KALDEWEI and WWF
FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE SEA.
KALDEWEI sets standards – with exceptional products and also in terms of sustainability and environmental protection. As such, we are the first German bathroom manufacturer to be involved in these areas at international level – with the WWF.
We are supporting the WWF marine conservation programme on the basis of a long-term partnership. Because water is not only the element that is most significant for KALDEWEI, it is also one of the most important habitats on earth. By getting involved like this we are making a key contribution to environmental conservation above and beyond our commitments to Ahlen, where our production facility is based.
WWF and KALDEWEI: Working for marine conservation and sustainable business
The family-run company KALDEWEI has been a WWF cooperation partner since December 2017. Founded in 1918 and based in Ahlen, and now being run by the fourth generation of the family, the company is a European market leader for the production and refinement of bathtubs, shower surfaces and washbasins made of steel enamel. In manufacturing its products KALDEWEI has made a conscious decision to avoid the use of plastics, so its products are 100% recyclable. The focus of the five-year partnership is to support the WWF’s marine conservation programme, and to develop and implement a sustainability goal.
Sponsorship of the WWF marine programme
As a sponsor of the WWF marine conservation programme, KALDEWEI’s activities include a model project in the Mekong Delta (Vietnam) which is designed to combat the problem of plastic waste in our planet’s oceans. The aim of the project is to significantly reduce residual waste by means of waste separation and recycling. This should remedy the frequent uncontrolled dumping of waste which may be swept into the delta because of flooding and thus make its way into the ocean. KALDEWEI’s sponsorship will enable measures such as a feasibility study on the uses to which separated recyclable waste and waste fractions can be put. Afterwards, a pilot system for the separation of household waste is to be set up. The project will be accompanied by communication measures to promote the avoidance of packaging waste and encourage waste separation.
KALDEWEI sponsorship lays basis for government grant
Thanks to KALDEWEI’s support and the preliminary studies and pilot measures that have thus been made possible, the WWF has been able to convince the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) of the project’s potential. As a result, the BMU has given the WWF the assurance that it will sponsor the project until the end of 2023. In its upcoming corporate newsletter the WWF says: “It is only KALDEWEI’s support that has made it possible to transform a project idea into a highly promising field project to fight the causes of plastic waste in the oceans.