Our envi­ron­men­tal management

Our pro­duc­tion is ener­gy- and resour­ce-inten­si­ve. Both through the con­sump­ti­on of natu­ral resour­ces and the use of various che­mi­cals, the topic of envi­ron­men­tal pro­tec­tion enjoys a high prio­ri­ty for us.

INDICATORS

With our envi­ron­men­tal manage­ment sys­tem in accordance with the Euro­pean stan­dard EMAS, we pur­sue a holi­stic approach to the topic of the environment.

Deve­lo­ped by the Euro­pean Com­mu­ni­ty, EMAS covers all rele­vant envi­ron­men­tal aspects. It is also per­for­mance-focu­sed: Every cer­ti­fied com­pa­ny should con­ti­nuous­ly impro­ve its envi­ron­men­tal per­for­mance – and invol­ve its employees in the pro­cess. “EMAS-cer­ti­fied com­pa­nies make an effec­ti­ve con­tri­bu­ti­on to envi­ron­men­tal pro­tec­tion, save cos­ts and show social respon­si­bi­li­ty. EMAS ensu­res that all envi­ron­men­tal aspects from ener­gy con­sump­ti­on to was­te are imple­men­ted in a legal­ly secu­re and trans­pa­rent man­ner.” (www.emas.de)

Sub-topics

↓ Our envi­ron­men­tal team
↓ Envi­ron­men­tal report­ing
↓ Envi­ron­men­tal aspects
↓ Ener­gy and water manage­ment
↓ Was­te­wa­ter manage­ment
↓ Was­te manage­ment
↓ Bio­di­ver­si­ty

Envi­ron­men­tal reporting

As an EMAS-regis­tered and cer­ti­fied com­pa­ny, we are obli­ged to publish a detail­ed envi­ron­men­tal state­ment annu­al­ly. The envi­ron­men­tal state­ment is vali­da­ted by an envi­ron­men­tal app­rai­ser and is an essen­ti­al part of our envi­ron­men­tal manage­ment system.

The most important key figu­res and infor­ma­ti­on can be found on this sus­taina­bi­li­ty page. Our vali­da­ted envi­ron­men­tal state­ments are available for down­load here:

OEKO-TEX® STeP

In addi­ti­on, we have also been cer­ti­fied accor­ding to the OEKO-TEX® STeP stan­dard sin­ce 2020. This means that the sys­te­mic requi­re­ments of EMAS are sup­ple­men­ted by con­tent requi­re­ments from the OEKO-TEX® STeP stan­dard. This stan­dard con­ta­ins six dif­fe­rent modu­les: Che­mi­cals Manage­ment, Envi­ron­men­tal Per­for­mance, Envi­ron­men­tal Manage­ment, Social Respon­si­bi­li­ty, Qua­li­ty Manage­ment and Health & Safety.

Envi­ron­men­tal standards
Down­loads

EMAS cer­ti­fi­ca­te
ISO 14001 certificate
↓ STeP by OEKO-TEX® certificate
↓ Ket­tel­hack Cor­po­ra­te Policy

Exter­nal links

EMAS.de
OEKO–TEX.com

Our envi­ron­men­tal team

Respon­si­bi­li­ty for envi­ron­men­tal manage­ment lies with Sus­taina­bi­li­ty Mana­ger, Gia­da Trot­ta and our Tech­ni­cal Mana­ger, Arthur Kalm­bach. This inter­di­sci­pli­na­ry team ensu­res that the envi­ron­men­tal manage­ment sys­tem is holi­sti­cal­ly imple­men­ted and ful­ly embra­ced by all colleagues.

Our envi­ron­men­tal aspects

Envi­ron­men­tal aspects are all acti­vi­ties, pro­ducts or ser­vices of a com­pa­ny that have an impact on the envi­ron­ment. The iden­ti­fi­ca­ti­on of direct and indi­rect envi­ron­men­tal aspects is an essen­ti­al part of any envi­ron­men­tal manage­ment sys­tem. The­se aspects are recor­ded, eva­lua­ted and review­ed at regu­lar intervals.

Ener­gy and water management

Resour­ce con­sump­ti­on depends on various fac­tors, for exam­p­le, the gram­mage and com­po­si­ti­on of the fabric, colour and finis­hing requi­re­ments, or even batch size. A multi­tu­de of pro­duct vari­ants, the­r­e­fo­re, also stands for a multi­tu­de of con­sump­ti­on pro­files. For this reason, even a com­pa­ri­son with ones­elf beco­mes a chall­enge. Loo­king at our pro­duc­tion pro­fi­le is, the­r­e­fo­re, essen­ti­al for inter­pre­ting the key figures.

Our pro­duc­tion profile

2021/20222022/20232023/2024
Out­put (m)10 595 4549 940 3719 453072
Machi­ne hours30 73429 34526313
2021/20222022/20232023/2024
∅- Weight in g300300300
White share (%)333435
Colour share (%)676665

A lot of steam is nee­ded in the dye­ing and finis­hing pro­cess. The­r­e­fo­re, our pro­duc­tion is ener­gy inten­si­ve. The high con­sump­ti­on of ener­gy and water is one of the most important envi­ron­men­tal aspects and thus ener­gy and water manage­ment is a very important part of the envi­ron­men­tal manage­ment sys­tem. Con­sump­ti­on data are eva­lua­ted on a month­ly basis — key figu­res sup­port this eva­lua­ti­on and indi­ca­te irre­gu­la­ri­ties at an ear­ly stage.

Our Con­sump­ti­on Data

2021/20222022/20232023/2024
Elec­tri­ci­ty kWh4 262 6504 111 7993 824 497
Green elec­tri­ci­ty share65,0 %69,0 %85,5 %
Gas kWh32 235 24028 296 96325 153 913
Total ener­gy kWh36 497 89032 408 76228 978 410
kWh/machine hrs.1 1871 1111 101
2022/20222022/20232023/2024
Well water m3165 758158 444147 895
Muni­ci­pal water m32 8292 6782 629
Total water m3168 587161 122150 524
Muni­ci­pal water share1.7 %1.66 %1.75 %
m3/machine hr.5.95.55.72
2021/20222022/20232023/2024
Total air emis­si­ons in kg8 5788 5095 822
Sulp­hur dioxide343333
Nitric oxide2 9012 8342 834
Dust201916
Methane5 6225 1162 939
Air emissions/machine hrs.0.280.270,22
Ener­gy + Water
“We cover almost 99 % of our water needs with trea­ted well water.”
Well water 
98.3%
Muni­ci­pal water 
1.7%
“Various mea­su­res to impro­ve ener­gy effi­ci­en­cy in the last fis­cal year will save about 480,000 kWh of ener­gy annu­al­ly in the future.”

Was­te­wa­ter management

Was­te­wa­ter manage­ment is an important ele­ment in our envi­ron­men­tal manage­ment sys­tem. Given the high level of water con­sump­ti­on, was­te­wa­ter is also the result of pro­duc­tion. Com­pli­ance with legal requi­re­ments from the Was­te­wa­ter Ordi­nan­ce is ensu­red by the dai­ly con­trol­ling and che­cking of the mixing and equa­li­sa­ti­on basin by trai­ned staff. In addi­ti­on, the­re are regu­lar and inde­pen­dent inspec­tions con­duc­ted by the respon­si­ble moni­to­ring aut­ho­ri­ties and con­trac­ted ser­vice providers.

2021/20222022/20232023/2024
Was­te­wa­ter m3150 917151 042143 905
Was­te­wa­ter l/running metre14.215.115.2
2021/20222022/20232023/2024
Was­te­wa­ter emis­si­ons in kg287 989212 142161 037
∅ Was­te­wa­ter emis­si­ons kg/m31.781.411.12
Was­te­wa­ter

Was­te management

Was­te is reco­ver­ed or recy­cled by aut­ho­ri­sed and qua­li­fied was­te dis­po­sal com­pa­nies. Was­te types and quan­ti­ties are recor­ded in a was­te regis­ter. In addi­ti­on to the typi­cal was­te types – such as paper, muni­ci­pal was­te or even film – “tex­ti­le-spe­ci­fic” was­te types such as resi­du­al solu­ti­ons, sludge or tex­ti­le was­te are also generated.

Was­te summary

2021/2022 2022/2023 2023/2024
Total was­te 565 T 416 T 290 T
Hazar­dous waste 23 T 0,8 T 0,85 T
Hazar­dous was­te per output 0.20 g/m 0,08 g/m 0.09 g/m
Was­te
Direct tex­ti­le recycling

In the pro­duc­tion pro­cess, tex­ti­le “was­te” accu­mu­la­tes at various points, for exam­p­le, as off­cuts, or in sam­ple pro­duc­tion. The­se rem­nants are sold direct­ly to a tex­ti­le recy­cling com­pa­ny and are, the­r­e­fo­re, not offi­ci­al­ly declared as waste.

2021/20222022/20232023/2024
5.61 g/m5.74g/m6.03 g/m

Bio­di­ver­si­ty

As a manu­fac­tu­ring com­pa­ny, we depend on an int­act eco­sys­tem and on bio­di­ver­si­ty, becau­se the use of natu­ral resour­ces (e.g. water) and raw mate­ri­als (e.g. cot­ton) is essen­ti­al for our pro­duc­tion processes.

When the com­pa­ny was relo­ca­ted from the city cent­re to an indus­tri­al site in 1982, part of the forest area was pre­ser­ved when the com­pa­ny pre­mi­ses were plan­ned. This area of natu­re on the bor­der to the neigh­bou­ring farm is lar­ge­ly left to its own devices. The small forest is home to deer, rab­bits, squir­rels and various bird spe­ci­es, among others.

On a roof ter­race reno­va­ted in 2017, the insect-fri­end­ly gree­n­ery also attracts various but­ter­flies, bees and wasps – from spring through to autumn. Both are­as count as “near-natu­ral are­as” accor­ding to the EMAS defi­ni­ti­on and ser­ve natu­re as both a retre­at and habi­tat. The remai­ning open are­as are main­ly bus­hes, shrubs and lawns.

Bio­di­ver­si­ty
“Ger­ma­ny has com­mit­ted its­elf to the pro­tec­tion of bio­lo­gi­cal diver­si­ty through both the Con­ven­ti­on on Bio­lo­gi­cal Diver­si­ty and the Sus­tainable Deve­lo­p­ment Goals (UN Sus­tainable Deve­lo­p­ment Goals). This issue is also an important com­po­nent of envi­ron­men­tal pro­tec­tion for Ger­man companies.”
Bio­di­ver­si­ty

Our Ket­tel­hack forest grows by exact­ly one tree per employee per month!

Sin­ce 2018, we have sup­port­ed the Plant-for-the-Pla­net pro­ject. On behalf of Ket­tel­hack, one tree per employee is plan­ted every month in Cam­pe­che (Mexi­co). As a foun­da­ti­on, the orga­ni­sa­ti­on has taken over its own plan­ta­ti­on area com­pri­sing almost 14,000 hec­ta­res of fallow land the­re, and is refo­res­t­ing this area with various nati­ve tree spe­ci­es. The­se trees not only store car­bon, but also pro­mo­te local bio­di­ver­si­ty. Through our con­tri­bu­ti­on, 1,200 new trees are added every year.

Fur­ther artic­les on the topic

Bilanz 2020/2021

Abfallmanagement

Die Abfallmengen sind im Vergleich zu den letzten Jahren stark gestiegen. Der Anstieg ist das Resultat der bereits genannten umfassenden Sanierungs- und Umbaumaßnahmen. Über die Kategorien „Metall“ sowie „Eisen, Stahl“ wurde das alte Inventar aus sanierten Sozialräumen (Regale, Spinte, Bänke, etc.) sowie der alte demontierte Dampfkessel entsorgt. Zudem startete der sukzessive Austausch alter Lüftungsanlagen in den Bereichen Produktion und Verwaltung. Der Anstieg in der Kategorie Holz ist vor allem auf die Entsorgung von Paletten des alten Regalsystems zurückzuführen, welches komplett ausgetauscht wurde.

Im Rahmen des Projekts zur Verbesserung der Abwasserqualität wurde zu Analysezwecken das Misch- und Ausgleichsbecken häufiger geleert. Dies hat zu einem Anstieg der zu entsorgenden Schlämme geführt. Altbestände aus dem Chemikalienlager wurden zudem der Entsorgung zugeführt, was zu einem Anstieg in der Kategorie Farb- und Lackabfälle führte. Die vielen baulichen Maßnahmen, die zum Großteil durch Fremdfirmen durchgeführt wurden, trugen insgesamt zu dem Anstieg der Abfallmengen bei. Da noch nicht alle Maßnahmen abgeschlossen sind, ist auch im kommenden Jahr mit einem erhöhten Abfallaufkommen zu rechnen.

Der starke Anstieg der Kategorie „Gefährliche Abfälle“ hängt mit einer einzigen Abholung zu entsorgender Restflotten zusammen. Bedingt durch eine lange Zwischenlagerung beim Entsorger haben sich durch Gärprozesse potenziell gefährliche Abspaltprodukte in den Behältern entwickelt. Daher wurde hier die Abfallschlüsselnummer nachträglich durch den Entsorger geändert. Für das kommende Jahr ist wieder mit einem vergleichbar niedrigen Niveau des Anteils gefährlicher Abfälle zu rechnen. Damit Ausreißer wie dieser künftig nicht übermäßig in die Bewertung einfließen, wird ab diesem Jahr hier der gleitende Durchschnitt der letzten drei Jahre angegeben.

 

 

Gesamte Abfallbilanz

 2019/20202020/20212021/2022
Gesamt305 T399 T565 T
Schlämme153 T142 T165 T
Farb- und Lackabfälle (Restflotten)53 T128 T185 T
Holz49 T60 T96 T
Papier + Pappe19 T22 T34 T
Siedlungsabfälle18 T10 T23 T
Kunststoff + Folie8 T5 T11 T
Metall5 T7 T17 T
Eisen + Stahl6 T1 T28 T
Gefährliche Abfälle0,8 T2,2 T26 T

Biodiversität

Biodiversität oder biologische Vielfalt ist in den biologischen Wissenschaften ein Bewertungsmaßstab für die Fülle unterschiedlichen Lebens in einem bestimmten Landschaftsraum oder in einem geographisch begrenzten Gebiet. Dabei werden drei Teilbereiche werden unterschieden:
1. Die Varianten unter den Mitgliedern derselben Art
2. Die Artenvielfalt
3. Die Menge der Ökosysteme (Lebensräume wie Biotop, Biom, Ökoregion).
(Quelle: Wikipedia)

Summary analysis in 2020/2021

Waste management

The waste quantities are at a stable level. Despite ongoing reconstruction measures in the laboratory and sanitary facilities, the categories "construction waste", "electric motors" and "concrete/bricks" were removed from the overview. Wood and paper+cardboard increased slightly, as did metal. The modernisation of the facilities in the laboratory area and a related "clean-up campaign" in the old laboratory are probable causes for this slight increase in waste quantities.

Sludges as well as residual liquors decreased slightly compared to the previous year. However, the proportion of waste to be declared "hazardous" has increased. This is mainly due to the disposal of a barrel of saturated detergent, which has to be disposed of about every 4 years. Since the proportion of hazardous waste is otherwise very low, the disposal of this barrel causes the proportion of hazardous waste per output to jump. Therefore, it is expected that the share will return to a normal-low level in the coming business year.

 

Total waste analysis

 2018/20192019/20202020/2021
Total305 T399 T353 T
Sludge153 T142 T117 T
Paint and varnish waste (residual liquors)53 T128 T107 T
Wood49 T60 T69 T
Paper + cardboard19 T22 T29 T
Municipal waste18 T10 T13 T
Plastic + foil9 T8 T5 T
Metal4 T5 T7 T
Hazardous waste0.25 T0.8 T2,2 T

Biodiversity

In the biological sciences, biodiversity is a measure of the abundance of different life in a particular landscape or geographically limited area. Three sub-areas are distinguished as follows:
1. the variations among members of the same species
2. the diversity of species
3. the set of ecosystems (habitats such as biotope, biome, ecoregion).
(Source: Wikipedia)

Infographic
Development of water consumption in m3

The high level of water consumption in production brings with it a corresponding volume of waste water. Compliance with the limit values from the Waste Water Ordinance is ensured by the indirect discharge permit. The daily control of the mixing and equalisation basin by our employees, as well as through the regular inspections by the responsible monitoring authorities, give us the necessary security. 

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