We harvest most of our raw ingredients by hand either in our herb garden, on the fields of our farm at the foot of the Swabian Jura mountains or through our partners all around the world. It is not only our past that leaves us with an obligation to protect the environment, but also our future.
Genuine, strictly certified organic farming protects our waters, strengthens the fertility of the soil and supports biodiversity. Over 90% of our vegetable raw materials are organically cultivated and many even meet the strict Demeter biodynamic criteria. This benefits the environment as sustainably farmed fields do not use synthetic fertilizers and are richer in humus. This enables them to store more CO2 on the one hand and cuts the amount of energy required for their farming by around 30 to 50 percent on the other hand.
And we think regional as well as organic: 70% of our fresh plants are regionally sourced. The short transport distances are good news for the quality of the raw materials and the environment. We source plants that are not native to our climate based on the principle ‘as close as possible, as far as necessary’. As a result, our organic almonds, for example, do not come from the far-flung shores of California (where 80% of all almonds are grown worldwide), but from Spain, much closer to our manufacturing facility in Germany.
The earth is a complex organism with various interlocking cycles that result in a stable system. However, this stability can only be maintained if people integrate themselves into the system responsibly. Not only do we use biodynamic methods of cultivation in our herb garden, we also promote the preservation of biodiversity across the entire company site. For example, by planting ancient, almost forgotten varieties of apple trees outside our logistics building, or by only mowing our meadow area twice a year, this gives grasses, herbs and flowers plenty of time to take root and provides a nesting place and source of food for wildlife. Ponds, multiple tree species, dead wood and piles of stones provide habitats for toads, dragonflies and many different birds.
We also invite visitors and employees alike to take a relaxing and informative stroll along our biodiversity path, where various information stations outline the many ways we are contributing to biodiversity.
Our skin care products are completely free from artificial preservatives. To ensure the valuable content maintains its high quality, we perform careful tests to determine which packaging offers the best protection for each product. After all, product protection is a form of resource protection – and thus contributes to environmental protection. Tubes, bottles or jars? Glass, plastic or aluminum? Each packaging material has its own individual benefits and drawbacks. We carefully consider which packaging material is most suitable for each product. Conserving the planet’s resources is our top priority. When choosing sustainable packaging materials here at Dr. Hauschka, we always base our decisions on the same aspects: product protection, material savings, recyclability and recycled content.
Our work at our head office site in Eckwälden, Germany has been climate neutral since 2020. About 92% of our total energy requirement is currently met by renewable energy, meaning we prevent the emission of around 1,800 tons of CO2 every year. This enables us to achieve 75% climate neutrality at our company head office. And this is genuine neutrality that does not need to be offset. We offset unavoidable CO2 emissions, for example as a result of travel, with the non-profit Atmosfair: our carbon offset fees support a biomass plant in India. However, we see it as our duty to work towards reducing harmful emissions even further because climate neutrality in Eckwälden alone is not enough for us. We want to reduce our CO₂ emissions to almost zero throughout the entire value chain as quickly as possible.
If you want to know exactly what we’re doing for the environment, you can find all the facts and figures in our Environmental Statement.
