Sustainability
at Niederegger
We have been producing the world-famous Niederegger marzipan locally in the Hanseatic city of Lübeck since the company was founded in 1806. This long-standing tradition obliges us not to focus our economic development on short-term profits. Continuous further development while preserving tradition, secure jobs and fair dealings with our partners have always been among our principles. Achieving climate neutrality for our production operations is a challenge that we would like to take up in our 200-year company history. As a family business, it is important to us to make a contribution to a better future with our entrepreneurial activities. We have already taken the first steps, but it is also clear to us that the goal of sustainability involves a continuous optimisation process.
Recording of CO2 emissions
The calculation of CO2 emissions for the company and individual products produces a different result depending on the scope of the analysis. In order to establish the correct recording of climate-damaging emissions within our business activities, we have decided not to outsource this task but to implement an in-house solution. The recording and evaluation of CO2 emissions is carried out in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) in Scopes One, Two and Three.
- Scope 1: Includes the direct release of climate-damaging gases in your own company
- Scope 2: Includes the indirect release of climate-damaging gases by energy suppliersn
- Scope 3: Includes the indirect release of climate-damaging gases in the upstream and downstream supply chain
We invested in the ‘Climate3-LCA’ environmental controlling system to record climate-damaging emissions. This enables us to calculate the environmental impact of both our production operations and individual products. The basic data from the GEMIS 5.0 and Probas databases are used for the calculation. In the medium term, environmental controlling is to be integrated into our master databases and management processes.
Energy management
We have already established an energy management system in accordance with the ISO 50001 standard for our entire production and our head office in the centre of Lübeck, which is continuously developed and audited annually. This measure gives us a precise overview of our energy consumption and enables us to target potential for improvement. The potential that has already been identified and implemented includes switching to energy-saving LED lighting and insulating the permanently installed chocolate containers to minimise heat loss. We also insulated a roof area of our production facility in 2016/17 to reduce waste heat losses. Through regular monitoring and the elimination of leaks, we were able to significantly reduce the electricity required to generate compressed air. We also use recirculating cooling systems in our casting plants, which leads to a considerable reduction in water consumption. Further energy projects are being actively pursued and implemented by our energy team.
Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
In order to organise the power supply for production as efficiently as possible, Stadtwerke Lübeck has built a combined heat and power plant on our premises, which we use to supply electricity, heat and cooling for production and air conditioning applications. Supplementing this technology with the utilisation of renewable energies in the form of solar energy via our roof surfaces, (small) wind turbines or hydrogen are topics that we are actively addressing.
Recyclability of packaging
Our packaging is carefully designed to reflect the high quality of our products as gift packaging. We attach great importance to protecting the products. For a sustainable packaging design, we strive for recyclable packaging concepts. In doing so, we rely on the use of mono-materials to improve the recyclability of the packaging. We currently use composite films for modified atmosphere packaging, as they provide an optimum barrier and therefore guarantee the necessary product protection. For the changeover from composite films to mono films, we are testing modified atmosphere packaging in storage tests to ensure that product protection is maintained. We have already successfully implemented this for our marzipan potatoes. Switching to monofilm has improved the recyclability of the packaging by 93%. We have had this certified by an independent service provider in accordance with the minimum standard:
Eko-Punkt Zertifikat
Another project to improve recyclability concerns our golden sorting inserts. These are made from the plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In Germany, light packaging made of PET, with the exception of drinks bottles, is recycled for energy recovery. We are working on a large-scale project to convert these inserts to the plastic polypropylene (PP). This is characterised by its good recyclability. Individual Advent calendars have already been equipped with a transparent sorting insert made of PP since 2023 and therefore serve as an example project for further planned conversions. Once all stocks have been used up, the Advent calendars will be completely converted to transparent sorting inserts. Compared to the PET sorting insert, the changeover has resulted in savings in packaging weight, recyclability and CO2 equivalents.
Advantages of the new packaging concept
8 % less packaging weight
Another advantage of PP over PET is its low density. As a result, a weight saving of 8% per pack was achieved by changing the material.
28 % improved recyclability
Unlike PP, metallised PET trays (as of 2023) are not recycled in Germany. Switching to PP increases the recyclability of the packaging by 28% as soon as the insert is disposed of in the yellow bag.
12 % less CO2 equivalents
The new packaging concept means that less CO2e is emitted. This results in a saving of 12% CO2e per 100 g of packaging.
The savings are calculated using the basic data from the GEMIS 5.0 and ProBas databases. The Climate3-LCA system is used for the calculation.
Raw materials
Our basic ingredients include almonds, sugar and chocolate. We source the most important ingredient for our marzipan, almonds, mainly from the European Mediterranean region. This enables us to minimise transport routes.
The sugar is obtained from sugar beet grown on European farmland. The chocolate is sourced from European and certified suppliers according to our recipe. All our suppliers have set up their own programmes to improve the social, economic and ecological conditions in the growing regions. All our suppliers are members of the Sustainable Cocoa Forum, which has been committed to sustainable cocoa cultivation since 2012.
Locally active
As a traditional family business from Lübeck, we believe we have a responsibility to our region and to the society around us. This includes the preservation of Lübeck's churches. We donate one euro from every 200 g Mahlau pack filled with classics sold to the 7Türme+ foundation, which is currently being set up. Preserving the churches is important to us, as they - just like our flagship store - are an important part of our home town. We also actively network in our immediate neighbourhood and with partners in Lübeck's food industry (Wir in Genin e.V. and foodRegio e.V.). We support many organisations and associations in Lübeck with donations and sponsoring activities. As a training company, we cover many professional fields and thus create prospects for young talent. In co-operation with the Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, we supervise final theses.
We as an employer
With their experience and commitment, our employees are crucial to our high product quality and therefore crucial to our success. 94% of our employees are paid in accordance with the applicable collective labour agreement for the confectionery industry. Non-tariff contracts are based on the applicable collective labour agreement. Thanks to our high average length of service of more than 14 years, we can proudly draw on the expertise of many very experienced employees. In order to attract and promote talent, we actively collaborate with schools and universities and continuously invest in attractive workplaces. We are proud of the fact that our employees from different parts of the world work together successfully as a team.
At our factory site, we offer our employees numerous benefits such as bicycle leasing, digital payroll accounting and corporate benefits. Our so-called Naschpoints are available to everyone and free drinks are offered in our canteen, while the canteen food is subsidised. We have also successfully introduced the active break concept for our production employees. This is an additional break during which everyone can take part in gymnastic balancing exercises to compensate for one-sided strain. By offering various working time models and flexitime arrangements for our office staff, we are helping to achieve a better work-life balance. We also offer the option of mobile working from home
