These UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are important for us
The UN 2030 Agenda, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is considered as a global plan for a better and decent future that should be implemented by 2030. It is about facing the challenges of our time: Ending poverty, injustice and inequality, curbing environmental destruction and the climate crisis, and securing peace. Through its actions, RENOLIT is also contributing to achieving some of these goals and fulfilling its responsibility.
SDG 6 - Clean water and sanitation
We are intensively committed to the sustainable use of water resources and contribute to the responsible use of water through a wide range of measures. As part of the initiative Operation Clean Sweep, we are helping to prevent plastic particles from entering the environment at our production sites in order to prevent soil and water pollution.
SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth
RENOLIT employs about 5,000 people at over 30 locations, providing jobs worldwide. At all locations, we prefer to work with local suppliers and thus promote the local economy. In order to create humane working conditions for all employees, we adhere to our worldwide Code of Conduct and Supplier Code.
SDG 9 – Industry, innovation and infrastructure
By optimising our production processes to use energy and resources more efficiently, our sites around the world benefit. The focus here is on reducing emissions. With geomembranes for hydraulic engineering and civil engineering, we contribute to the expansion of infrastructure worldwide.
SDG 10 – Less inequalities
With our Code of Conduct and Supplier Code, we help to exclude discrimination and inequalities for our employees and partners and speak out against any kind of discrimination. In addition, our RENOLIT plants support local sustainable development projects and are involved in social institutions.
SDG 12 – Sustainable consumption and production
As a manufacturing company, we can make a decisive contribution to reducing the global ecological footprint with durable and sustainable products, resource-friendly production processes and the expansion of our internal recycling activities.
SDG 13 – Climate protection
Moving from a linear to a circular economy is an effective strategy to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees. Our corporate unit and initiative "RENOLIT Goes Circular", is our contribution to this.
More about our contributions to these sustainability goals
SDG 6 - Clean water and sanitation
We are intensively committed to the sustainable use of water resources and contribute to the responsible use of water through a wide range of measures.
A central focus is on the efficient use of water and advanced wastewater treatment through the use of modern technologies. In various production facilities, the water used is treated and recycled in order to reduce overall consumption. The optimisation of cooling water circuits also contributes to reducing water consumption.
Our absolute water consumption in 2022 was about 280,000 m³ lower than our 2021 consumption. We comply with the legal requirements for wastewater discharge worldwide. To ensure that contaminated wastewater does not reach the ground, we are actively working to rehabilitate our sewer systems.
Innovative products are an important part of our sustainability strategy. Our waterproofing solutions from Roof & Water Care have positioned themselves as a global reference in terms of quality and reliability. RENOLIT offers geomembranes for all types of structures used in the construction of water storage basins. With this product solution, we are making an important contribution to the storage and availability of water.
Plastic pellets are very small and can easily be lost or missed during transport or production. This should not happen, as they are the second most common cause of water pollution after microplastics. Operation Clean Sweep is an international programme to prevent the loss of granulate. In Europe, the initiative was launched by PlasticsEurope in 2013.
As part of this initiative, we are helping to prevent plastic particles from entering the environment at our production sites in order to prevent soil and water pollution. All sites will support this initiative by 2025.
SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth
About 78 per cent of our employees are represented by collective agreements. In China, where trade unions do not play a key role in drafting employment contracts, we were able to conclude collective agreements for the first time in 2020, which include regulations on maternity protection and improve company benefits, for example. In addition, we have committed to complying with the labour standards of the International Labour Organisation and expressly prohibit any form of forced or child labour, both in our own company and with business partners. This applies equally to countries such as China or India, which are classified as risk countries in terms of human rights compliance according to the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI).
We invest in innovative technologies and production processes to promote sustainable economic growth. Our investments are primarily aimed at increasing the efficiency of production processes, opening up new markets and expanding our product range in a customer-orientated manner. Our focus is on developing resource-saving products that meet the requirements of sustainability and quality.
SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
In numerous industries, we are innovation drivers for films, sheets and other products made of plastic. As a customer-oriented company, the development of future-oriented solutions is a central element of our activities. The focus is on market needs and the issue of sustainability.
We contribute to the development of modern infrastructures, particularly in the construction industry. Our innovative roofing and waterproofing solutions help to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and contribute to sustainable urban development. With geomembranes for hydraulic engineering and civil engineering, we contribute to the expansion of infrastructure worldwide. Today, up to 20 per cent recycled material is used - and the trend is rising.
SDG 10 – Less inequalities
In our Code of Conduct and Supplier Code of Conduct, we clearly speak out against unequal treatment and any kind of discrimination. Our commitment also focuses on the areas of education, science, social issues and culture.
We address the individual needs of our employees through different working time models and help to offer women and men equal opportunities in our company. We also create incentive systems that improve the work-life balance.
An equal rights committee was established at our Spanish site RENOLIT Iberica in 2018, which has since informed employees about activities, training and initiatives to ensure a non-discriminatory working environment.
The proportion of women in the first and second management levels at RENOLIT was around 20 per cent in 2022. To get more women interested in technical professions, we are involved in the ‘Girls’ Day’ initiative. We offer schoolgirls an insight into our company and show them possible career paths at RENOLIT.
SDG 12 – Sustainable consumption and production
We focus on the efficient use of resources and measures to reduce the amount of waste in our production processes. We have made a commitment to the Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA) to recycle more materials from our own and our customers' production by 2025 and to use more renewable raw materials and recyclate in our transport packaging.
With our wide range of high-quality film solutions, we take into account of one of the most important properties of plastics: their durability. In contrast to single-use products with a short service life, this is a decisive advantage, e.g. for the construction sector, the automotive sector or civil engineering. In addition, many of our products are recyclable or already contain recycled material. We will continue to develop this potential in the long term in cooperation with our customers and partners.
We carry out comprehensive life cycle analyses in order to assess the environmental impact of our products more accurately.
SDG 13 – Climate protection measures
In the UN climate agreement in Paris, around 194 countries have committed to limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees, possibly to 1.5 degrees. This ambitious goal requires us all to rethink our behaviour.
We also want to make an ambitious contribution to reducing global warming and have set ourselves the following targets for reducing our CO2 emissions:
- By 2025: - 30% compared to the base year 2010*
- By 2035: - 60 % compared to the base year 2010*
- By 2045: CO2 neutrality*
*In 2010, RENOLIT emitted 197,229 tonnes of CO2 in absolute terms. This corresponds to 0.91 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of product.
By using energy-efficient technologies and optimising production processes, RENOLIT has been able to significantly reduce its energy consumption in the past. We also rely on the use of renewable energies at our sites in order to further minimise our carbon footprint
With many of our products and services, we are already helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make a positive contribution to climate protection, for example with façade or roofing films with a cooling effect.
In 2024, we concluded a power purchase agreement with Weserkraftwerk Bremen, under which RENOLIT will exclusively purchase green electricity from hydropower between 2025 and 2028. This is expected to save a total of around 37,000 tonnes of CO2 over the next four years - roughly equivalent to the average CO2 emissions of 2,200 two-person households over the same period.
In addition, we have been participating in the ‘Initiative EE-Industrie’ since 2024 in order to further promote self-sufficiency with green electricity and decarbonisation. The EE-Industrie Initiative pursues the approach of constructing and operating wind and photovoltaic systems for the participating companies' own energy supply
