At HABA, sustainability is written with a capital S – in all areas

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Environmentally-friendly production

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Both in the selection of materials and in the production processes used, the protection of natural resources is a priority for HABA. This is demonstrated by, among other things, the PEFC seal. We have been marking our wooden toys with this seal since 2010, because the beech and birch wood we use for these comes from sustainable forests. We therefore support the preservation of an ecological balance of forests and make a significant and lasting contribution to improving forest use and maintenance. In addition, we continuously optimize our production conditions, use environmentally-friendly processes, and improve the technologies used. We constantly investigate how much material is used and the amount of emissions and waste. Modern energy management is just as much second nature to us as the enhancement of our machines and buildings from an ecological viewpoint. HABA became the first German toy manufacturer to pass the Öko-Audit (Eco Audit) in 1999 and has since strived towards continuous environmental management in accordance with DIN ISO 14001.

Modern energy management

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We have an energy management system certified to ISO 50001. The aim is to continuously improve the energy-related performance of the HABA Family of Companies, increase our energy efficiency, and optimize our own consumption of energy. This standard describes the requirements placed on a company to introduce, operate, and continuously optimize its energy management system. Energy management records all energy flows in the company, evaluates these, and offers suggestions for energy saving and more efficient consumption. The responsible use of energy is an essential part of our activities in terms of our building technology and the expansion of office and production space – this applies to all of the HABA Family of Companies’ sites. Our principles and measures can be found in the Energy Policy of the HABA Family of Companies.

Continuous environmental management

Our environmental management system is certified to ISO 14001. We analyze environmental influences and the environmental impacts of our company and identify potential for improvement, which we realize step by step. It is important to us to pursue sustainable environmental protection at all stages of our work and we have set ourselves the goal of becoming even better. How? By providing our employees with systematic training to further promote their environmental awareness. If we do not manufacture a product ourselves, then it comes from long-standing partners who we trust and who we know also work according to stringent environmental standards. When shipping our products, we use the most environmentally-friendly and recyclable packaging material possible – and only as much as we really need. The conservation of resources and the reduction of pollutant emissions are firmly anchored in our Environmental Policy.

Environmental protection and sustainability in building technology

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Recycling of leftover wood, use of rainwater for sanitation facilities, office air-conditioning through earth-air heat exchangers, electricity generation by photovoltaic systems, natural open spaces and facades, green roofs – the list of our measures to protect the environment is long. And they concern all members of the HABA Family of Companies, as we don’t just pull together when it comes to environmental awareness. For us, complying with all applicable environmental laws and standards is not an obligation but second nature. Sustainable action is a central element of the corporate philosophy – the office building “Leschenhof”, which was completed at the end of 2012, also represents this tradition and was awarded the Certificate in Gold by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB – German Sustainable Building Council). This is a voluntary national and international standard for the classification of environmentally-friendly, resource-saving, and sustainable buildings. Around 60 criteria from the fields of ecology, economy, socio-cultural and functional aspects, technology, processes, and location are incorporated in the evaluation. The HABA Family of Companies’ office building meets 84.6% of the evaluation criteria and is thus one of the top 20 buildings certified with gold in Germany. The certificate was presented in fall 2014.

Environmental protection means regional animal welfare

Environmental protection also means the protection of native animals. At its Bad Rodach site, the HABA Family of Companies has many tall buildings such as silos for wood chips or a high-bay warehouse. We have installed nesting boxes on these which are used year after year by kestrels, swifts, and other birds. In addition, the hedges bordering the company car parks provide the ideal habitat for smaller bird species and many other animals. HABA is therefore home to a total of 24 different bird species on the company premises and is thus helping to protect the animal species that have settled here.