Sustainability at Kotányi — responsibility is our passion
We intend to set an example and work together with our community to leave future generations a planet that is still worth inhabiting.
Our Passion — Our Responsibility
Herbs and spices have been our passion since 1881. We depend on nature’s valuable resources, and we’ve set ourselves a clear goal: we want to fulfill our responsibility toward society and the environment in and with which we live through sustainable action.
Our Sustainability Report
By acting sustainably, we mean responsible procurement practices and sustainable logistics and production processes that help to preserve biodiversity, conserve resources, protect the climate and ensure decent working conditions throughout the supply chain. Our second sustainability report has been audited by Quality Austria Trainings-, Zertifizierungs- und Begutachtungs GmbH and found to be compliant with the GRI Standards.
Sustainable suppliers
We rely on long-standing partnerships and approved suppliers — so we’re all on the same wavelength. When new strategic suppliers are approved, one of the things we check is whether they can prove compliance with the Sedex SMETA core criteria.
Long-term partnership
It goes without saying that our existing suppliers have also undergone a strict approval procedure, as part of which we ensure that their practices are ethically sustainable. Our Supplier Code of Conduct has served as a basis for our business relations with our suppliers for many years.
A project close to our hearts
Working together with Hungarian farmers from the region, fallow fields are managed using traditional methods. Fair pay and compliance with our strict quality standards are a matter of course for us.
Sustainable raw materials
We’ve set ourselves the task of conserving our raw materials as the precious gifts of nature that they are, as well as consciously avoiding raw materials that have a detrimental impact on our environment. We don’t want to use palm oil, and we have removed it from every product where this is technically feasible. Over 99% of our products already contain no palm oil. We are aware that we can do more to achieve our goal, and we are committed to only sourcing palm oil from certified sources (RSPO).
Guaranteed Organic
As well as our herbs and spices grown using conventional methods, we also offer organic versions — and guarantee that organic really does mean organic. Our organic products are certified with the Austria BIO Garantie (with the control number AT-BIO-301). This ensures that our herbs and spices come from organic agriculture and meet the highest standards.
Sustainable packaging
As well as handling raw materials efficiently and responsibly, we are also aiming to reduce the weight of our packaging materials in order to cut waste volumes. And we want to make the materials we use much easier to recycle in future. Our spice mill can be disposed of in your glass recycling — including the top part and the lid. By recycling the packaging, you’re playing an important role in protecting the climate, as recycled glass is often used to produce new glass. According to Austria Glass Recycling, every 10% of recycled glass used in the production of new glass reduces energy consumption by 3% and CO2 emissions by 7%. Disposing of used mills and jars responsibly reduces everyone’s CO2 footprint.
Did you know...
our glass spice mill is suitable for recycling and can be disposed of with your glass recycling?
Switch to 100% rePET
We adapted our production processes and now use 100% rePET for all Kotányi tins starting at 400ccm. This reduces the amount of plastic wasted by around 155 tons every year. PET can be recycled and reused as rePET, which brings us a big step closer to our goal of protecting the environment through sustainable packaging.
Sustainable production
Producing, storing, and transporting food always consumes energy and generates emissions that affect our environment — and we’re no exception to this rule. We are aware that the success of our business depends on the availability of raw materials that can only thrive in a healthy environment.
100% green electricity
All of our electricity comes from renewable sources — and our plan is to start generating some of it ourselves in the future. We want to significantly reduce the amount of electricity we purchase to cover our requirements. The first major step in this direction is installing our own photovoltaic system.
Sustainability and employees
We believe that people matter. And we strongly believe that we can only be successful together if we respect and value each other. The most important principles underpinning our work are set out in our Code of Conduct.
