However, it is also true that our business activities consume resources—for example, in the form of raw materials, materials, consumables, and packaging—both within our own operations and throughout the supply chain. That’s why we are working to reduce resource consumption, increase the proportion of renewable and recycled materials, and develop our products towards greater circularity.

Our buckets are fully recyclable. The prerequisite for this is that it is returned to the recycling loop. We support this in Germany by offering our customers free disposal via the recycling system—for example, through on-site collection at construction sites with Caparol in Germany.

Our economy operates linearly: raw materials are extracted, products are manufactured, consumed, and disposed of at the end of their life cycle—with corresponding consequences for people and nature.

Circular economy means designing products and packaging in a way that they last longer, can be repaired, reused, or recycled—with the goal of conserving primary resources, avoiding waste, and reducing environmental impacts. This is especially challenging in the construction industry: the lifespan of buildings extends over decades and materials are often tightly bound together, making separation—a prerequisite for recycling—difficult. Nevertheless, we are addressing this issue. In the medium term, our approach is to develop product solutions for circular construction.

In the short term, we are pursuing various approaches to reduce resource consumption:

In some of our products—both Caparol and Alpina—we use renewable raw materials, such as camelina oil in binders. When cultivating camelina, existing pure pea fields are converted into mixed fields of peas and camelina, without requiring additional farmland. This benefits nature: for example, camelina serves as a valuable food source for wild bees.