Sustainability
is part of Leiber’s DNA
Our actions are environment-friendly and climate-conscious
Leiber refines brewers’ yeast into innovative products for humans and animals. For our customers we conduct research in our own laboratories and develop tailor-made solutions for healthy nutrition, biotechnology and agricultural applications. We reliably supply excellent products – and have been upcycling at world-market level since 1954.
Our activities have an impact on humans, animals and the environment. That’s why we promote responsible behaviour and offer sustainable products. We take care to treat our stakeholders with fairness and appreciation. Our actions are environment-friendly and climate-conscious. We work to keep society healthy long-term – which of course includes taking responsibility for our employees. For us, sustainable behaviour is a vital component of our core business.
After all, upcycling brewers’ yeast is at the heart of what Leiber has always been about – Give Yeast a Second Life.
Keeping the environment and
climate in mind
Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. It has far-reaching effects on existing ecosystems and biodiversity.
At Leiber, we are conscious of our responsibility, so we have designed a business model that helps to conserve resources, use water, energy and raw materials sparingly, and avoid emissions. We keep these objectives in mind at all times.
Doing business in innovative cycles
Investing in research and development is a key to our success.
To keep our business healthy and sustainable in the long term, we conduct our R&D activi-ties with commercial partners as well as science and research organisations. Leiber R&D work focuses on using by-products from the food industry to create new products and applications that benefit people and animals. We work every day to get more out of these by-products.
The ultimate goal is a circular economy that uses resources sustainably. Our contribution to this is to continue developing our processes and procedures so as to conserve our planet’s resources.
Delivering quality on the world market
We plan quality into all of our processes and products from the very start.
By keeping all our processes running reliably, we make sure that our customers always receive Leiber products at the quality level they have come to expect. This way we are capable of using all raw materials efficiently and of avoiding waste
– thus conserving resources and protecting the environment. Regular external audits testify that we adhere to the guaranteed standards.
Our quality management comprises all areas from purchasing and delivering new raw materials, through all production steps to the end product and the packaging. In order to keep the entire supply chain as transparent to our customers as it is to us, we ensure the traceability of all raw materials.
This transparency of all product streams is increasingly important, both for the breweries from which we source the brewers’ yeast and for the companies in the food industry and animal nutrition sector to whom we supply our products. Because our success on the world market depends on the proven quality of our products and processes.
Specific sustainability aims
With specifically formulated aims for sustainable business methods, Leiber is taking the next steps towards sustainability.
Even Leiber’s basic production idea is sustainable, the refining of brewers’ yeast into innovative products for humans and animals. Beyond this upcycling, Leiber has identified specific fields of action and defined targets for its supply chains, CO2 reduction, management culture and health.
Our fields of action and aims in detail are:
Economic goal
Code of Conduct
Living responsibility together – 73% of our suppliers are already involved!
Since the introduction of our Code of Conduct in 2021, we have been consistently committed to ethical and sustainable business practices. This includes clear guidelines against corruption, forced and child labor as well as for social responsibility, human rights and environmental protection.
Our goal for 2024 was for suppliers with an annual turnover of at least EUR 50,000 to be obliged to adhere to this Code of Conduct and to confirm this in writing.
A significant milestone: 73% of our strategic suppliers have already signed our Code of Conduct and are thus actively committed to our values. Even though we have not yet fully achieved our original goal, we see this success as a strong step in the right direction.
Our work does not stop here – we are continuing to convince even more partners of the importance and necessity of these standards. Together, we are shaping a fair, sustainable and responsible future!
Our goal in 2025 is to transfer our Code of Conduct to our Polish and Spanish subsidiaries. Here, too, our aim is to oblige all suppliers with an annual turnover of more than €50,000 to comply with our Code of Conduct.
Environmental goal
Climate neutrality
In 2021, Leiber drew up its first carbon footprint, creating the basis for transparently tracking future changes. Specific measures were implemented to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, including the construction of a biomass power plant. This uses untreated waste wood to generate steam for the evaporation and drying of brewer’s yeast.
Our goal is for Leiber to make production at the German site in Bramsche-Engter climate-neutral by 2030. To this end, we commissioned a biomass power plant in May 2024, which will reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuels by 50%. In 2025, we will also commission a steam turbine to generate electricity in order to further reduce emissions. In addition, we will have a transformation concept for climate neutrality drawn up by an external consulting firm in 2025.
Social goals
Company health management
Employee satisfaction and well-being, especially of employees working shifts, is very important to Leiber. Our goal for 2024 was therefore to make the full-contingent shift system more flexible with the help of a working time account. To this end, a simple and transparent working time system was created for the 3-shift operation, which optimally ensures both the target staffing of the shifts and the working time and leisure interests of the employees.
Our goal for 2025 is to introduce occupational health management (OHM). To this end, a strategic project was launched in 2024 with an external partner, AOK, to introduce occupational health management and anchor it in the company.
We live by our Code of Conduct every day
Sustainable supply chains allow us to avoid or minimise negative effects on the environment, society and the economy.
Besides economic principles, we integrate environmental and social aspects into our pro-curement processes and decisions. These principles are set out in our Code of Conduct and are regularly monitored in internal and external audits. The values in the Code of Conduct guide us in our work every day.
They also help us to promote sustainable operations among our long-term suppliers. Our overarching goal is to generate added value for all parties on a lasting basis.
Making the right decisions for
tomorrow today
Setting our course for success in the future means making the right decisions today.
We adopt forward-thinking measures that don’t just focus on short-term gains; they are designed to achieve long-term growth and success while making a valuable contribution to climate and resource protection – in our company and in society.
Putting people first
As a regionally rooted, responsible employer, we want to remain attractive to young professionals and specialists.
We work to ensure that our employees stay healthy and capable of mastering the challenges of an ever-changing work environment. Here, the education of young people is just as important as further training throughout an entire career. To enable a good work/life balance, we offer flexible working hours where possible. We also use technology to enable our colleagues to do their job regardless of their location. Our principle is to treat all employees equally and fairly.
That’s one way we help to combat the different levels of discrimination and marginalisation in society.
Boosting health for humans
and animals
Our products can be a component of good health.
They reduce the use of antibiotics in livestock farming and at the same time strengthen the immune systems of animals and humans. We also want to continually improve the health and safety of our employees. Currently, we are implementing our health management system.
As a supplier to the food and animal nutrition industries, we are conscious of our responsibility for the healthy diets of humans and animals. Our goal is to use our innovative products and ingredients to help make healthy and sustainably produced food available.
Leiber’s contribution to sustainable development with our business model
as an example
The United Nations have formulated 17 goals that define sustainability.
They describe different fields of action in which people, organisations and companies can play a role. Find out here which sustainability development goals are the main focus for Leiber.
Leiber refines brewers’ yeast into innovative products for healthy nutrition in humans and animals, and for biotechnology and agricultural applications. We have been upcycling at world-market level since 1954.
With its business model, Leiber helps to conserve resources and avoid emissions. We work to keep society healthy long-term and we take responsibility for our employees.
We continually develop our processes and procedures with the aim of further conserving our planet’s resources and making our contribution to a functioning circular economy.
At Leiber, the education of young people is just as important as further training throughout an entire career.
To counteract the different levels of discrimination and marginalisation in society, we promote the equal and fair treatment of all employees.
We want to continually improve the health and safety of our employees. Currently, we are implementing our health management system.
We adopt forward-thinking measures that are designed to achieve long-term growth and success while making a valuable contribution to climate and resource protection today and tomorrow.
Thrifty energy management is firmly anchored in Leiber’s company philosophy. Since 2016, we have been certified under energy management system ISO 50001 and have been operating a biogas plant and two cogeneration units for over 10 years.
Our products can contribute to good health, reduce the use of antibiotics in livestock farming and strengthen the immune systems of animals and humans. As a supplier to the food and animal nutrition industries, we want to do our part to make healthy and sustainably produced food available.
Leiber yeast extracts support the manufacturing of vegan and vegetarian foods and help to reduce salt without compromising flavour. In this way, they contribute to healthy and nutritionally balanced diets. Our quality products are sustainable and natural and in future can help to feed 10 billion people around the world.
Leiber supports global climate protection by manufacturing climate-neutral fuel from a renewable brewery by-product.
Our sustainable products can also act as an excipient that supports fermentation in biogas plants. This means that our product portfolio contributes to clean energy from biogas.
We supply local brewery by-products to farmers, thus providing a regional product containing valuable, easily digested protein. Our high-quality brewers’ yeast products and our brewers’ grains also promote health in animals.
We can also provide high-quality proteins and nucleotides from brewers’ yeast for aquaculture. This reduces the proportion of fishmeal used and keeps fish digestion intact.
Our Leiber yeast products make an important contribution to maintaining and strengthening the natural capacities of soils and plants to combat pests and infections. With this important research focus, Leiber supports the path to ecological and sustainable agriculture.
