Ecological responsibility
We design our processes and products in such a way that resources are conserved, emissions are reduced, and environmental impacts are minimized along the entire value chain.
Sustainability –
more than just a promise for us
Sustainability plays an important role in everything we do. We are committed making us fit for future generations and creating better global living conditions.
Our many facets of sustainability
We combine economic success with a high level of social responsibility. Our values are reflected in many ways: Freudenberg Performance Materials, as part of the Freudenberg Group, has set itself clear environmental goals and aims to become a carbon-neutral company by 2045.
We also promote diversity in our workforce and stand for a corporate culture in which all employees can contribute their strengths. We also take this responsibility outside the company, in many areas where help is needed. We are clearly guided by the EU's ESG sustainability goals (E= Environmental, S= Social, G= Governance) and the UN's Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs).
Social commitment
As a responsible company, we create safe, fair and diverse working conditions and are committed to education, health and social interaction worldwide.
Economic efficiency
Sustainability is an integral part of our business model – through innovative technologies and efficient processes, we create long-term added value for customers, employees and society.
"Our sustainability strategy 2030 does not only reflect evolving customer expectations and regulatory pressures, but also our commitment to advancing topics such as carbon emission reduction, responsible resource usage, waste reduction and recycling."
Christian Frevel, Global Head of Sustainability
For Download
Sustainability Report 2024PDF12,2 MB
A clear line for sustainability
Supply Chain: Supply Chain and Raw Materials forms the basis of our sustainability ambitions. We aim for circularity, nearshoring, optimization of CO2 emission along the upstream supply chain – from sourcing to supplying our markets. carbon footprint reduction on the raw material supplier side along with enhancing the share of recycled and biodegradable materials.
Footprint: We continuously optimize our own processes and systems in order to conserve resources and minimize our ecological footprint.
Handprint: Our products and solutions help customers to make their own manufacturing processes more efficient and environmentally friendly - and thus make a positive contribution to their handprint.
Heartprint: Our aim is to create a living culture of sustainability that is actively recognized and shaped by all employees. To this end, we are developing processes and standards that systematically promote sustainability and make it an integral part of our daily activities.
Reducing CO2 emissions – we have a goal!
Freudenberg Performance Materials has a clear goal. We want to be CO₂-neutral by 2045. One key to this lies in the responsible use of raw materials. We already use a high proportion of recycled materials in many of our products. Our strategic orientation is based on the design-for-recycling principle. We consistently develop products made from just one polymer and without chemical binders - in other words, high-tech nonwovens that can be efficiently reused. At the same time, we regard waste from our own processes and those of our customers as a valuable source of raw materials, so that we can return high-performance materials to production in coordinated recycling processes. With our take-back program, we go one step further: together with our customers, we develop solutions - such as mono-material-based shoe components - that can be returned to the production cycle at the end of their life cycle. We are working flat out to make our strategy a reality. The progress is measurable: by 2030, we want to reduce our CO₂ emissions by 45% compared to the base year 2020 - we are currently already at -29%.
The 5 key principles
of sustainable product development
Durability
Today’s products and future developments must all offer consistent, long-lasting performance with as little wear and tear as possible, because this substantially increases their durability – a key aspect of sustainability. Freudenberg Performance Materials invests in technologies to make pioneering advancements that radically improve products. One example is changing the structure of materials in ways that extend their durability to improve overall sustainability.
Compostability
Freudenberg Performance Materials uses polymers that can be broken down into their natural basic components (water, carbon dioxide) through a composting process. This means that under the right conditions, no microplastics are produced. We work closely with our customers to develop customized, compostable solutions that ensure stability in the applications and can be properly composted as desired.
Renewability
Switching to using biopolymers instead of petroleum-based polymers supports Freudenberg Performance Materials’s objective to reduce carbon emissions. Using renewable, environmentally friendly resources impactfully minimizes the carbon footprint of raw materials used. Here we work together with innovative and responsible suppliers.
Dematerialization
Freudenberg Performance Materials is enhancing and optimizing its technologies to achieve consistently high performance while minimizing resource consumption. These developments help to significantly reduce the weight of our customers’ products.
Recycling
In order to develop products that are both functional and environmentally friendly, we focus on material solutions made from just one polymer. This simplifies the recycling process, because at the end of its service life, such a product can be completely and efficiently recycled in a closed material cycle.
Durability
Today’s products and future developments must all offer consistent, long-lasting performance with as little wear and tear as possible, because this substantially increases their durability – a key aspect of sustainability. Freudenberg Performance Materials invests in technologies to make pioneering advancements that radically improve products. One example is changing the structure of materials in ways that extend their durability to improve overall sustainability.
Compostability
Freudenberg Performance Materials uses polymers that can be broken down into their natural basic components (water, carbon dioxide) through a composting process. This means that under the right conditions, no microplastics are produced. We work closely with our customers to develop customized, compostable solutions that ensure stability in the applications and can be properly composted as desired.
Renewability
Switching to using biopolymers instead of petroleum-based polymers supports Freudenberg Performance Materials’s objective to reduce carbon emissions. Using renewable, environmentally friendly resources impactfully minimizes the carbon footprint of raw materials used. Here we work together with innovative and responsible suppliers.
Dematerialization
Freudenberg Performance Materials is enhancing and optimizing its technologies to achieve consistently high performance while minimizing resource consumption. These developments help to significantly reduce the weight of our customers’ products.
Recycling
In order to develop products that are both functional and environmentally friendly, we focus on material solutions made from just one polymer. This simplifies the recycling process, because at the end of its service life, such a product can be completely and efficiently recycled in a closed material cycle.
Highlights
Biodegradable materials
With comfortemp® TencelTM padding, Freudenberg Performance Materials has developed the first 100% biodegradable padding made from sustainably produced cellulose fibers that completely decomposes in the soil within 57 days - and at the same time meets all the requirements for high-performance thermal insulation for sports and outdoor clothing.
Exemplary green roofs
The green roof of the Javits Center in New York City shows how we contribute to sustainable urban development with Enka® Solutions. With excellent drainage, protection and filtration properties of the entire roof cladding, long-lasting green roofs can improve urban sustainability and provide habitat and resources for urban dwelling fauna. They also improve the urban microclimate by generating evaporative cooling, thereby lowering temperatures both outside and inside the building.
Let's talk about
your sustainable
product
We will work with you to find the right solution for your sustainable product solutions. Our comprehensive standard portfolio is already geared towards this. Let's talk about how we can work together to develop a customized product that is perfectly tailored to the needs of your market.
Our commitment to
global initiatives
Our commitment is strategically defined in our DNA with a clear focus on responsibility for people and society. Freudenberg prioritizes nine of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which were proclaimed as a global framework in 2016, shortly after the Paris Climate Conference. We are actively committed to these goals and always act in a value-oriented manner. Because values are non-negotiable and it is equally important to communicate our own actions to the public, Freudenberg is also a member of the UN Global Compact.
Achieving sustainability goals –
we are committed in all directions
Efficient processes, sustainable materials and innovative solutions: At Freudenberg Performance Materials, we live sustainability in practice with a consistent objective. We pursue resource-conserving production, use environmentally friendly raw materials, pay attention to their maximum efficiency and energy optimization in order to generate added value for people, the environment and society as a whole – for an optimistic view of the future.
Freudenberg Performance Materials is actively committed to the development and promotion of green hydrogen – as a key technology for a climate-neutral future. We invest specifically in sustainable materials that make the production and use of hydrogen more efficient and sustainable. These include gas diffusion layers (GDL) for fuel cells and special solutions for electrolysers that can produce hydrogen without CO2 emissions. An outstanding example is our high-performance carbon electrode material, which was developed specifically for use in PEM and AEM electrolysers. It makes a decisive contribution to the performance, durability and efficiency of modern hydrogen systems.
With the BEE – Be Energy Efficient initiative, Freudenberg Performance Materials is pursuing the goal of systematically reducing energy consumption and embedding sustainable practices deeply in the corporate culture. We are working worldwide to make our processes more energy-efficient, optimize existing facilities, and deploy new technologies in a targeted manner where they contribute to long-term CO₂ reduction. At the same time, we are raising awareness of the responsible use of energy – in the daily activities of our teams as well as in the strategic development of our production. BEE therefore stands not only for technical efficiency, but also for a holistic understanding of sustainable production processes that combines economic thinking with ecological responsibility.
Freudenberg Performance Materials is investing specifically in the expansion of renewable energies – with the clear goal of steadily increasing the share of green electricity in our energy requirements. An important component of this is the large-scale installation of photovoltaic systems on the roofs of our production sites. In addition, we use power purchase agreements (PPAs) to further increase our procurement of renewable electricity. Today, nearly 900,000 m² of PV area is already in operation. In 2024, our share of green electricity was 29.7% – by 2030, we want to reach 50% through the combined use of various forms of renewable energy.
Water is a valuable resource – and at Freudenberg Performance Materials, it is part of a holistic sustainable production process. To make water consumption as environmentally friendly and efficient as possible, we operate our own water treatment plants at selected locations. This technology enables us to purify and recover process water and, in some cases, feed it back into the production cycle. This not only reduces our fresh water requirements, but also the burden on municipal sewage systems and the environment. Our own water treatment is a further step toward closed material cycles and demonstrates how we combine economic action with ecological responsibility.
With our Take-Back Program, we take responsibility – not only for the quality of our products, but also for their entire life cycle. Freudenberg Performance Materials offers the option of returning used materials or production residues in a controlled manner so that they can be recycled in a resource-efficient manner or disposed of properly. The program is a central component of our strategy to promote the circular economy. It helps to avoid waste, keep high-quality raw materials in the recycling cycle, and reduce CO₂ emissions. We rely on partnership-based cooperation with our customers, efficient reverse logistics processes, and a clear take-back logic – tailored to the respective application.
By actively participating in the Freudenberg initiative “We all take care,” Freudenberg Performance Materials is sending a strong signal about its commitment to responsibility. After all, sustainable action does not begin with strategies, but with people – with every single person in the company. Whether it's occupational safety, health, environmental or social responsibility: our contributions promote conscious, responsible behavior in everyday working life – across all hierarchies, locations, and functional areas. It creates space for initiative, mutual mindfulness, and concrete improvements that have a long-term impact. “We all take care” is an expression of a corporate culture in which safety, respect, and care are not seen as obligations, but as a shared attitude.
Join us on our path
to sustainability
Benefit from our expertise and our numerous products and solutions to help you produce more efficiently and sustainably or make your products more resource-efficient.