Blum is dedicated to bettering the quality of living through motion and design.
Many people don't know our company, but they have our products installed
in their kitchens at home and they use them in everyday life.
We produce lift, hinge, pull-out and pocket systems for furniture.
We are a family-owned leading manufacturer
with customers in more than 120 markets worldwide.
Our headquarters is located in Vorarlberg, Austria.
Our more than 9000 employees are the foundation for the promise to our customers.
It needs dedication, an innovative spirit and teamwork to constantly develop and deliver
high-quality and sustainable products for kitchens and furniture.
Our team is our biggest asset and makes a decisive contribution to our company's success.
When my grandfather founded our company in 1952, his primary goal was
to grow and develop the company for the sake of our employees.
Our long-term orientation is our guiding principle,
and acting sustainably has been a core value for us from the very beginning.
We consider sustainability as a holistic approach, taking many different aspects into account.
And it all starts with our products.
Blum products are innovative and long lasting.
In our daily work, we are guided by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
When we talk about sustainability, we consider the entire life cycle of product:
From the extraction of raw materials
to all the manufacturing and processing steps of our products
to their use and ultimately their disposal.
For example, we use CO2-reduced materials and create circles regarding the raw materials,
both internally and together with our external recycling partners.
In our processes, we pay attention to the effective use of all the resources,
and we try to keep the impact on the environment as low as possible.
For years we have been sourcing our electricity for all Austrian plants
exclusively from hydroelectric power,
which has reduced our CO2 emissions by around 40%.
In production we rely on heat recovery from our ventilation units.
We also continuously optimise the utilisation of waste heat from our compressed air systems.
In order to make the best possible use of the available space,
we build our plants with several stories.
We also use green roofs which retain rainwater,
bind CO2 emissions, and also reduce noise emissions.
Furthermore, green roofs contribute to more biodiversity as they provide additional habitat
for many plants and insects.
Blum transport logistics experts work every day to deliver our fittings to our customers
in the most eco-friendly way possible.
We place a large emphasis on rail transport due to its reduced environmental impact.
Plant 7 in Dornbirn even has its own rail line,
allowing us to transport nearly 40% of our delivery volume by rail.
Our trucks constantly shuttle between our plants in Vorarlberg,
and already more than half of them are on the road using certified biogas.
We fuel them with food waste from the region, which helps us to reduce emissions.
Sustainability at Blum is a holistic concept,
Not only do our products travel sustainably, but we also encourage our employees
to commute in a climate-friendly manner.
Thanks to our mobility concept, including promotion programmes for bicycles and public transport,
we've increased this share from 38% to almost 50%.
We get to work by bus, train, bicycle, we walk or carpool.
Usually I ride my bike or get picked up by my trainer.
Every year, over 100 apprentices like me start their training at Blum
in 11 different professions, and it has been like that for over 50 years now.
We already start to work in the company's production after one year of our education programme.
And after graduation we are highly demanded specialists,
and have many perspectives in the company.
The apprentice programme pays off in view of the shortage of skilled workers.
Our employees, the global presence and the exchange with our customers is our assurance
that we remain innovative and that our products are constantly evolving.
Like our sustainability activities, which also include a lot of social aspects
such as improving the individual's quality of life or our commitment to equity.
It's of great importance for us to preserve natural resources for the future of us all
on this planet. True to our credo "moving ideas for sustainability", we do our part to help to
transform the furniture industry for the better and that across all scopes.
And it needs everyone. It needs customers, partners and suppliers to get things done.
It starts with every single one of us because sustainability concerns us all.