Marabu Goes Sustainable ?For the Sake of Future Generations"

Sustainability is of growing importance to specialty imagers, and SGIA’s Sustainability Recognition Program strives to recognize members as they take steps toward realizing sustainable business practices. Adopting a sustainable business ethic requires a strong commitment on the part of both management and the workforce, and Marabu GmbH & Co. has made that commitment. “In the interests of future generations, we cannot afford a 'profit at any price' attitude,” reads Marabu’s Environmental Report. Environmental protection and hazardous material management practices have been an established part of Marabu's manufacturing practices for decades. In manufacturing occasionally, choices must be made in an effort to achieve short term goal, but Marabu's long term goal is clear: “To protect and conserve our natural environment and its essential resources — air, water and soil.” In 2014 and moving into 2015, Marabu's focus was on removing any highly toxic chemicals from their most popular products. The ultimate goal was to remove N-Methyl-2-Pyroolidone (NMP) from the ClearShield line of liquid coatings. NMP was classified as a “substance of very high concern” by REACH and is being phased out all over Europe, and Marabu was dedicated to following suit. Due to the reclassification of the raw material “Tetraglyme,” they also reformulated the MaraJet inks. Both reformulations were done to maintain total product integrity while making them safer for Marabu customers and the environment. In 2013, Marabu achieved ISO 9001 and 14001 certification for subsidiaries in China, the US, Sweden and Brazil. Implementing a global environmental management system ensures compliance with locally applicable legal requirements, encouraging active consideration of environmental footprints and striving for continuous improvement. Knowledge and experience is shared with partners, pushing them, in turn, to take responsibility for sustainable operation. The environmental policy at play — communicated through the Web, press releases, social media, mailings and more — is guided by nine principles:

1. An accepted responsibility for safety and environmental protection, as a company in the chemical industry
2. Voluntary abstention from the use of highly toxic or hazardous substances
3. The development of cutting-edge products geared to reducing emissions in production and processing
4. Responsible, moderate consumption of natural resources such as energy and raw materials
5. Corporate social responsibility
6. Continuous improvement of environmental management and performance
7. Investment in state-of-the-art plants and equipment
8. Participating and proactive contribution to chemical industry associations on quality, health and safety, and environmental protection issues
9. An expectation of suppliers to meet the same high standards

Established over 150 years ago, Marabu has traditionally kept a focus on the future, making their first environmental improvement in 1888. Since then Marabu has made continual efforts to not only minimize their footprint. Conserving resources and using renewable materials is a company-wide goal implemented by all employees, whether they work in the office or in production. Additional advancements include the improvement of new UV-curable screen inks for glass that consume up to 65 per cent less energy compared to thermal curing of ceramic inks. Furthermore Marabu has developed special inks for direct printing of size specifications, washing instructions or brand labels onto textiles which offers multiple advantages compared to heat transfer labels and eliminates the need for stock-keeping of them. For more information about Marabu’s commitment to sustainability, or to learn more about the services they offer, visit www.marabu-northamerica.com​. About Marabu  Marabu GmbH & Co is a leading global manufacturer of printing inks for digital, screen, and pad printing with headquarters near Stuttgart in Germany and subsidiary locations in the UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, France, Spain, Italy, US, Brazil, Paraguay, Russia, China, Singapore and distribution partners in more than 80 countries. Marabu's philosophy centers on maximizing productivity both in terms of our own manufacture, but also to assist our customers in maximizing their own productivity. This is achieved by means of supplying industry leading tolerances as well as product and process consultancy.