Honored with the Circular Champion Award
An innovative solution that paves the way to a circular economy and serves as a model for other companies: Our sustainable stand-up pouch, the world’s first fully recyclable stand-up pouch, convinced the expert jury, consisting of representatives from business, science and society, in the ‘Innovative Solutions’ category. Werner & Mertz has now been honored with the Circularity Champion Award 2024 as Circular Solution Leader. Werner & Mertz owner Reinhard Schneider accepted the award on 13 November at the Responsible Leadership Conference.
“These projects set new standards for responsible business and impressively demonstrate how companies can effect lasting, positive changes with innovative circular economy models,” the jury said about the innovations of the award-winning companies. “We are very pleased to receive the jury’s recognition. It’s important to us, as an innovative, sustainable company, to be a pioneer of a new ecological market standard. Other providers in our detergent and cleaning products sector have followed our lead and put our technology to use. Together we show that a functioning circular economy and climate protection go hand in hand,” said Schneider as he accepted the award from jury member Isabel Gomez.
Our sustainable stand-up pouch has convinced the expert jury in the category „Innovative Solutions“ © Werner & Mertz GmbH
Major influence on the recycling business and sector
In cooperation with its partner Mondi, Werner & Mertz put the patented flexible stand-up pouch of a monomaterial on the market at the end of a multi-year development project. Designed according to the Cradle-to-Cradle® Principle, the pouch is forward-looking and sustainable. It can be completely recycled mechanically and, for the first time, 85 percent of its total weight can be recycled to a high quality standard. The complete recyclability was certified by the independent Institute cyclos-HTP and Interseroh.
The development of the stand-up pouch played a part in the design of sorting facilities. In the past, plastic film pieces smaller than letter-sized paper were incinerated because there was no way to sort and recycle them. Such plastic pieces make up approximately 40 percent of the Yellow Bag contents and represent enormous, previously untapped potential for CO2 avoidance. With the Design for Recycling in mind, the cooperation partners set out to develop a stand-up pouch that was completely recyclable not simply in theory but in practice. In the design of the sorting equipment in Gernsheim—one of the most modern sorting facilities in Germany—the pouch is recognized by the machine and then fed into material recycling processes
The award-winning mono-material pouch is part of the Switch System from Tana-Chemie, part of the Werner & Mertz Group. The overall concept for professional users under the Green Care Professional brand consists of ultra-concentrates, dosing bottle and refill bag. The advantages: User-friendliness, cost-effectiveness and sustainability, all in the spirit of the circular economy.
About the Circularity Champion Award
The Circularity Champion Award, initiated by Cradle to Cradle NGO and F.A.Z.-Institut, honors companies for innovative approaches and outstanding achievements in the circular economy. In 2024, seven companies were selected from 85 applicants as award winners in three categories. The awards ceremony took place during the 13th Responsible Leadership Conference in Frankfurt am Main on 13 November.
