Sustainability Report 2016 / 2017

31 Initiative Frosch Award-winning Product Design Cradle to Cradle ® Design includes a detailed evaluation key to assess the materials used, their recyclability, use of energy and water and the social im- pact of product cycles and methods of production. We compared the key to our in-house raw materials and formu- la evaluation system and subsequently improved our approach. Since 2013 we have had the products from the Frosch and green care Professional brands certified against the stringent requirements of the Cradle to Cradle Certified TM process. We were the first company in the cleaning indus- try in Europe to receive the award “Cradle to Cradle Certified TM Gold” for our Frosch Citrus Shower & Bath Cleaner. In the same year another 18 green care Professional brand products received Gold designation. To date, 27 products from green care Professional have been certified. Development with Pioneer Spirit In pursuit of our objective of genuine eco-effec­ tiveness, we are making our products suitable for material recycling and reuse. Consider the example of products offered in stand-up pouches. The packages are sustainable per se as 70 percent of the packaging material can be saved, compared to other bottles. However, that’s not enough for us. With the project “Solu- tions for a recyclable stand-up pouch”, we want to revolutionize the recyclability of the pouches. Once again we demonstrate our pioneer spirit in doing what no one else in the industry has done. In Mondi, a large, global packaging manufacturer, we have found a strong partner that works toward this ambitious goal with the same strict sustain- ability standards as Werner & Mertz. The project is supported by EPEA Switzerland GmbH, which develops international Cradle to Cradle ® projects, and by DSD (Dual System Deutschland).