Sustainability becomes measurable with the Enkelfähig Score

Sustainability is considered one of the most important topics for the future by companies in all industries and markets. While most companies limit themselves to an overarching sustainability report, ratioform, a full-range supplier of packaging solutions, goes one step further and evaluates each of its offered products using a specially developed rating system. In this way, ratioform creates transparency for its customers. But when is a product really "Enkelfähig" and what is behind the term?

Measurable sustainability standard

Enkelfähig (grandchild-friendly) was already introduced by the umbrella organisation Haniel, an investment holding company with a sustainability and performance focus, in 2019 as a corporate attitude and the core of its strategic realignment. Since then, the Duisburg-based family business has been using its own scoring system to evaluate investments and products. Enkelfähig stands for a future worth living in a sustainable, socially just and economically forward-looking world that we can leave to our grandchildren. In implementation, this means that in addition to the absolute basic requirements such as the avoidance of child labour, corruption, discrimination, the protection of fundamental rights and the observance of labour and wage standards, further criteria are checked. Enkelfähig thus goes a decisive step further to guarantee deeper sustainability at product level. The crux is to implement these criteria in a comprehensible way and thus become measurable and comparable.

The criteria of recyclability, climate protection, environmental compatibility, innovation and economic efficiency are checked and evaluated for each product. The interaction of ecology and economy is important. In the sense of Enkelfähig, these two aspects are not mutually exclusive, but rather mutually dependent. Economic success at Enkelfähig comes from sustainability. The score, which is intended to make this measurable, ranges from 1.0 to 5.9 as the best possible evaluation. A product must have a score of 3.0 for it to be classified as "Enkelfähig".

As a pioneer, ratioform has shown what implementation can look like. Mathias Pfannschmidt, Product Manager at ratioform, reveals to us the challenges he faced: "Although a general template for the rating system already existed from Haniel, we had to find a way to adapt it to the packaging industry." The basic requirements and criteria remained the same, of course. "The goal was a defined evaluation process that could be carried out identically by everyone in the company," emphasises Pfannschmidt. The product manager intensively dealt with the relevant factors and their weighting. "Circular economy" and "material" are criteria that play a greater role in the industry than innovations. That is why they account for 25 percent of the overall evaluation, whereas "innovation" and "economic efficiency" are only weighted at 10 percent. "Climate protection" accounts for 30 percent of the Enkelfähig score: Due to the goal of saving 50 percent CO2 by 2025, this criterion is given special consideration. There is no other way to achieve the goal.

ratioform maintains a close relationship with its suppliers. Obtaining the necessary data from them was therefore no problem. The criteria were queried and verified step by step. The Landbox®, an ecological thermal packaging made of straw from the terra line, for example, underlines how sustainable it is with a score of 5.1 in the final result. As an environmentally friendly alternative to the usual polystyrene packaging for food, refrigerated and frozen goods, it reliably insulates the goods on their way to the customer. A high percentage of the evaluation was based on material and recyclability. Was renewable raw material used? Is less waste produced and fewer resources consumed? Numerous other products in the terra line have a convincingly high "Enkelfähig" score: cardboard boxes made of grass paper, compostable filling chips made of pea starch, paper cushion protection for bottles, etc.

"For us, it was especially important to establish a sustainable system for customers and suppliers. With this score, everyone knows at a glance where they stand. We didn't just want to talk about sustainability, we also wanted to take concrete action. We were the first company in the Haniel Group to succeed in this," Pfannschmidt proudly emphasises.

So far, about 60 per cent of the products have been assessed. By the end of the year, the assessment should be completed for all products offered, and then they will be carefully reviewed again. How can products whose score does not yet meet the company's goals be improved? Which products may have to be replaced by more sensitive products? For ratioform, the assessment is not a completed process, but an ongoing project for the future that gives suppliers and customers the opportunity to also invest in the future of their grandchildren. An immensely important aspect in the packaging industry. With a strongly growing online trade comes an increased demand for packaging. At the same time, however, the environmental impact should be reduced instead of increased. It is to be hoped that more companies will follow the pioneer and evaluate and buy products for the future in the spirit of the Enkelfähig Initiative. For a fairer, more sustainable and economic future.