Schneider Schreibgeräte GmbH has received the sustainability award from Sparkasse Schwarzwald-Baar.

The award ceremony took place on September 18, 2024 in front of 120 invited guests and recognised Schneider’s exemplary commitment, to sustainability, environmental protection, and resource conservation. The award is intended to encourage regional entrepreneurs to advance their transformation towards sustainability and to take on a role model function through climate-friendly business practices. The Sparkasse’s customer advisors, who have been observing Schneider’s sustainable measures for decades, nominated Schneider for the award. The jury then selected Schneider as the winner and rewarded them with a prize of 10,000 euros.

The prize was accepted by Martina and Christian Schneider. Schneider is delighted with the recognition and will reinvest the money in favour of sustainabilty.

Thinking and implementing climate protection in a new and solution-oriented way is Schneider’s aspiration. Sustainability has been deeply rooted in Schneider's corporate philosophy with EMAS certification since 1998. The focus in the industrial production of writing instruments is on durable and high-quality, yet cost-efficiently manufactured products. Through resource-saving production processes, regional manufacturing, environmentally friendly materials, a high recycling rate, and investments in renewable energy sources, Schneider proves that sustainability is a central concern of the family business.

Schneider is currently finalising a new automatic small parts warehouse with a large photovoltaic system on the roof. Efforts to reduce CO2 emissions through their own measures (voluntary EMAS certification since 1998, heat recovery, photovoltaic systems at all locations, reusable materials, electric vehicles, etc.) have been consistently and continuously pursued for a long time and transparently documented in a sustainability report including an environmental statement. Schneider is still the only writing instrument manufacturer to fulfill the requirements of the world's most demanding environmental management system EMAS (www.emas.de) at all production sites.

The keynote speech during the event was given by Spiegel bestselling author David Nelles, one of the authors of the book “Small Gases, Big Effect”. In his inspiring speech, he emphasised the communication of sustainability topics and that it is late, but not too late, to achieve something together. David Nelles is no stranger to Schneider. The company also uses his book in Schneider cover as a gift for customers.

The Sparkasse Sustainability Prize 2024 and the German Sustainability Prize 2024 motivate Schneider to continue its sustainability strategy in the future: Think sustainably. Act responsibly. Step by step. #theschneiderway.

[378 words, 2730 characters (including blank spaces) by Anita Haas]