Future & sustainability
Thinking ahead
At ERBACHER the food family, we create sustainable food for people and animals. For us, sustainability means doing business in an ecological, economic and social triad. This includes providing people, here in Kleinheubach and at our other sites, with value-creating work and managing the company in such a way that the next generation can also follow this mission. Our commitment to Africa also offers people there a future perspective.
Sustainability
is anchored in our strategy
The world's population is growing. Soon over 10 billion people will have to share the same planet. To achieve the 2050 climate target, global warming must be limited to below 1.5°C. It is therefore our goal to produce resource-saving products and to act mindfully.
We achieve this because we consciously think in cycles. In agriculture, we work together with farms that have land-based production. Most of the feed is grown on the farmers’ fields and the manure is returned to the land as fertiliser.
Available land is the limiting factor for our agricultural customers. With our concepts, we help agricultural areas to be utilised as efficiently as possible. In addition to optimising forage quality, increasing efficiency is an important component. The focus is on forage efficiency and a long service life (lifetime efficiency). This conserves scarce resources and reduces the use of concentrated feed.
In pet food production, we use animal protein that is fit for human consumption but is not used for humans due to commercial and cultural reasons. We also rely on many plant-based proteins and alternative protein sources such as insects.
But when it comes to sustainability, we also pay attention to the following:
- We measure and evaluate our environmental impact and continuously strive to avoid or reduce emissions. We offset unavoidable CO2 emissions via the UN REDD+ forest conservation project ' Ntakata Mountains' by Carbon Tanzania.
- We favour renewable energies and are constantly improving our energy efficiency.
- We promote awareness of sustainability among our employees and support conscious behaviour.
- When selecting suppliers and service providers, we evaluate their approach to sustainability.
- Many of our raw materials are delivered by rail.
- We prefer to use local building materials at the site.
Cooperation makes us fit for the future
We rely on strong partners
ERBACHER the food family follows the SDG 2030, and we are strongly committed to working in partnership with this framework.
One example of this is the ZNU - the Centre for Sustainable Leadership at Witten Herdecke University. Like other companies in this network, we try to make sustainability tangible and measurable. Because, only by measuring your own status, can you find the measures you need to take to become an even more sustainable company.
We are also in constant contact with other partners, whether for quality assurance, sustainability projects, climate protection projects or dialogue and idea exchanges within the industry. We are grateful to be able to work openly, with honest partners, to make food even more sustainable.
We value
external opinions
We are committed to ensuring that each of our products is safe and reliable. Flavour, acceptance, efficacy and quality go together. This applies to food, pet food and farm livestock feed.
We rely on high internal quality standards that help us to fulfil these requirements. That is why we operate an on-site accredited testing laboratory. In the laboratory, chemical laboratory technicians, food technicians and other experts monitor the quality of all our products on a daily basis. It goes without saying that we are also more than happy when external independent experts examine our quality management and production.
Many of our certifications have been held for many years now e.g., the EMAS (Eco Management and Audit Scheme). This has helped us to continuously improve our environmental performance since 2005. Year after year, we are put through our paces, and we are grateful for the new impetus and confidence that these audits give us.
