Sihl: Sustainable in all areas

Sustainability and environmental friendliness - these are the issues of the future. We only have one earth and we need to protect it. That's why we as the #SihlTeam work every day to create forward-looking and responsible values that we can pass on to future generations, but that we also represent and live by ourselves. It is important to us to take responsibility for people and the environment, as we see this as the most important prerequisite for sustainable and long-term success. We have developed our ESG principles as a basis for this.

ESG principles: What does that mean?

‘Environmental Social Governance’ (ESG) stands for social responsibility in the sense of sustainable management. This includes various criteria such as the environment, working conditions, human rights, fair business practices and the sustainable procurement of raw materials. Sustainability and social responsibility play an important role in our corporate strategy and are the guiding principles of our actions.

Awarded with FSC?, TüV-certified management systems in accordance with ISO standards, our own solar system and sustainable products: Environmental friendliness is one of the pillars of our ESG strategy and an important topic that we take seriously. Which certificates have we been awarded? What are we doing to reduce our environmental impact? And what makes our products environmentally friendly?

Photovoltaic system & heating power plant

We have set ourselves the goal of leaving a small CO2 footprint on our planet. For this reason, we produce a large part of our energy ourselves - highly efficiently and as environmentally friendly as possible. With our photovoltaic system on the 6,000 m2 roof area of our building, we generate around 270,000 kilowatt hours every year, saving 140 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Since 2013, our combined heat and power plant with an output of 2,000 kW and a low-temperature heating network have also been supplying an additional 12 million kWh of electricity per year. This enables us to generate our electricity requirements and part of our heating requirements in a highly efficient and environmentally friendly manner. The surplus electricity is fed into the public grid.

Environmentally friendly Sihl products

Sustainability also takes centre stage in the production and development of new products: we pay attention to careful production conditions and the use of sustainable raw materials and chemicals. For example, many of our base papers are FSC? certified and the polyester base of our films and foils has a high recycled content. We make sure that we only work with suppliers who fulfil our high quality standards. We also avoid using harmful substances such as solvents in the production of our products and focus on recyclability.

Photo and poster papers

Almost all of our photo and poster papers are FSC?-certified, but our GreenGrafX range is a particularly shining example. Thanks to it, sustainable photo prints and environmentally friendly advertising applications are no longer a problem, as all grades are either PVC-free and self-adhesive or - unlike conventional PE-film-coated photo papers - recyclable via the waste paper cycle. This works thanks to a special barrie.

You can find out more here: https://sihl.com/en/greengrafx/

PRESSURETAC for product labelling

Our PRESSURETAC range is an environmentally friendly and hygienic alternative to standard self-adhesive labels. Due to its special coating, the FSC?-certified base paper only adheres to itself on the reverse side, meaning that PRESSURETAC products do not require silicone paper on the reverse side. This means that you can save a large amount of waste and minimise the risk of employees slipping and injuring themselves on the smooth material.

More information at: https://sihl.com/en/pressuretac-logistics/

ENDURO

Thanks to the special structure of a film core surrounded by two layers of paper, our ENDURO products are not only robust and tear-resistant, but can also be printed on like paper. And despite the film core, sustainability also plays an important role for us here: the grades are FSC?-certified and free from PVC, solvents, plasticisers, heavy metals and other toxic substances.

Read all the information: https://sihl.com/en/enduro/

FACESTOCK

Our FACESTOCK varieties score with a good CO2 balance: through the sustainable use of resources, we achieve a 20-40% reduction in total weight. And for PET-based products, we use a film with up to 90% PCR content as the basis. PCR, post-consumer recycling, is the reprocessing of plastic waste generated by consumers in households and offices.

Find out more: https://sihl.com/en/facestock/

Our certifications

We are proud that our efforts are recognised in a variety of ways, for example through various certifications. This shows us that we are on the right track and spurs us on to continue to drive forward our strategy and focus on sustainability and environmental protection.

FSC? certification (C005732)

In our catalogues and on the website you will find many Sihl products with the FSC? logo. This means that this material is obtained in accordance with the principles and standards for responsible and sustainable forest management of the Forest Stewardship Council? (FSC?). However, the certificate is not only an honour for us, but also a guarantee for our customers that our products are made from appropriate raw materials.

EcoVadis

Founded in Paris in 2007, EcoVadis' mission is to provide sustainability ratings that are recognised worldwide as reliable. These ratings are intended to offer companies the opportunity to reduce risks and improve their performance as well as their environmental and social results. We at Sihl are also represented in the CSR rating and are delighted that our efforts in the area of sustainability have been recognised with the silver medal.

TüV certificates for ISO 14001 & ISO 50001

Sihl has also been audited and certified by TüV Rheinland Cert GmbH for its energy and environmental management in accordance with the ISO 50001 and ISO 14001 standards of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). The two standards define globally recognised requirements for the corresponding management systems. The ISO 14001 environmental management standard covers areas such as a company's life cycle assessment, while the ISO 50001 energy management standard is designed to help optimise the use of energy potential or reduce CO2 emissions, for example. A continuous improvement mechanism based on the plan-execute-control-optimise method is used to achieve the targets set.