Neutral presentation of environmental impacts
PAPUREX has been regularly publishing environmental statements since 2021. The latest edition has just been completed and is now available for download. This is a voluntary report, as PAPUREX is not obliged to carry out environmental reporting under current legislation due to the size of the company. However, the purpose of the document is not, as one might think at first glance, to present the company in the best light and to engage in greenwashing.
Rather, the environmental statement is a critical examination of all the environmental impacts that PAPUREX has as a result of its business activities. In times of climate change and increasing environmental pollution, this is of great importance for all stakeholders of a company. For example, PAPUREX employees can use the environmental statement to better understand the impact of their daily work. In addition, the management can track and control the development of the variables. Last but not least, third parties, such as customers and suppliers, can also see how PAPUREX acts with regard to environmental impact.
Analysis in various dimensions
The environmental statement attempts to cover all dimensions of environmental impact. This begins with greenhouse gas emissions, which are categorized into scopes 1 – 3. The document defines the scopes in more detail. However, greenhouse gas emissions are only a small part of a company’s environmental impact. For example, the document also takes a closer look at PAPUREX’s water consumption, waste volumes and energy requirements. Raising employee awareness also plays an important role.
Objectives in the environmental statement
The goal of achieving CO2 neutrality in Scopes 1 and 2 by 2025 was already set in the first environmental statement from 2021. Through intensive analysis of the company’s emissions and the corresponding emitters, it was possible to clearly define which measures are necessary to put this plan into practice. The preparation of the data, which was necessary as part of the environmental statement, also made it possible to monitor the achievement of this objective on a regular basis. The same applies to the areas of waste, water and energy consumption. By summarizing all relevant data from these areas in a report, the development of these could be tangibly summarized in target figures.
Environmental statement uncovers potential
Writing a document such as an environmental statement requires an institution to take a very close look at its own environmental impact. This has revealed facts and potentials at PAPUREX that were not necessarily the focus of attention before. For example, the fact that the procurement of polyurethane is by far the biggest factor in greenhouse gas emissions as a result of business activities. As a result of this realization, the recycling of polyurethane waste from production was given higher priority. Previously, the focus was more on areas such as mobility, which, contrary to the original assumption, plays a subordinate role in the company’s overall emissions.
The new version of the environmental statement is published
The third, revised version of the PAPUREX environmental statement was completed in April 2025. The previous version from 2023 was supplemented with the figures from the 2023 and 2024 financial years. In addition, some new data was included in the document that had not previously been recorded. This is because, as described in the previous section, the analysis of environmental influences repeatedly reveals factors that were not previously the focus of attention.