothes and shoes, to related accident prevention equipment (such as eye protection glasses, ear plugs, gloves, etc.). In addition, annual occupational safety training, adapted to different job profiles, is mandatory for all employees.

In addition, we cooperate with appointed company doctors at many sites and an occupational safety specialists. The company doctor carries out occupational medical check-ups for employees and advises on all medical issues associated with work, the workplace, and occupational medical precautionary measures.

The occupational safety specialist works closely with the company doctors to provide advice and support for accident prevention and in identifying potential accident risks. Responsibility for work safety in the company lies with the occupational safety officer, the safety specialists, and the management.

Furthermore, employee benefits including discounts for local recreational facilities are offered by Kiefel.

At Kiefel there is no room for discrimination.

Our commitment in our Code of Conduct is part of daily business for us: Nobody is discriminated because of ethnic origin, gender, religion or beliefs, disability status, age, sexual identity or any other factors.

We are proud that employees of 28 different nationalities form our Kiefel Team, creating an atmosphere of diversity, tolerance, and equal opportunity.

Around 15% of Kiefel employees are women and they make up 14% of the top management at Kiefel GmbH.

Our salary structure ensures fair and equal pay, that is determined by the position, qualification and experience. We take care to ensure that working hours do not exceed the maximum permitted under the applicable laws and regulations.

Our representative for severely disabled employees provides assistance with applications and correspondence as well as providing support options at the workplace.

And of course, we take a stand for equality and reduce inequalities as to the greatest possible extent.

Kiefel actively reduces resource consumption and continuously optimizes energy performance. Our machines are primarily made of recyclable metals, while plastics and chemicals are used in minimal amounts. We also support biodiversity by planting native vegetation on our premises, creating habitats for insects and birds. Environmental aspects such as transport and energy consumption are analyzed throughout the entire product lifecycle to minimize ecological impact.

NEXTLOOPP - Recycling of PP for food-grade applications

The NEXTLOOPP initiative focuses on closing the loop of mechanically recycled food-grade polypropylene. The mechanical recycling of PP waste into high-quality rPP is an important step towards creating a sustainable circular economy. The circular economy can only be fully realized if plastics can be recycled back into food-grade applications. As this is not yet possible for mechanically recycled PP today, there is still work to be done here. We are convinced that NEXTLOOPP will make a unique and valuable contribution to closing the loop on food-grade PP. As part of this initiative, tray-to-tray and cup-to-cup recycling will be given a real opportunity for market introduction. We are proud to be a member of this initiative.

PrintCYC - successful recycling of printed plastic films

The PrintCYC (Printed PP films for mechanical recycling) project group explored ways to create circular economy solutions. The specific target of the project was to understand the impact of different ink formulations on the mechanical PP and PE recycling process. Furthermore, the re-usability of PP and PE recyclates (rPP / rPE) made from printed post-industrial film waste was evaluated in cast film, blown film, compression moulding and thermoforming technologies as well as the biaxial stretching process.

Members of this project were Kiefel, Brückner Maschinenbau and PackSys Global, the film producer Profol, the ink manufacturers Huber Group and Siegwerk, the converters Constantia Flexibles and Wipak as well as the recycling specialist Erema.

Holy Grail - digital watermarks for better sorting

In order to improve the sorting and consequently the recyclability of plastics, renowned brand owners, such as Procter & Gamble, have initiated the European “HolyGrail” project, in which Kiefel participates.

This involves using digital watermarks on packaging to obtain more material information, e.g. whether a material used to be food-safe. The printed or imprinted watermarks (largely invisible QR codes) are scanned and provide information about the material composition. More detailed sorting ensures a higher quality of recyclates and thus makes it easier to achieve recycling targets.

Digital Product Passport with R-Cycle

Kiefel is now a member of the R-Cycle. An association of companies and organizations that are committed to the global standardization of digital product passports for plastic products - based on GS1 standards.

R-Cycle is the open traceability standard for sustainable plastic products and packaging. With the digital product passport, (recycling)-relevant information is automatically recorded during packaging production and filling, forwarded through the value chain and made retrievable via a corresponding marking (e.g. digital watermark). This enables waste sorting systems to identify recyclable packaging and form recycling-friendly, unmixed fractions. This is the basis for obtaining high-quality recyclates and a functioning circular economy.