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[email protected] PRINT Chroma Druck & Verlag GmbH Werkstr. 25 67454 Römerberg Germany WWW www.hbmedia.net | w ww.petpla.net PETplanet insider ISSN 1438-9459 is published 10 times a year. This publication is sent to qualified subscribers (1-year subscription 149 EUR, 2-year subscription 289 EUR, Young professionals’ sub- scription 99 EUR. Magazines will be dispatched to you by airmail). Not to be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Note: The fact that product names may not be identified as trade marks is not an indication that such names are not registered trademarks. 3 PET planet insider Vol. 14 No. 07+08/13 www.petpla.net dear readers, Sustainability is about communication: this was one of the messages to emerge from the platform discussion on the occasion of the trade press confer- ence at drinktec PETpoint on Lake Spitzing. A lively exchange of views on the subject ensued between machine manufacturers and processors. Karl Klein, of the Gropper Dairy, expressed it like this: “For many people, doing things in a sus- tainable way is quite normal. It’s just that they don’t realise it.” This, perhaps, was the phrase that characterised the whole event. Sustainability has always been in the DNA of the drinks industry but only now is it slowly coming to be recognised as a potent marketing tool. The discussion then turned to where sustainability is possible. Suddenly, the general view seemed to be that they are all, in fact, sustainable in everything they do. The big machine manufacturers are not only building sustainable machines and equipment that consume less energy, water or material; no, they are also sustainable in relation to their own production and, it goes without saying, also in terms of personnel development. Again Mr Klein chipped in with a comment about personnel development: he found it worrying that some new developments came from designers who had never actually been at the coalface, which meant that, often, the “improvements” ignored the needs and requirements of the producers. Professor Niemeyer inter- posed with a contrary view, emphasising to the participants that “In our company the young engineers are sent out to meet customers face to face to ensure that they understand these important factors.” So could there be a breakdown in communication here? Actually, if anything, sustainability arguably represents just a different form of communication. Once again it was Mr Klein who put it in a nutshell: “Media, Non-Government Organisa- tions (NGOs), customers and even governments,” he said, “ask specific ques- tions that companies need to answer – questions which may be related to factors such as water, packaging, CO 2 footprint as well as about the production of raw materials.” Karl Klein does not accept that such questions are a burden. For him, they constitute one of the ingredients of success. “If sustainability is genuine, the consumer will also accept it. And, more importantly, it will also be profitable. For instance, I would never have thought that we, as a specialist in discount products, would today find ourselves occupying the position of a leader in the manufacture of bio-products“. So how can we summarise the discussions? Sustainability has always been part and parcel of the drinks industry, but as a topic for communication, it has been seriously neglected. And not just within companies themselves but in the various sectors and even amongst consumers. Where is the best place for the industry to talk about this? The answer is at drinktec/PETpoint. Yours Alexander Büchler Round table discussion moderated by Kilian Reichert. From left to right: Volker Kronseder, Chairman of the Board of Krones AG, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Niemeyer, Chairman of the Board of KHS GmbH, Chris- tian Frahm, Director Business Line Beverage and Dairy, GEA Westfalia Separator Group GmbH, Dr Klaus Peter Stadler, Director Environment & Water Resources, Coca-Cola Europe, Peter Peschmann, Divisional Direc- tor Production and Management Engineering, Veltins Brewer and Karl Klein, Director of Production and Technology at the Gropper Dairy petpla.net/panoramas/drinktecpk2 360°