Silphie paper presented as new alternative for sustainable packaging solutions at German Sustainability Day
Neckarsulm, December 03, 2021. At this year’s German Sustainability Day in Düsseldorf, PreZero and its OutNature brand demonstrated the enormous potential of fiber-based paper. The environmental service provider of the Schwarz Group presented its initial results on site—results which could point the way ahead for the retail sector. These results were achieved in record time, partly thanks to the new type of collaboration with consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble. During a joint keynote address entitled “The Transformative Power of Sustainable Partnerships,” Thomas Kyriakis, CEO of PreZero, and Astrid Teckentrup, CEO of Procter & Gamble DACH, provided insights into the collaboration.
“By promoting the circular economy and converting recyclables with PreZero, we’re making a sustainable contribution to the careful use of resources. With P&G, we’re re-imagining the idea of ‘collaboration’, in line with our shared responsibility as a large company, and taking the circular economy to a whole new level,” explains Thomas Kyriakis. The two companies will pool their respective expertise through a mutual transfer of know-how and, as pioneers, drive forward innovative sustainability concepts.
As a first milestone, the two partners will create sustainable primary and secondary packaging under the motto “paper changes” to successfully establish it on the market. The basis for this is the innovative and demonstrably recyclable Silphie paper from PreZero’s OutNature brand, made from the fibers of the rapidly renewable and bee-friendly Silphium plant. Displays of P&G’s Gillette and Always brands made with Silphie paper will go on sale at Lidl and Kaufland as early as December 2021 – and work is currently underway on other possible applications.
“P&G is committed to being carbon neutral by 2040. To get there, we need technological breakthroughs. We also want to influence the retail sector with sustainable solutions. Our approach to innovation and more sustainability is always one of partnership. This applies to packaging just as it does to decarbonizing the supply chain. The Silphie project is a striking example of the transformative power that comes from co-creation,” says Astrid Teckentrup, outlining her thoughts on the partnership.
In addition to their collaboration in the area of packaging, the two partners will also look specifically at other steps in the recycling loop in order to identify further potential in the area of recyclability and to strengthen and advance the circular economy as a whole.
PreZero envisions a world that no longer wastes resources thanks to closed loops: Zero waste, 100 percent recyclable. That’s why PreZero is always on the lookout for new raw materials, processes and concepts that convincingly combine ecology and economy.
More information about PreZero can be found at our press portal and about P&G in the P&G Newsroom. Information about Silphie paper is summarized at www.papierverändert.de. If you would like to learn more about the OutNature brand, please visit www.out-nature.com.
