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SUSTAINABLE ACTION

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND NATURE CONSERVATION

For us as a manufacturer of soils, sustainable action is in the nature of things. Natural raw materials form the basis of our products. These, in turn, primarily serve plant growth. Therefore, sustainability and the responsible use of resources have always been deeply rooted in our company. Not least because of this direct connection to the environment and to plants, the "Green Thread of Sustainability" runs through all our corporate divisions.

"Peat substitute only makes sense if it does not result in any loss of quality - better still: if the safety of cultivation and application is even increased by alternative raw materials."

Clemens Wehner
Site Manager Warngau Plant

Responsible use of resources

Our culture substrate and potting soils contain less peat than the industry average. Nevertheless, peat cannot be completely replaced at present because there is no raw material that combines all the positive properties of peat. Therefore, several substances have to be mixed to achieve comparable results.

We extract the peat we use ourselves in strict compliance with all the requirements of the licensing authorities. For us, sustainable management of the land is just as much a part of sustainable action as the renaturation and protection of former peat extraction areas.

In the production of our substrates, we only use as much peat as necessary. We have been using renewable raw materials for decades wherever you optimize the product advantages and increase the cultural security. We source wood fibres, bark humus and substrate compost from the region, and we mine clay ourselves in a nearby pit.

PEAT EXTRACTION AND MOOR PROTECTION

Peat extraction and moor protection have been much debated topics for decades. The soil industry is often accused of destroying moors in the production of culture substrates and potting soils.

But exactly, the opposite is the case:
As a substrate manufacturer, we convert moor that have been destroyed by agricultural use back into moor conservation areas after peat extraction. And we also bear the financial burden all by ourselves.

Because: In Germany, since the late 1980s, peat extraction has only been permitted on previously used, often fallow, agricultural land. These were drained decades ago and the moor vegetation was completely ruined when it was converted into arable land. Intact moors - which they hardly exist in Germany any more - are under nature protection and must not be touched.

In our mining regions for white and black peat, peat extraction is strictly regulated in both Germany and the Baltic States. After extraction, the surface must be rewetted and renatured. We bear the costs.

PEAT SUBSTITUTES

Pioneering role in clay and wood fibre

We have been adding fresh natural clay to peat substrates since the 1950s. Among other things, it improves the water and nutrient storage and buffering effect, two of the most important properties of a substrate. At the end of the 1970s, the first trials with bark humus as a substitute followed in the 1980s with wood chippings and fibres. Today, we use 12 sustainable ingredients, including natural clay, wood fibre, bark humus and compost, most of which we source locally.

Currently, the proportion of peat substitutes in our production soils is over 30 percent. Many standard products are already completely peat-free. In the soils sold under our frux brand, peat makes up less than 50 percent of the entire range - more than 10 soils are already completely peat-free now.

Current proportion of peat substitutes

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THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT PEAT EXTRACTION

Only about 4% of Germany's raised bogs are used for peat extraction - the majority for agriculture (56%) as well as bentgrass and wooded areas (24%), and forests grow on 8% of the original bog areas. 8% of the raised bogs are intact and under nature conservation.

Of the peat extracted annually in the European Union, 13 % comes from Germany, 6 % from Estonia and 3 % from Lithuania. 40% of the peat is extracted in Finland and 21% in Ireland. Half of the peat is extracted for energy use, 42 % is used for culture substrate and potting soils.

The CO2 proportion of peat extraction in the total nationwide emissions is less than 0.2 %. Of the total emissions from moors, peat extraction for the production of culture substrate and potting soils accounts for 6 %, while agriculture accounts for 84 %.

The Baltic states also have the same strict regulations on peat extraction as Germany. With their accession to the EU, the Baltic states have transposed the European legislation for Natura 2000 (including biodiversity, species protection) into national law.

After the peat has been extracted, we wet the surface and renature them extensively. Through the new settlement of flora and partly protected fauna, intact moor with a high level of biodiversity are created again. The areas are then usually designated as nature reserves, which are permanently monitored by biologists.

Here, too, extraction permits include an environmental impact assessment prior to peat extraction, as well as mining and restoration plans.

As a member of the German Garden Industry Association (IVG), we support the establishment of a certification system for the responsible extraction and sustainable use of peat on a European level. Our commitment is also confirmed by the 1st prize in the competition for exemplary recultivation measures carried out by the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

We stand by our responsibility

In all of this, sustainable action runs like a green thread through all business areas. It includes, among other things, the careful use of all resources, short delivery routes, the reduction of packaging material and the development of products that help to save water and fertiliser. This is reflected in our Principle of Responsibility" label. But also that sustainability does not come at the expense of product quality. Our aim is to improve the cultivation and application safety of substrates and soils even further by using alternative raw materials.

...ready for the future!

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