Environmentally friendly use of materials

Since 2011, we have taken on a voluntary commitment for all supply purchases for our Obereisenbach location. We want to use our purchasing influence to support companies which, like VAUDE, incorporate sustainability as a corporate philosophy.

Therefore, we place great importance on purchasing and using products that are as environmentally friendly as possible including office supplies, cleaning products, furniture and everything else we need for our business operations at VAUDE.

86% of our paper consumption at our Obereisenbach headquarters comes from recycled paper. The bulk of our paper consumption is used for sales documents such as our Dealer Order Books. The remainder includes printer and copy paper, training documents and business cards. In 2016 we were able to significantly reduce our use of paper compared to 2015.

We have also significantly reduced harmful emissions from printed materials and paper consumption since 2011. Firstly, we have consistently conserved paper, for example, by completely eliminating a catalogue for end customers. 

 
Secondly, recycled paper is a source of significantly lower emissions than conventional paper. By transitioning most of our paper consumption to eco-friendly recycled paper, we put this leverage to use for our carbon footprint. You can ready more about it at "Greenhouse gas emissions in detail". 

While Green Shape is a product label that our customers recognize, VAUDE is also working 'behind the scenes' with strict parameters for product development: the VAUDE Material Policy delineates VAUDE's voluntary commitment to applying "best available technology" (BAT) to eliminate controversial technologies and materials, and to ensure maximum traceability of all materials to their origin.

The VAUDE Material Policy is under ongoing development and continues to gain importance in our product development. Although it is overall successful, finding the right balance between price and environmental friendliness remains a challenge. This balancing act is a challenge to our product management team. Read more at "Material Policy".

At our headquarters in Obereisenbach we manufacture waterproof bike bags, Packs ‘n Bags and our Made in Germany mountaineering backpacks – see Made in Germany. Material selection is carried out in accordance with our motto “Performance meets Ecology”. More in "Environmentally aware material selection".

Product packaging is another area that is undergoing constant ecological optimization. More at "Packaging".

Our voluntary obligations are reflected at the best current knowledge in individual areas, and with the advice from external experts such as the WWF. We are continually developing our ongoing voluntary obligations: we incorporate other divisions and supplement or change content when new findings are received.

We want to use this to set an example and to fulfill our responsibility for people and nature in all of our everyday business operations.