PreZero Changes Paper: Silphia Paper Presented as a New Alternative for Sustainable Packaging Solutions at the German Sustainability Day

At the German Sustainability Day in Düsseldorf, PreZero and its OutNature brand showed how much potential fiber-based paper has. The environmental services provider of the Schwarz Group presented initial results on site that could point the way ahead for the retail sector. The fact that these results could be implemented in record time is also due to the new type of cooperation with the consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble.

The aim of the congress was to bring together experts from various sectors and to present concepts that show how sustainable change can be achieved more quickly. With its environmental division PreZero, the Schwarz Group was also present at the congress as a provider of ideas for the waste management and recycling industry, sharing solutions and projects with participants and getting involved in the discussion about possible changes towards a more sustainable way of living and working. Thomas Kyriakis, Chairman of the Board of PreZero, and Dietmar Böhm, Managing Director of PreZero, presented the positions and goals of PreZero. At the same time, Thomas Kyriakis officially announced a strategic partnership with the global consumer goods manufacturer during a joint keynote with Astrid Teckentrup, CEO of Procter & Gamble DACH.

According to the agreement, PreZero and Procter & Gamble (P&G) intend to combine their competencies in the future in order to provide completely new impetus to the circular economy and to realize their respective goals. As a first milestone of the cooperation, the two partners will create sustainable primary and secondary packaging in order to successfully establish it on the market. The innovative silphia paper of the PreZero brand OutNature, which consists of the fibers of the rapidly renewable and bee-friendly silphia plant, will serve as the basis for this. Displays of P&G's Gillette and Always brands made of silphia paper will go on sale via Lidl and Kaufland as early as December 2021 – further applications are currently being worked on.

Research is also being conducted into giving the silphia paper additional barrier properties, for example against water or grease. In this way, the novel paper can possibly be used as an alternative for plastic packaging in the future and thus contribute to the vision of our international group-wide plastics strategy REset Plastic "Less Plastic – Closed Loops". With REset Plastic, the Schwarz Group reduces plastic wherever possible and keeps it in the cycle wherever feasible. The Group has set ambitious targets for its private label packaging by 2025:

• to use 20 percent less plastic
• to make 100 percent of its private label packaging maximum recyclable
• to use an average of 25 percent recyclate 

In this way, the Schwarz Group is positioning itself as a pioneer in the circular economy and is thus investing in a clean future.       

More information about:
PreZero: PreZero Press Portal
Procter & Gamble: P&G Newsroom
REset Plastic: reset-plastic.com
OutNature: www.out-nature.de