Environment Manifesto

As trees grow and continue to age, the more CO₂ they absorb from the atmosphere. Hahnemühle only uses primary paper pulp that comes from sustainable and FSC- or PEFC wood plantations. No tropical rainforest in South America is destroyed either. The cellulose from eucalyptus is planted and extracted in certified plantations. The cotton rag fibres (linters) used by Hahnemühle are fine fibres that cling to the seed of the cotton plant and occur as a by-product of the textile and oil industries.

Hahnemühle has been producing high quality artists’ papers from innovative, rapidly renewable fibres since 2008. The Hahnemühle Bamboo paper was and is the pioneer. In addition, there are now papers made from hemp and agave fibres for painting and drawing as well as digital fineart printing. Digital printable hemp paper for books and brochures also comes from Hahnemühle. All these fibres grow quickly, require no pesticides and little water for cultivation.

All Hahnemühle papers meet the high requirements of ISO standard 16245 for ageing resistance of paper and extreme light fastness. In combination with museum conditions and highly lightfast and acid free artist materials, artworks will last for hundreds of years, without loss of colour.

As early as 1965, Hahnemühle was the first paper manufacturer to produce exclusively vegan artists’ papers and does not use animal glues or other animal substrates in its papers or manufacture.

Hahnemühle covers its entire electricity requirements through wind, water and solar energy. In a certified system to improve energy efficiency, all energy data is recorded, evaluated and continuously reduced in a professional, traceable and proper manner. Currently, the small fleet of company vehicles is being converted to alternative drives.

Hahnemühle has recently been certified for all its sustainability measures and its environmentally sensitive. actions according to the ISO 14001 guideline for environmental management. This is part of Hahnemühle’s journey to becoming the first climate-neutral paper mill by 2030.

The paper mill returns production waste and offcuts to the production cycle or, where this is not possible, passes them on to other processors. Hahnemühle always gives preference to recycled material when this can be implemented without compromising the quality of the premium papers, for example cardboard tubes for the papers in reels and packaging cartons.

For example, the filling material for our transport boxes is made of recycled paper or corn chips from 100% compostable corn starch. Adhesive tapes and delivery note envelopes made of paper are also used helping to reduce plastic.

Hahnemühle´s central logistics location is in Göttingen in southern Lower Saxony. The logistics provider has been awarded a sustainability prize and supports our climate protection efforts. We bundle our shipments for transport in order to make the best use of our means of transport and – where possible – rely on climate-neutral shipping. The majority of our products are transported by ship or rail.

New, innovative raw materials and resource-saving processes are characteristic for Hahnemühle papers. This sometimes makes the raw materials more expensive and thus also the end product. Hahnemühle suppliers follow stringent quality and compliance guidelines to ensure that no artificial or environmentally harmful substances are used to produce and supply our raw materials.