Schnitzer has been certified since August 2, 2023, according to the ZNU Standard for Sustainable Business Operations, an externally auditable standard from the University of Witten/Herdecke. As part of our sustainability management, we work systematically and measurably on the further development of our performance in the areas of environment, economy, and social responsibility. Our progress is verified annually by independent auditors.
Certified organic quality has been part of the Schnitzer company's self-image since 1992, the start of European organic legislation.
We are already contributing to sustainability through our business activities by using organic raw materials and processing them into vegetarian products. This is reflected in SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 15 (Life on Land), which we bring to life through our work.
Since 2020, we have been working systematically and continuously to integrate sustainability holistically into our processes and structures.
Since 2023, we have been certified according to the ZNU standard for sustainable business. Through annual independent audits, it is ensured that we soundly analyze our material issues at our site and along our value chains and develop them further in a measurable, step-by-step manner.
The ZNU standard makes it possible to make a verifiable contribution to the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Within the framework of this standard, the design of sustainable corporate management is captured, and concrete implementations in the three fields of action ecology, economy, and social affairs are defined, systematically reviewed, and integrated into a company-specific sustainability strategy.
Gluten-free food products must be packaged securely to be 100% safe and have a long shelf life, yet they should also generate as little packaging waste as possible. Our motto is: as little as possible and as much as necessary! We are therefore currently working hard on reducing our packaging materials.
What we have already achieved: In 2020, we began switching our gluten-free food products from a combination of folding box and film to single-piece packaging. This was consistently continued in subsequent years. In the future, the folding box will be completely eliminated for our bread and bread roll assortment, which will save 70,000 kg of cardboard per year.
We have already been able to switch 13 products to recyclable packaging: three varieties of organic muffins, organic chocolate brownie, organic pizza base, three varieties of organic breadsticks, and the five organic slices. These bear the Interzero® "Made for Recycling" logo.
But what does recyclable mean? If the empty packages are disposed of in the yellow recycling bag after the products have been enjoyed, the packaging can be identified in sorting facilities and then processed by recyclers into new plastic.
The 2024 switch from a round to a square pizza shape brought two advantages: there is no more leftover dough, and more pizza bases fit on a baking tray.
We were able to switch the film printing for the organic pizza base packaging to a modern printing process with our film supplier.
In 2025, we also converted the packaging of our organic slices to the new printing process.
As of June 1, 2025, the transition to electricity from renewable energy sources was completed for purchased electricity. In 2025, this reduced Scope 2 emissions in the carbon footprint by 530 metric tons of CO2 compared to the previous year.
Regarding the gas consumption of our ovens, we are pursuing a path of increasing energy efficiency. Energy consumption is systematically recorded and documented as gas consumption in kWh/kg of product sold. Our goal is to reduce this key figure by 15% by 2027 compared to 2021.
The focus here is on comprehensive process optimizations for oven utilization. This applies in particular to the baking of our organic bread rolls (Panini Classic, Panini Grainy, Panini Oat, Super Panini Rustic, Focaccia) and our organic ciabattas in tomato and olive varieties.
The annual interim targets are documented in the target and action plan as part of the certification according to the ZNU Standard for Sustainable Business and are externally audited.
We are a medium-sized company that manufactures its own gluten-free food products at our Offenburg site. In doing so, we contribute to strengthening our region, as jobs are created and secured here.
Our production has been certified according to the International Food Standard (IFS) since 2016.
The complaint rate is an important key performance indicator in our quality management. The number and reasons for complaints are documented in detail, and conclusions are drawn from them. The complaint rate for 2025 was 0.004%.
As part of our sustainability strategy, we have established a code of conduct. For the procurement of our organic raw materials for the production of our gluten-free foods, we work with suppliers and service providers who have signed this code. This documents that we do not tolerate human rights violations or child labor and that responsibility is assumed as early as the cultivation stage for the required raw materials.
Our employees are essential to our success. Involvement in decision-making processes is a matter of course. For personal use, all employees receive an annual internal health budget. Our goal is for 75% of employees to use the company health budget by the end of 2026. What is used can be individually tailored within the framework of a service catalog.
In addition to our company-related activities, we are involved in our region through an annual donation to the social project Team4Winners e.V. By co-financing coaches, a sports program is created that contributes to the integration of schoolchildren aged 6 to 18 from all social backgrounds, as well as children and young people with a migration background.
We love our products just the way they are!
Both our product photos and the photos for advertisements, social media, and trade fair materials are taken by our food photographer just a few kilometers from our location in Offenburg. Authentic and honest photography is part of our company philosophy.
Our Instagram Reels are also filmed by our marketing colleagues in the Schnitzer kitchen. Only real ingredients are used, so that the prepared dishes are eaten by our colleagues afterwards rather than thrown away.
We are involved in the regional "heimatwald" project with a generous tree donation and are personally planting some of the trees together with the technical services of Offenburg in the Offenburg city forest.
The goal of the initiative: More biodiversity for a resilient, climate-stable Black Forest. The newly emerging mixed forests provide valuable habitats for animals and plants and support the filtering of CO2 from the atmosphere.
By planting 1,300 seedlings of the pedunculate oak/hornbeam planting pattern (4:1), an optimal mix of shading, stability, and the cultivation of the oak as a future primary tree species is achieved.
The motto of our tree-planting project: "Sustainability that takes root."
