Back in 2011, toom was the first DIY store in Germany to introduce emulsion paints in buckets made from recycled plastic. The buckets save around 30 per cent of CO2 emissions compared to conventional packaging. Today, the DIY store chain is taking stock: according to its own figures, almost 900 tonnes of CO2 had been saved by the end of last year.
„Sustainability is an important strategic topic at toom and we want to offer our customers alternatives for many topics and in many product areas. Packaging plays a major role in this context and we see great potential for further improvements“
Kai Battenberg, Senior Manager Sustainability at toom.
In addition, the respectful and Resource-conserving handling with the environment is an integral part of toom's corporate culture. Since 2011, the company has been the first German DIY store to switch containers of toom's own-brand emulsion paint to 100% recycled plastic. Thanks to this consistent optimisation, toom has been able to Reduction of climate-damaging emissions thus sustainably: By the end of 2018, the switch to recyclate containers in the paints and varnishes area alone had resulted in around 900 tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions.
Further measures in planning
The company is also currently working on further more sustainable products and packaging and, from this year onwards, will also be offering toom's own-brand chalk paints and the toom Xpress range in Recyclate containers offer. Through this consistent optimisation of product packaging, the DIY store is thus reducing its emissions sustainably: further alternative measures are planned at toom as part of the ongoing product range redesign: In the bulk sale there is, for example, the screws/hardware area. Here, customers can buy the quantity they need. Customers can also currently choose from Polythene bags available. In some stores, toom is currently also testing more sustainable versions made of paper in a smaller format.
The customer can exchange broken bags
In addition to replacing conventional plastics with recyclate, the Cologne-based DIY chain is also working on this, Reduce the mass and volume of packaging, to switch to certified materials (such as FSC/PEFC or recycled paper) and to improve the recyclability of packaging in order to close important raw material cycles. In addition, toom has not used any disposable bags since mid-2018. As a replacement, the stores offer their customers environmentally friendly Reusable variants in different sizes They can choose between trendy cotton carrier bags for €1.79, permanent carrier bags made from recycled material from 79 cents or cardboard boxes from 79 cents each. If one of the toom reusable carrier bags is broken, the customer receives a new bag in exchange as an additional service.
Source: REWE Group, toom Baumarkt
