One head, many ideas
Sustainability at STAEDTLER
Our aim is to handle the resources of our earth with care and foresight. This is why efficiency plays a major role in our philosophy for sustainable action, for example in the production or logistics of our products. We focus on measures that lie within our own area of responsibility and have an influence on our processes. Our focus is therefore on our manufacturing processes, the materials used, such as plastic and wood, as well as the procurement and transport of raw materials.
Material innovations
From wood chips to pencils
Made from Upcycled Wood
Thanks to our exceptional production technology, we do not need any wooden boards like in conventional production processes to produce pencils and coloured pencils Made from Upcycled Wood. We use wood chips from sawing and planing processes in the woodworking industry. The grinding and upcycling of these wood chips is characterised by processes. This means that even the smallest wood remains can be reused in high-quality pencils.
Coloured pencils and pencils “Made from Upcycled Wood” now bear the TÜV Rheinland environmental test mark “Green Product Mark Writing Instruments”.
Dry Safe
In order to make our products more durable we developed DRY SAFE technology. Nature served as a role model: Many plants protect their fruits and leaves from drying out with a layer of wax. We have applied this principle to our products. This allows the pens to remain open for days without losing quality.
Sustainable packaging
STAEDTLER has been an Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) member since 2010 and is committed to achieving Australia’s 2025 National Packaging Targets.
The four targets to be achieved by 2025 are:
reusable, recyclable
or compostable
packaging
of plastic packaging
being recycled
or composted
of average recycled
content included
in packaging
of problematic
and unnecessary
single-use plastic
packaging
This is how we are currently tracking
- Our stand up STAEDTLER boxes, plastic wallets, metal tins and cups are all designed to be used again and again.
- 40% of our product sales value are in re-usable packaging
- Over 70% of our total sales value is in recyclable packaging, and 60% of this is cardboard.
- Over 70% of our plastic packaging is recyclable.
- Our cardboard packaging is made from at least 80% recycled material.
- Our plastic wallets and boxes are made with min. 75% recycled PET.
- By 2025 we’re aiming to make our stand up STAEDTLER boxes with min. 75% recycled PET.
- By 2025 we’re aiming to replace all blistercard packaging with a fully recyclable cardboard packaging solution, which will be made from at least 80% recycled material. This changeover is planned to begin in 2022.
Production and process innovations
By 2030: renewable energy.
Management certifications
The quality and environmental management system of our production sites in Germany and Peru is globally harmonised and certified according to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
With both certifications, we want to support our sustainable corporate development. Our quality management system is intended to increase our capacity for quality and the satisfaction of our customers; the environmental management system makes important contributions to the ecological pillar of sustainability.
Social responsibility
STAEDTLER provides up to 50,000 euros of support every year to child rights organisations.
We value each other – inside and outside of the STAEDTLER company.
World Kids Colouring Day on 6 May
STAEDTLER initiated World Kids Colouring Day in 2008 and has since called on children all over the world to draw for a good cause every year.
For every picture they draw, we support children’s aid organisations with one euro – making the little artists big helpers who are committed to children in need.
Sedex Member
STAEDTLER has been a member of Sedex since 2022. Sedex, short for Supplier Ethical Data Exchange, is a world-leading organisation that promotes the adherence to and improvement of safe, ethical and sustainable business practices while safeguarding the working conditions of employees throughout the supply chain. In this way, STAEDTLER's own strict standards are once again checked and evaluated by Sedex. The results of the external audits are made available to our customers via the Sedex platform.
Whistleblowing system
If you would like to report severe rule or legal violations, please contact our external whistleblowing system STAEDTLER Integrity Line. It offers employees, customers and business partners the opportunity to provide information about unlawful behavior anonymous and transparent. This information can be used to prevent damage to STAEDTLER and its employees. The system is provided by an external service provider to protect the anonymity of the whistleblower.
Sustainable, certified forestry
Cover up to 70% of the wood requirements ourselves.
Wood is essential for our pencils and coloured pencils.
That’s why protecting and securing this raw material in the long term is important to us.
Sustainable forestry on our own plantation in Ecuador
We set up our own plantation in Ecuador, allowing us to oversee production of the wooden boards used to make our pencils. For this purpose, we selected the tree species according to ecological and economic criteria, adhere to strict environmental standards in the cultivation conditions, take into account the existing flora and fauna and will continue to process the wood ourselves in the future.
The raw material wood
Wood is the very heart of all our pencils and is therefore essential for STAEDTLER. It is therefore a matter of course for us to ensure the sustainable production of this raw material, even outside our own plantation. We already only use wood from sustainable forestry for the production of all wood-cased pencils. We attach great importance to securing resources in the long term. In addition, we keep relevant ecological aspects in mind in our in-house production and supply chain analysis.
All the woods we use are PEFC or FSC™ certified.
Educational support
Encouraging individual skills from an early age.
Ideas and knowledge are central to our future.
That’s why we support even the smallest children in developing their strengths with age-appropriate products.
Early childhood education
With the age-appropriate product concept, we support children in the various phases of their rapid development. Writing, drawing, painting and crafting skills are the foundations for maintaining human cognitive and motor skills. This philosophy is the cornerstone of STAEDTLER, and consequently we give children at all development levels the right pen or pencil.
Our brochure about Sustainability with more information can be downloaded here:
