INTEGRITE Preserving the environment

The ecological transition is currently prompting companies to make numerous efforts that can sometimes seem like challenges in the face of environmental emergencies. These efforts are necessary and are part of our global vision of what a responsible and sustainable company should be at the beginning of the 21st century. As pioneers in the sale of organically grown tea, minimizing our environmental impact has been one of our priorities since our creation in 1994.

Waste and transport: what we do to minimize our environmental impact

Over the last few years, we've paid particular attention to the issues of waste management and transport. Here's a quick overview of the various measures we've taken.

Producing less waste upstream

Developing new packaging is not without environmental consequences, and we study how easy it is to recycle and the impact it will have once it has become waste (see our article on eco-design). More generally, we take into account the carbon footprint these developments entail. Most of our suppliers are European, and we give preference to environmentally-friendly materials wherever possible.

We integrate into our development the crucial points of the materials used, the impact of their entire life cycle, the proximity of the manufacturer and its best practices, the technologies used and their consequences on the environment. But since the best waste is that which is not produced, we strongly encourage our customers to adopt the "refill attitude" via our communications on social networks or directly in our store in Wittisheim, Alsace. Finally, we have a growing number of professional customers who wish to sell our teas loose, and for whom we have designed specific dispensers with the help of a French partner. For reasons of hygiene, but also to respect the integrity of the tea leaves, we have developed an innovative and safe solution that avoids the need for a bin with a shovel or a metal box.

Recycling the waste we produce as much as possible

We are constantly seeking new solutions to reduce the impact of our waste on the environment. From January to mid-November 2022, for example, we produced 6880 kg of non-hazardous industrial waste, i.e. all mixed non-inert and non-hazardous waste produced by the usual activities of a professional.

Of these 6880 kg, we recycled 100% of 2190 kg of cardboard and 1060 kg of wood, thanks to a recovery network set up with our partners.

As for our lost pallets, they are recycled through the creation of outdoor furniture by the association Les Jardins de la Montagne verte in Strasbourg, with whom we have had a partnership since 2018. To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we placed an order for ten pieces of garden furniture with this particularly creative and dynamic local association.

To send our parcels, we use cardboard boxes which, although they don't carry our logo, do the job very well... And to protect the products sent inside these boxes, we use "friezes" that we make in-house using a machine dedicated to cardboard recycling.

Finally, in this same recycling approach, we have set up an original partnership with the Strasbourg-based association Libre Objet in 2019. The idea is to provide them with objects that the association exploits as raw materials (old metal tea tins, vintage bags) and which are reworked to give them a new life. Empty tins, for example, can either simply change their appearance or be used as useful new objects, diverted from their original function. In particular, the association calls on artists in an "upcycling" project in which beautiful objects for everyday use are created from the raw materials we provide.

The cleanest possible means of transport

We are well aware that our business, particularly bringing in tea and rooibos from far-flung producing countries, is not without consequences for the environment.

As part of our efforts to minimize the impact of these imports, we offset all carbon emissions linked to the transport of raw materials from the countries of origin to our production site in Alsace, giving preference to sea and river routes over air and road.

For the proper management of these CO2 offsets, we have set up a partnership with the NGO Initiative Développement since 2018. Through this partnership, we finance a humanitarian and ecological project that promotes access to a cooking tool that preserves natural Congolese resources (the Congo M'bote cooker), in the Brazzaville region.

As far as company vehicles are concerned, we have opted for hybrid cars, especially for our field sales staff who have to cover a lot of kilometers during the year.

At the same time, we encourage our employees to avoid using their internal combustion vehicles whenever possible. And it works! Since 2021, the number of participants in the "Bike to Work" challenge has only increased, with 22 cyclists for 80 employees (i.e. 4275 km covered and 825 kg of CO2 not emitted). In addition to this unifying initiative for employees living in a geographical area close to the site, we favor telecommuting whenever the position allows, and carpooling for those living further away.

To ensure that our commitments are real, we are currently carrying out a full carbon audit in partnership with ID Alsace and with the support of ADEME.

The results of this study (coming soon), which we'll share with you in this article, should help us to further improve our waste and transport management.