Declaration of Support

Our responsibility is multifaceted, ranging from environmentally friendly technologies to volunteer work

“We are responsible for what we do and for what we do not do.” French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire gave us this piece of wisdom, which tesa has been taking to heart for generations. Around the world, we combine our economic actions with ecological and social measures, which we pursue and implement systematically. They comprise both large-scale investments in progressive technologies and tiny actions – from consistently raising awareness to the personal commitment of our employees. Our membership in the United Nations Global Compact underscores this sustainable business policy.

With numerous projects, tesa once again demonstrated in 2010 that many small elements add up to make a big impact. One of our outstanding achievements was the commissioning of a unique production unit in Hamburg that produces double-sided acrylate adhesive tapes. From an economic point of view, this new site enables us to gain a foothold in promising business segments. At the same time, the new procedure – developed and patented by tesa – is a ground-breaking innovation in ecological terms: In contrast to conventional processes, solvents are only used in the first stage of production. During the subsequent drying process they are extracted again and added back into the cycle. The result speaks for itself: The annual use of solvents and energy is reduced by 50 percent, in addition to which we have decreased CO2 emissions by 2,000 metric tons and do not employ any process water.

We have continued to systematically pursue our ambitious environmental goals. We have resumed and implemented cost-intensive projects that we were forced to put on ice in 2009 owing to the impact of the global economic crisis. They include a state-of-the-art ventilation system at the Hamburg plant. Our environmental efforts have also focused on our products. Since January 2010 we have been offering consumers extremely environmentally friendly solutions under the new tesa ecoLogo® sub-brand, including refillable products, recycled materials, renewable raw materials, and ecologically friendly production technologies. We are planning to continually expand our range, both in office supplies and in the DIY segment.

2010 also saw us continue with our social activities and advancing Corporate Volunteering internationally. Volunteer work is free but not for nothing: Disadvantaged children and teenagers benefit, as do the tesa employees – especially from the shared pleasure of reading together, renovation projects or leisure activities.

Furthermore, tesa continues to focus on systematically expanding its range of further training opportunities for its employees. An integral part of many further training measures are the tesa values and guidelines, as we are convinced that responsible and sustainable business is only possible if our employees are suitably qualified.

For nearly 100 years, the tesa name has stood for innovative solutions, high quality, and dependable service. We will continue our efforts to uphold these standards into the future – along with acting sustainably and following the spirit of the UN Global Compact.

Thomas Schlegel,
CEO of tesa SE