News

It’s the action that counts… or how deSter is minimizing its footprint on planet Earth

April 22, 2022
CET 12:16

deSter, a full onboard equipment provider and food packaging manufacturer, is committed to sustainable practices when it comes to our planet, products, and people. As a part of our ESG strategy, we are working every day on minimizing our impact on the environment and striving to net zero carbon and net zero waste in operations by 2050.

Sustainable sourcing and deforestation

In 2020 deSter obtained official FSC® certification* meaning not only does it assure that the resources it uses are sourced from sustainably managed forests, but it also applies to the way deSter manufactures its products. You can find our certificates on the official website of FSC® https://info.fsc.org/details.php?id=a02f300000gJKoXAAW&type=certificate

Water

deSter is committed to sustainable water management. In the past years, we’ve invested in Dry Molded Fiber technology used for some of our products. We are also focused on water reduction and are using water in a closed loop. For example, in our plant in Belgium, we’ve built a rainwater collector where water serves as a coolant for our machinery. This basin stores over 850 m3 of water, which provides water even in dry periods. In case water is discharged, an oil-water separator was installed to separate excess oil from the water.

Energy saving

Besides investing in LED lighting in our offices and manufacturing facilities globally, we also started the gradual renewal of our machinery. As such, we’ve already invested in electric-driven machines (iso of hydraulic) and a new extruder line which are much more energy efficient.

Waste

We minimize our production waste through internal recycling where possible. As such, almost all surpluses are collected and recycled into a second life. Production waste is first regrinded and subsequently remolded for new products. This saves resources and increases environmental contribution.

Besides that, deSter is currently working on realizing a closed-loop model, where its products are used, washed, re-used multiple times and at the end of life recycled into the same product. In 2021 we’ve received EFSA approval for closed-loop recycling in aviation which makes deSter the first and only partner on the airline market to perform food contact safe closed loop recycling for plastic tableware.

Packaging

deSter tries to reduce the packaging of its products as far as possible and always takes full advantage of the packaging. For example, our default procedure is to completely fill the boxes to avoid the transportation of empty space. In addition, in some ongoing projects, deSter works together with the customer to reuse the packaging. In that case, deSter retakes the used packaging and refills it again with new products. Of course, food safety remains a key priority throughout the process.

Improving our operations to preserve planet Earth for generations to come is crucial but it does not happen in one day. At deSter we are incredibly proud of the achievements so far and are excited to implement further initiatives and see the results.

Keep an eye on our website & LinkedIn channel to follow our journey to a more sustainable future.