Paving the way for a sustainable future

In March, we were the first company in the pet food industry to be certified by the TÜV Rheinland according to the ZNU standard of sustainable management*. This certification makes our sustainability activities measurable, and we lay the foundation for a more sustainable corporate management. In order to obtain the certificate, companies have to establish and evidence a systematic sustainability management. In addition to the company’s more strategic sustainable focus, this also includes implementing and documenting a number of measures at the ecological, economic and social level.

As a family company in the third generation, we are aware of our responsibility towards future generations and thus place very special significance on the topic of sustainability. Internally, we have long considered options for a more sustainable corporate management and how we can implement it – the certification now makes it possible to measure and identify our approach. “We at MERA are convinced of the ZNU standard, since it covers sustainability in its entirety. It also includes those areas that, at first glance, are not necessarily associated with the topic", explains our Director Felix Vos. “From the overall view of sustainability, we cannot simply exclude a sub-area, because sustainability goes far beyond the purely ecological measures”, as continued by Vos.

In order to view sustainability holistically in all corporate processes, the ZNU Standard of Sustainable Management considers two different parts. The first part is mostly about corporate governance. Here it is essential to continuously develop all processes and decisions in the cycle "think / act / measure / communicate". In the second part, sustainability is considered in the areas "environment, economy and social affairs", according to these premises at all times. However, the initial inspection by TÜV Rheinland Cert is not enough: Part of the certification process is to repeat the inspection every year and to achieve continuous improvement. 

We have set ourselves ambitious goals in the course of certification, which build on existing measures to some extent. For example, our production has already been running on 100% green electricity for over six years. The goal is to operate completely climate-neutral at the Kevelaer site by 2021. In addition, we filter the odours that inevitably arise during production using the extrusion process through our in-house biobed.

A value-oriented cooperation and a positive corporate culture are particularly important for us as part of our daily work. That’s why we offer our employees important further training measures as well as a company health management system, and hence create secure jobs with future prospects. We do not only implement the topic of sustainability at management level, because every single one of our employees can make a difference. So as to raise awareness and to better exploit their own potential, all MERA employees can participate in special mindfulness courses. A further measure that benefits both the environment and colleagues alike, is the newly introduced e-bike leasing.

You can find more information about our sustainability goals here.

* Sustainability standard of the Centre for Sustainable Corporate Management (ZNU) of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Witten/Herdecke