Der Grne Punkt. Corporate Mission: Responsibility.

FOCUS ON MORE SUSTAINABILITY 2010 / 2011

The Green Dot. Committed to Creating a Cleaner Environment since 1990.

3 4|5 6|8 9 | 11 12 | 15 16 | 19 EDITORIAL COMPANY ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE INTERVIEW WITH STEFAN SCHREITER SYSTEC PLASTICS GMBH MARINE LITTERING

EDITORIAL

Dear Reader, A shortage of resources, climate change and environmental pollution are having an ever greater inuence on the markets: only a business model which treats resources in an economical and intelligent manner has a long-term future. This applies especially for countries like Germany which have scarce raw materials and which is increasingly dependent on a reliable supply of raw materials. An outstanding example of this development is packaging waste management with the Green Dot which has been operating for more than 20 years: high quality recycling preserves climate and environment and ensures business of an innovative sector which is world leader with its collection systems, sorting processes and recycling processes. As the pioneer of the dual system we have worked hard and have achieved a great deal. In 2009 the secondary raw material sector in Germany delivered around 13 per cent of raw materials for industry. Recycling of 78 million tons of lightweight packaging by Der Grne Punkt Duales System Deutschland GmbH (DSD) has prevented around 24 million tons of greenhouse gases since its foundation about 20 years ago, and has saved far more than 1.1 billion mega-joules of primary energy. We take on responsibility. Not only because we are market leader among dual systems. We are continuously working on the improvement of our services and processes. Our vision: we want to retain even more recyclables in our closed loop systems no raw material must be wasted, the climate and environment should be subjected to as little pollution as possible. To ensure our vision does not remain utopian, this year we established the staff unit Sustainability reporting directly to me as CEO. This focus documents our responsibility and is the key to our sustained success for our environment and for our customers. At our subsidiary, Systec Plastics GmbH in Hrstel, founded in 2010, we can test innovative processes, make plastic recycling even more efcient and increase eco-efciency. And of course we also think outside the box and are committed to social projects aimed at more sustainability. The topic of marine littering is a burning issue for our company and we are currently participating intensively in two projects to nd solutions. In this brochure we would like to inform you about our work focus, current projects and our environmental performance 2010/2011. And we will not be resting on our laurels, but will work hard every day to improve all aspects of our business, and will continue to inform you of our progress in future. We hope you enjoy reading the brochure. Yours

Stefan Schreiter Chief Executive Ofcer

STEFAN SCHREITER

COMPANY

Sustainability on the dot

Since 1990 Der Grne Punkt Duales System Deutschland GmbH (DSD) has set up and organized the rst dual system in the world for consumer-friendly, high-quality recycling of sales packaging. Thanks to the pioneering work of the Green Dot, waste sorting is a normal part of everyday life for Germans and is their personal contribution to environmental protection. We make sure that this commitment generates increasing effect. We gain secondary raw materials from used packaging which are in demand on the market. This saves resources and is less harmful to the climate and environment than the production of new goods. Together with our partners we have developed efcient recycling technology. Thanks to the research and development of DSD, plastics recycling in particular is a prime example of the recycling sector. Within just a few years we have built up efcient recycling processes recycling technology Made in Germany is today a worldwide best seller. And we are proud of this achievement. We rely on innovative processes and marketable products to continue decreasing costs for plastics recycling in future and to improve eco-efciency. This is not a question of margins or volumes. It is a question of quality. The same quality requirements are demanded of secondary raw materials today as for new goods. There is no market any more for downcycling. That is why we have been operating our own plant in Hrstel since autumn 2010 together with our subsidiary, Systec Plastics GmbH. We can now further optimize innovative processes, test new technology and achieve ideal material yield for our customers and for the environment. Because: the more recyclables used in closed loop systems, the better it is for the environment. Not only the German Federal Environment Ofce, but also leading business institutes con rm that the waste management sector has recorded an excellent CO2 balance. Our annual environmental performance also reveals high eco-efciency of packaging recycling. You can read more on this on the following pages.

Ecology: Since our foundation we have recycled more than 80 million tons of used sales packaging in Germany and therefore prevented the equivalent of more than 24 million tons of CO2. Economy: The German economy saves 225 million Euro each year by recycling packaging. 460 billion packagings bear the Green Dot each year one of the most used trademarks in the world.

Founded Management Staff Locations Business elds

1990 Stefan Schreiter (CEO); Michael Wiener 250 Kln, Augsburg, Berlin, Norderstedt Household near collection and recycling of sales packaging Recycling of transport packaging Recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment Facility waste disposal service Deposit scheme

Subsidiaries

Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Kreislaufwirtschaft und Rohstoffe mbH (DKR) Systec Plastics GmbH HPI Resource GmbH

ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE

Sustainable Plus via Performance and Innovation

How exactly does the recycling of plastics, metals, glass and paper help the environment? We were the rst dual system to voluntarily publish an environmental performance around ten years ago. Each year we compile a mass ow verication report detailing the sales packaging from the yellow bag and the yellow bin, from glass containers and waste paper collections. And we report on their recycling. This year, for the rst time, we have drawn up a large eco-balance which not only records sales packaging from the dual system of DSD, but also all freely traded volumes of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Kreislaufwirtschaft und Rohstoffe mbH (DKR). We not only document the path of packaging from the collection bin through to the recycling product. We also provide information on the ecological consequences. We calculate how much energy and resources are consumed during the individual processes of recycling and how much emission is generated. To do this, we apply scientically proven and standardized methods and tools such as are described, for example, in DIN-EN-ISO norms 14040 and 14044. Our environmental performance is drawn up in accordance with these norms. The Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU), Heidelberg, provides an expert opinion on the overall environmental performance. This ensures we record reliable and exact data concerning energy and resource consumption and savings by recycling. We compare these values with the amounts of energy, resources and emission saved by using secondary raw materials. We then compare the results to respective data from primary production. It is these gures which actually verify the real contribution we make to the protection of environment and resources and provide ideas for further improvements. On the following pages you will nd our current key gures for the year 2010. They clearly show how important recycling is for the protection of the climate and of resources.

Collected and recycled total volumes 2010: 2,945,655 t

Lightweight packaging

1,263,083 t

thereof plastics

626,998 t
It corresponds to the basic weight of 7,301 wide-bodied aircraft.

Glass And it is the same weight as 214,110 full-grown African elephants.

1,070,548 t

This weight is equivalent to that of 51,002 trucks (12 ton trucks). Paper

612,024 t

Saved emissions of greenhouse gas (in kg of CO2 equivalents)

558

555

532 2008 451 444 2007 2006 336 2005

2009

2010

Savings impact of specic effect categories Primary energy: 2010 59 billion mega-joules of primary energy have been saved via recycling with the Green Dot. This would be enough to provide power for 468,250 households for one year, the equivalent of the towns of Bochum and Dortmund together. Greenhouse effect: The emission of around the equivalent of 1.4 million tons of CO2 was avoided in 2010 this is the amount of CO2 generated when 348,259 passengers y from Frankfurt/Main to New York and back. Fossil Resources: In 2010 recycling saved the equivalent of 496,000 tons of crude oil. This corresponds to 303 million liters of fuel. This is enough to fuel 3,100 compact cars for one year with an average consumption of 6.4 liters per 100 kilometers. Eutrophication: In 2010 DSD recycling contributed in reducing pollution of waters from phosphoric acid (PO4) by 778,000 kilograms. This decreases overfertilization and improves oxygen content in waters. Acidication: Thanks to DSD recycling, in 2010 around 4,909,000 kilograms less sulfur dioxide (SO2) was emitted into the air. This contributed to reducing the acidication of the atmosphere, water and soil.

INTERVIEW WITH STEFAN SCHREITER

Sustainability pays off

Since its foundation in 1990, DSD stands for closed loop economy. The annual environmental performance clearly veries the high eco-efciency of packaging recycling. DSD is now presenting this environmental performance report and established the staff unit of Sustainability . We spoke to DSDs CEO Stefan Schreiter, about new targets and potential. Mr Schreiter, DSD GmbH set up waste sorting in Germany via its Green Dot. Up to now more than 24 million tons of greenhouse gases have been avoided as a result of collection, sorting and recycling with the Green Dot. The Green Dot is a success model in 26 countries. Isnt that enough sustainability for you? De nitely not. We are not the sort of company to rest on its laurels. Stagnation is death not only for business in a very competitive market, but also for the environment. We have to achieve more and bundle our actions even better.

The Green Dot is lived environment protection. Because sustained recycling makes an essential contribution to the protection of the environment, the climate and resources.

What do you mean exactly? The Green Dot is indeed a success story and our contribution to securing the environment and raw materials is undisputed. Over the past 20 years we have developed unique know-how in recycling issues. And it is only with this experience that packaging recycling functions today in interplay with the free market. We have asserted our position as innovating pioneers again and again just take the example of plastics recycling. First we set up the recycling paths and optimized collection and sorting processes to ensure that re-granulate is now a raw material very much in demand. It is not a coincidence that we are still market leader in the core business. By means of optimized processes and measures we have been able to signicantly improve our contribution to the climate and the environment. But I am still convinced: more is possible. Mr Schreiter, is that why you have created the new sector, Sustainability ? Thats right. Our services and work practically all contribute to the account of sustainability. Recycling with the Green Dot is sustainability par excellence. However, I am a realist: the current nancial crisis has signicantly increased sensitivity for energy and raw material efciency. As a company, I believe we have to take on real responsibility. We must press forward and improve our eco-efficiency even more. This means we have to analyse our processes and have to

optimize our services and work and coordinate them better. We have to do more research and test new processes e.g. in plastics recycling with our new plant in Hrstel. In short: we must succeed in integrating even more recyclable material into closed material loops. Sustainability pays off. Recycling of materials makes an important contribution to the raw material supply for the industry. It is an important innovation driver. And it saves the national economy billions each year.

Recycling materials provides ecological and economic benets: each recycled kilogram of plastic saves the equivalent of 1.3 kilogram CO2. The German national economy saves 225 million Euro each year by way of packaging recycling.
Mr Schreiter, that sounds like a strong commitment. Yes. I see it as an obligation. And thats not only because I am CEO and co-owner of the company. Theres a reason why the business sector of Sustainability is directly linked to general management. Sustainability is corporate strategy! And thats exactly how our nancial investors see it as well. Only a sustainable company is well equipped to handle future challenges. And to maintain its position in competition. And to promote further innovations with convinced partners. Such innovations may not pay off from scratch, but they do pay off mid-term. This results in a win-win situation for the environment and the economy. What benets do I have as a DSD customer? We are not only an innovative and reliable partner. Those cooperating with us contribute their share in reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. We have been issuing a climate certicate to these customers for many years pro rata to our environmental performance. But of course you can also benet from our know-how. For example, we help our customers to do even more for the environment in their direct core business.

An ideal packaging design helps close the material closed-loop system. This reduces costs and increases the contribution to protection of the climate and resources.
Mr Schreiter, could you specify an example? With pleasure. Consider the issues concerning sustainable packaging . Everyone talks about it but most people dont really know what it means. We have been handling packaging waste in extensively closed looped systems for more than 20 years. We have become quasi experts in the eld of packaging. Our recommendation: when developing packaging, its end must be given more consideration the socalled Design for Recycling. Packaging design has an inuence on how many resources and how much energy is consumed in its production, but also how well the packaging can be recycled and re-utilized after use.

A well-coordinated packaging design helps to close material loop systems: this ensures that waste volumes are reduced and less resources are consumed for new products by using high quality secondary raw materials. And this of course increases the contribution to the protection of the climate and of resources. We can provide our customers with profound support in this eld. A real added value.

In addition to ecological and environmental factors, sustainability also has a social, societal dimension. Absolutely. We have been actively involved for many years in promoting environmental protection in society, in addition to our actual core business. This ranges from support for the German Sustainability Award through to numerous projects with Nature Protection associations. We are currently providing strong support for actions which increase public awareness for the topic of Marine Littering. Countless millions of tons of waste end up in our seas which destroy marine ecology and which end up in the food chain via marine fauna. Thats why we provide national support for the project Fishing for Litter and international support for Plastic Oceans. * We are convinced that this issue affects all of us. And our motto again is: Dont talk so much about it do something. Mr Schreiter, thank you very much!

* You can nd more about Fishing for Litter and the lm project Plastic Oceans on pages 16 to 19.

ABOUT STEFAN SCHREITER Stefan Schreiter, 46, has been CEO of Der Grne Punkt Duales System Deutschland GmbH since January 2006.

Young, innovative and growthoriented: the market for re-granulate from used plastics.

SYSTEC PLASTICS GMBH

13

Plastics Recycling A Plus for the Environment

Plastics recycling has developed rapidly thanks to the development work of DSD GmbH and its partners in the high-tech industry. DSD now operates its own plant in the Westphalian town of Hrstel Systec Plastics GmbH, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Green Dot. Since 2010 high quality re-granulate has been produced here from used plastics packaging, and marketed to the plastics industry. This means that the Green Dot is now active in a market with enormous growth potential and which plays an important role in raw material supply to the economy. Systec is currently focusing its activities on polypropylene (PP). 18,000 tons are processed each year of this material but this is just the start. Because the market and local opportunities provide sufcient potential for expansion. In addition, Systec also operates as a technical competence center within the Green Dot corporate family. One main issue in the eld of research and development is the recycling of high quality mixed plastics. Systec also analyses waste shed out of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea within the scope of the Fishing for Litter common project with the Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V. (NABU: The German Society for Nature Conservation).

Systec Plastics GmbH processes 18,000 tons of polypropylene each year. 23 staff are employed at the Hrstel location, working in three shifts. Automotive parts, logistics systems and much more is produced from the re-granulate gained.
Lets return to polypropylene: the packaging material is delivered to Hrstel as mono-material in bales. The valuable plastic is first crushed into rough cuttings in the plant. A magnet and then a f loat-sink separation system remove metals and other impurities. The PP cuttings f loat in the water on the surface, everything else sinks. After the PP parts have been further reduced in size, the separating process is repeated.

Friction scrubbers remove all adhesive impurities with the aid of water and friction. Then we have the first product, grinding stock. This is then melted and homogenized in a special machine called an extruder. Finally, a micro-filter removes the last impurities.

Crude oil is becoming scarce high quality re-granulate is therefore becoming more important. Plastics recycling contributes to a reliable raw material supply of the economy. This young, innovative market will continue to develop in the coming years and in parallel the contribution to environmental protection will grow.
The extruder presses the melt through a perforated strainer and cuts the resultant lines into small plastic nuggets, the re-granulate. This forms the basic material for the injection molding production, i.e. for the manufacture of automotive parts, logistics systems, boxes, bins, pipes or plant trays and pots. Systec markets the majority of its products within a radius of just a few hundred kilometers in Germany and neighboring countries, such as the Netherlands. The young market for re-granulate provides enormous development potential. Crude oil is becoming ever scarcer, and the plastics made from this are becoming ever more expensive. High quality re-granulate therefore provides a favorably priced alternative in comparable quality. The valuable raw materials are retained for the closed-loop economy. However, recycling plastics does not only contribute to economical production, but above all to climate protection: each kilogram of plastic the consumer passes on for recycling via the yellow bag, instead of throwing it into the residual waste bin, saves almost 1.3 kilogram of CO2 , which is harmful to the environment.

ANDITI QUAE VELITIO EOSSERIA

15

Systec-Regranulate is top quality and provides a favorably priced alternative to new goods.

16

MARINE LITTERING

Green Dot combats Waste in the Oceans

Plastic bags, yoghurt cups, PET bottles often ground into tiny pieces by the current and the waves. A plastic soup is af loat on our oceans which has now reached unimaginable proportions. Experts estimate that approx. 80 per cent of marine waste originates from terrestrial sources. Giant f loating waste dumps are endangering the ecology of the oceans. Pollution can develop into a serious threat for marine f lora and fauna and via the food chain also for humans.

Waste in the ocean is not only a danger for shing; it is disastrous for the marine eco-system. National:The Green Dot supports the Fishing for Litter project of NABU. We research the composition of waste from the North Sea and the Baltic Sea and the possibilities of recycling. Sustainable packaging recycling protects the oceans: each packaging recycled cannot enter the water. International: To increase public awareness, the Green Dot strongly supports the global lm project, Plastic Oceans, which is also to be used worldwide in school education.

The appallingly high litter pollution of the oceans is symbolic of the throw-away mentality of the 21st century. Our business is a closed-loop economy and we think and act in line with closed loops. And that is why we cannot idly observe how the achievements of the 20th century which include plastic packaging become an ecological threat, instead of being usefully collected and recycled or treated for re-utilization. Plastic packaging has become an integral part of todays consumer society and fulfils a number of useful purposes: it not only ensures the hygienic protection required, enables transportation, also across long distances, extends the shelf life of products and much more. But plastic packaging has absolutely no place in the ocean. That is why we wish to arouse sustained public awareness and to show possible solutions. And that is why the Green Dot has been supporting two important projects since 2011, which both counteract the problem of Marine Littering.

20,000 tons of waste land in the North Sea each year and for the Baltic Sea there isnt as yet any data available.

The Green Dot supports the global lm project Plastic Oceans Litter pollution in the oceans (Marine Littering) appears to be progressing incessantly. Between California and Hawaii alone there is a waste carpet which has now reached the dimension of central Europe. The aim of the lm project Plastic Oceans is to make the public aware of this dramatic development and its serious consequences. Within the scope of its anti-littering commitment, the Green Dot is a main sponsor in this ambitious project and presents the German system for collecting and recycling packaging waste as a best-practice solution for the reduction of waste depositing in the oceans. Our participation in the Fishing for Litter project in the North Sea and Baltic Sea is also dealt with as well as issues concerning the recycling of plastic waste. The lm which is in English will probably be released in 2012 in various formats ranging from a 30 minute lm for schools to a 90 minute movie. Plastic Oceans is supported by a foundation of the same name. Partners include i.a. WWF Netherlands, British Plastics&Rubber and Naturschutzbund Deutschland e. V. (NABU). More about Plastic Oceans is available at www.plasticoceans.net

On a national level we are involved in the project Fishing for Litter. This is a unique pilot project in Germany which has been initiated by the German Society for Nature Conservation (NABU) together with regional partners and Der Grne Punkt Duales System Deutschland GmbH (DSD). The aim of the project is to set up regional structures for effective waste disposal at selected ports on the Baltic Sea coast and to find out more about the composition and origin of the waste. The initiators rely on the commitment of the fishermen from the Fishing Associations of Fehmarn and Heiligenhafen. These associations receive free collection bags from NABU in which waste found in their nets can be collected and transported.

Around 20,000 tons of waste land in the North Sea alone each year. More than one million seabirds and marine mammals die as a result of waste each year worldwide.

Up to now only the ecological consequences of the waste depot in the sea for the North Sea have been documented in Germany. Here alone, more than 20,000 tons of waste end up in the sea each year; large parts of the Baltic Sea are also contaminated. According to NABU the main causes are tourism, shipping and fishing. A large section of the waste is also fed into the ocean via rivers. Such waste mainly comprises plastic which sometimes needs several hundred years before it completely decomposes. Tiny plastic particles are also eaten by fish and then end up in the food chain for humans. Seals and other marine creatures can also become victims of waste. In addition to the collection bags, the project Fishing for Litter also provides fishermen with the opportunity of disposing the waste they have caught free of charge on land. Closed containers are available at the ports participating in the project, to which only the fishermen have a key. The fished waste is transported by DSD to the recycling plant of Systec Plastics GmbH in Hrstel. The waste is sorted and analysed here. Within the scope of the project, findings are systematically documented for the first time. The analyses focus on the question of composition of the respective waste caught and the quality of the material. Can it be re-utilized or recycled? In the case of waste which cannot be recycled, the Green Dot and Systec ensure harmless and appropriate disposal. With its commitment against Marine Littering the Green Dot wants to bring about a change of heart in society. We can only achieve much if we pull together. And just how much can be achieved has been proven by the Green Dot over the last 20 years. We will continue to take on responsibility within society in future. You can take us at our word. You will find more interesting information on the Green Dot and our current projects at our website: www.gruener-punkt.de

Published by Der Grne Punkt Duales System Deutschland GmbH, Frankfurter Strae 720726, 51145 Kln-Porz-Eil, Phone: +49 02203 937-0, Fax: +49 02203 937-190 Layout rheinfaktor Agentur fr Kommunikation, Kln, www.rheinfaktor.de Printed on IGEPA Circle Silk, 100% recycled paper Status November 2011