Sustainability at Paulmann

Sustainable management, environmental protection and social commitment play an important role in the Paulmann family business. Our goal is to enable our customers to realise their own lighting ideas for a more pleasant and beautiful life, while also sustainably protecting the climate and the environment. To achieve this, we have to constantly rethink and change the way we use light. We therefore develop lamps and luminaires that enable energy and resources to be used sparingly. At Paulmann, however, sustainability does not stop with the development and production of our products.

“In order to have a positive influence the future of our planet, we rely on a holistic sustainability strategy that includes ecological, economic and social aspects in equal measure. A large cross-divisional team is continuously working on new environmentally friendly solutions and activities throughout the company. In addition, we actively participate in the UN Global Compact.”

Oliver Windbrake,
Chairman of the Executive Board

The UN Global Compact is the world’s largest initiative for sustainable and responsible corporate governance. As a participant of the initiative, Paulmann is actively committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Overview of holistic sustainability

1. Paulmann Environmental Guideline

2. On-site sustainability

3. Sustainable products and packaging

4. Social commitment

Environmental guidelines

Environmental protection is everyone’s responsibility – from trainees and colleagues in logistics and administration to management. Every individual has a part to play! Through our actions, we want to make a lasting contribution to relieving the burden on the environment, actively shaping environmental protection at Paulmann and firmly anchoring it in all areas of the company. We have laid down how we define and want to implement environmental protection in our everyday work in our environmental guidelines.

Beyond complying with environmental law requirements, we strive to improve our environmental performance and our operational environmental protection. For us, this means considering, analysing and continuously improving our operational processes as a whole, including from an environmental point of view.
We use resources such as energy, water, materials and land sparingly and in an environmentally friendly manner. We aim to continuously reduce our consumption of these resources.
We strive to keep waste to a minimum. Unavoidable waste products are sorted, re-used and recycled, and – if this is not possible – disposed of responsibly.
We support our employees in using environmentally friendly means of public and private transport. A direct train connection is available to our employees, customers and visitors.
We are aware that environmental protection can only be achieved through the active participation of all employees. That’s why we aim to anchor environmental protection as self-evident in the thoughts and actions of all our employees. We inform every employee about environmental issues, as offer everyone the opportunity to actively get involved with ideas and suggestions.

On-site sustainability

In 2020, Paulmann laid the foundation for a more sustainable company headquarters by successfully participating in the extensive Ökoprofit programme for increased environmental protection measures at the site. Since then, Paulmann has been a member of the Ecoprofit Club and regularly carries out energy audits to continuously improve environmental performance on site.

For a more sustainable company site

At our company site in Völksen, we use green electricity from 100% renewable energy sources and do not use air-conditioning systems due to their high energy consumption and the fluorocarbons they contain. As part of the digital transformation of the company, we are reducing our paper consumption step by step. We also use sustainable office materials at the site and only ecologically degradable cleaning agents to protect the environment.

Sparing use of resources

The economical and environmentally friendly use of resources such as energy, water, materials and space is both important and a matter of course for the entire Paulmann team. We are constantly trying to reduce and improve our consumption of these resources. Unavoidable waste products are sorted, re-used and recycled, and – if this is not possible – disposed of responsibly.

Recycling helps reduce our carbon footprint

By recycling our transport packaging and other resources, Paulmann actively contributes to the circular economy and the reduction of CO₂. We recycle 86% of all waste generated in the company, such as films (PE, PP), mixed plastics, paper, cardboard and carton. We dispose of aluminum offcuts and scrap metal by type.

As a member of Lightcycle, Paulmann contributes to the return and recycling process for old lamps. 90% of the materials can be recycled and therefore conserve natural resources.

Paulmann employees talk on-site measures

Every measure helps

“We are pursuing a wide variety of projects to make our company location in Völksen more sustainable. We not only take on large projects, but also lots of small ones. For example, we inform our colleagues via our intranet about green search engines or how to heat rooms properly in winter.” Saskia Krolop, Content Manager

A sustainable outdoor area for flora and fauna

“We rely on economical LED light sources with warm white, insect-friendly light for our outdoor lighting. In addition, a 4,500m² flower meadow and numerous insect hotels contribute to the preservation of native flora and fauna.” Ralf Pusch, Head of Logistics

Sustainability on the road

"We support our employees in using sustainable means of public and private transport. The Paulmann site is only a few minutes’ walk from Völksen/Eldagsen railway station. Tickets for local public transport can be purchased at a discount through the company. And those who prefer private means of transport can take advantage of our attractive bicycle leasing offer.” Thomas Hamann, Human Resources Manager & Member of the Executive Board

Environmentally conscious diet

“The issues of sustainability and environmental protection are very important to many colleagues. Some also follow a climate-friendly diet as a result. We can support them in this with company-subsidised, locally prepared, fresh food. We offer at least one vegetarian or vegan dish every day.” Sven Klute, Head Chef at the company’s canteen

Mobile working for the environment

“Digitalisation is changing the way we work. The company’s offer of mobile working has been very well received by all colleagues. This not only saves people from having to travel to our headquarters, our sales colleagues can also greatly reduce the need for national and international business trips through digital options such as video conferencing etc.” Magnus Weidke, IT employee

Individual ideas for sustainability

“Many colleagues have a very strong environmental awareness and want to contribute their ideas for protecting the climate and resources at Paulmann. “We have introduced an idea management tool to enable them to do so. All employees can submit their proposals there. The suggestions for improvement are promptly evaluated by specialists and management, implemented and the employees responsible recognised. Nina Schymczyk, Ideas Manager

Sustainable products and packaging

ocial and sustainable standards are also very important to us in the production of our lamps and luminaires, our packaging, and the shipping of our products with a view to protecting people and the environment. As a member of the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), Paulmann is actively committed to improved working and production conditions within the supply chain. In order to achieve this, we work with selected partner companies in our production chain that are regularly audited.

Energy-saving LED technology

Because we constantly question and optimise our use of light, we were quick to recognise the importance of sustainable lighting and have been adding energy-saving and durable LED technology to our range for years. Today, around 96% of our overall product range is based on LED technology. We therefore offer a wide range of lamps and luminaires that cut electricity consumption by up to 85%. In addition to saving energy, we also focus on protecting the environment. That is why all our products are manufactured in full compliance with the Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC.

More sustainable packaging and CO2-neutral shipping

We have said goodbye to plastic blister packs for our lamps. Since 2019, all new Paulmann lamps are packed in sustainable cardboard packaging. In 2022 we switched to a size-optimized cardboard folding box for all new LED strips. A reusable Velcro strip fixes the LED strips in place. All new Paulmann recessed luminaires are also sold in environmentally friendly folding boxes since this year. The folding box insert is made of cardboard too. We only use PE bags in our recessed luminaire sets to prevent damage to the products. The PE bags have a weight share of 0.8% of the total weight. For all other product groups, cardboard already accounts for more than 90% of our packaging.

We have also made our shipping packaging more environmentally friendly. Today, they are already made of 100% recycled materials. As of July 2022, our packaging volume will be reduced due to smaller shipping cartons. Furthermore, we are currently trying out numerous alternatives for filling the shipping boxes. For our three smallest boxes we would like to use recycled paper as a filling material. We use plastic air bags to fill the remaining boxes because their carbon footprint is actually lower than paper for large boxes. The air bags used will also soon be made of 100% recycled materials.

We are continuously working to optimise all our packaging and make it even more sustainable. And to ensure that not only the packaging is as environmentally friendly as possible, Paulmann shipping with DPD is climate neutral.

Paulmann is committed to sustainable forestry

To combat unsustainable and illegal logging and slash-and-burn agriculture, we participate in the FSC®, an international certification system for more sustainable forest management. This allows us to ensure that wood-based raw materials for our products come from sustainable and responsible sources. FSC® certification is awarded to forests and plantations that are managed according to, among other things, stricter ecological and social principles.

“We are increasingly using wood from FSC®-certified forests in our products at Paulmann. The FSC® label is displayed on a wide range of products, e.g. exercise books, furniture, food packaging, etc., and is therefore very familiar to consumers. We use this symbol to clearly indicate that the corresponding luminaires come from responsible forestry.” Dipl. Ing. (FH) Boris Schomann, Head of Quality Assurance

Social commitment

As a family business, we bear a high level of responsibility for our employees and their families. For us, responsibility doesn’t end at the company gates. Our goal is to actively take responsibility for our community and to set a positive example. That is why Paulmann has been supporting various local aid organisations and projects for children and young people in the Hanover-Hildesheim-Hameln region for several years now.

We supported the following organisations and projects in 2020 - 2022, for example:

“Young People Advising Young People” by the Lower Saxony Regional Association of the German Child Protection Association
Hameln branch of the Lower Saxony Child Protection Association
Springe branch of the Lower Saxony Child Protection Association
Hildesheim branch of the Lower Saxony Child Protection Association
Nina Dieckmann Foundation in Hanover
Meriba Children’s and Youth Centre in Wennigsen
Barsinghausen Children’s Hospice
Eldagsen-Friedewalde Primary School Association
Action Alliance for Disaster Relief
HAZ-Weihnachtshilfe
Support for the suffering population in Ukraine

You can find out more about the individual organisations and projects we support on our page Social Commitment.