deSter Sustainability Report 2022

1. ELIMINATE & REDUCE
REPURPOSE
2.
REUSE AND
RECYCLE
3.
SINGLE USE
PLASTIC FREE
RENEWABLE
COMPOSTABLE
Based on the circulair economy principies of the Ellen MacArthur foundation and the world wide waste hierarchy
SUSTAINABLE
PRODUCTS
OUR CIRCULAR ECONOMY
APPROACH
Zero waste strategy
Increased awareness of our environmental
impact and a worldwide trend
towards single-use plastic packaging
regulations have led to increased demand
for sustainable products from
our customers, employees and stakeholders.
These factors, combined with
our internal environmental ambitions,
have motivated deSter to accelerate
its sustainable packaging plans in recent
years.
Our approach is based on Circular
Economy principles, which follow the
new plastics economy movement pioneered
by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation,
as well as the various initiatives of
the European Union (e.g. the European
Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD)
and the European Packaging and Packaging
Waste Regulation (PPWR)). In a
nutshell, it’s about moving from a linear
economy to a circular one that avoids
waste altogether. In our Design and
Development, we focus on three pillars
following our zero-waste strategy
(see model):
1. Eliminate and reduce. We balance
customer experience and sustainability
by working with our clients to
judge where products can be reduced
or removed entirely. We strive to limit
the number of materials used.
2. Reusable items for (closed-loop) recycling.
Replace single-use items with
reusable products and introduce them
into a closed-loop recycling scheme
later. This entails the development
of reusable products and systems to
make reusability possible. Produce reusables
preferably from recycled or
renewable materials. And lastly, the
development of closed-loop recycling
schemes.
3. Single-use plastic-free items.
Where reusable items are not fit
for purpose yet, we develop and offer
single-use plastic-free items for
organic composting and recycling.
By organic composting, resources
are returned to the soil as nutrients.
With organic composting we focus
on home composting, and specifically
avoid industrial composting or
the use of industrial compostable
materials. By recycling, the material
is recovered and used again. We strive
to make those products from recycled
or renewable materials.
Single-use plastic packaging is only used
under one of the following conditions:
- When reusables are not yet possible
- When they ensure a long preservation
of food
- When they are made of recyclable
materials
- And when guaranteed that they
will not end up in nature.