Thinking inside the box: FLÖTER's data-driven climate action

About FLÖTER

FLÖTER is a specialist in air cushion solutions and packaging systems, headquartered in Schwieberdingen, near Stuttgart. Since its founding in 1978, the company has shaped the development of modern packaging solutions for logistics, shipping, and industry.

Climate action is firmly embedded in the company's mission statement and a central component of its strategic direction.

At the corporate level, FLÖTER pursues the goal of systematically reducing its environmental impact through energy efficiency, renewable energy, and certified management systems, among other measures.

At the product level, the focus is on material-efficient packaging solutions, a steadily growing share of sustainable products, and the continuous development of recyclable and alternative materials.

Some assembly required

FLÖTER wanted to further professionalise its climate action activities and manage them on a data-driven basis.

At the corporate level, the aim was to transparently capture the company's greenhouse gas emissions and establish a robust foundation for reduction targets and internal monitoring. At the product level, the goal was to make the carbon footprints of different packaging solutions comparable and to demonstrate the impact of sustainable materials based on traceable data.

At the same time, the external communication of climate action activities needed to be fact-based and credible, with transparent evidence for customers, partners, and the market.

Filling the gaps

FLÖTER worked with ClimatePartner to implement climate action in a systematic, measurable, and transparent way. Central to this was building a data foundation that captures both company-wide emissions and the carbon footprint of individual packaging products.

At the corporate level, the Corporate Carbon Footprint has been calculated since 2020 and continuously updated. FLÖTER accounts for direct emissions from its own operations, emissions from energy procurement, and relevant upstream and downstream value chain stages. This gives FLÖTER a consistent overview of its own greenhouse gas emissions and their development over time.

In addition, at the product level, Product Carbon Footprints were calculated for the entire product range. These calculations make it possible to compare the carbon footprint of individual packaging solutions and to clearly assess the influence of material choice, design, and manufacturing processes.

The results of the carbon accounting serve FLÖTER as a decision-making basis to prioritise and further develop its own reduction measures, both at the corporate and product level. Additionally, FLÖTER had the company as well as several packaging solutions ClimatePartner-certified. ClimatePartner also supported FLÖTER in the structured preparation and transparent communication of the results.

Signed, sealed, ClimatePartner certified

The collaboration with ClimatePartner has enabled FLÖTER to clearly structure its climate action efforts and make progress measurable.

At the corporate level, FLÖTER has:

• Created transparency over its own greenhouse gas emissions
• Defined reduction targets and achieved measurable progress
• Further expanded energy efficiency and renewable energy
• Optimised mobility, logistics, and internal processes
• Increased employee engagement in climate action topics
• Received the ClimatePartner certified label

At the product level, FLÖTER has:

• Calculated carbon footprints for the entire product portfolio
• Further developed packaging solutions with sustainability features
• Increased the share of sustainable products from 2% (2018) to more than 70% (2024)
• Created comparable carbon metrics for customers and internal decision-making
• Had nine products ClimatePartner certified

FLÖTER's packaging solutions have received multiple awards, including the German Packaging Award and the WorldStar Global Packaging Award.

In addition to its own reduction measures, FLÖTER supports a climate project for the expansion of renewable energy in Asia. Through its financial support of the project, FLÖTER contributes to emission reductions beyond its own value chain and strengthens its internal climate action strategy through impact-oriented engagement.

Just getting started

FLÖTER is consistently continuing its climate action journey. Further investments are planned in renewable heating, energy-efficient buildings, and low-emission infrastructure.

At the product level, FLÖTER continues to expand its portfolio of sustainable packaging solutions.

Carbon accounting remains a central instrument for measuring progress and deriving new measures in a targeted manner. The engagement in renewable energy beyond the company's own value chain will also continue to be regarded as a complementary component of the climate action strategy.

ClimatePartner continues to support FLÖTER in accounting, monitoring, and the transparent further development of its climate action strategy.