Nearly all companies are currently working on becoming more sustainable. However, the ongoing crisis is making it difficult for many to achieve their ambitious goals. In our interview, Christine Steger, CEO of cosmetics manufacturer MANN & SCHRÖDER COSMETICS, explains how the family-owned company is nevertheless taking a big leap forward in this area – and what really matters.
Given its highly resource-intensive nature, the manufacturing industry has a major responsibility for the environment – but also enormous leverage in terms of making production processes more sustainable. Which areas harbor the most potential?
STEGER We can make the biggest difference in terms of our own products by choosing organic raw materials and sustainable packaging. Through extensive collaboration with experts, universities and colleges, we have been able to identify which raw materials and packaging materials are the main drivers of our emissions. We can now improve or replace these in a targeted manner to ensure that the end product is as sustainable as possible. In production, we are also doing everything we can to save water and energy, but as a manufacturing company, there are certain limits to what we can do.
To what extent do you think it will be possible to make a big leap forward toward reaching your sustainability goals in the current year, despite the ongoing crises?
STEGER We have firmly anchored sustainability in our strategy, so we are continuously pursuing our goals in this area. Of course, the current crisis has not made things any easier and has slowed down many projects due to supply bottlenecks for raw materials and packaging. Nevertheless, we have been able to implement many changes in the last three crisis-ridden years, including the production of solid cosmetics and the development of our own packaging sources using recyclate from the yellow recycling sacks. And we will continue in the same vein this year, by implementing our sustainability projects step by step.
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