Leiber GmbH
Sustainability
is part of Leiber’s DNA
Our actions are environment-friendly and climate-conscious
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
In 2021, Leiber introduced a Code of Conduct regulating how to deal with corruption, forced and child labour as well as the principles of social responsibility, such as human rights, anti-discrimination and environmental protection. An anonymous whistle-blower system for violations was also implemented, and mandatory compliance with this Code of Conduct was communicated to employees and business partners.
Our goal by the end of 2023 (extended from 2022) was also to ensure compliance with this Code of Conduct agreement by strategic suppliers that generate minimum annual sales of 50,000 euros. This goal was not achieved to our satisfaction. We underestimated the fact that smaller suppliers are unaware of the necessity and importance of the Code of Conduct. This challenge and the resulting additional effort contributed extensively to our failure to achieve this goal.
The 100% achievement of this goal (suppliers that generate minimum annual sales of 50,000 euros), the result of which has thus far proved dissatisfactory, remains very important to us in 2024. To accomplish this, we will specifically bring additional human resources to bear in order to increase and consolidate our suppliers’ awareness of the Code of Conduct. In this way, we will achieve the aforementioned goal.
Environmental goal
Climate neutrality
Leiber assessed its carbon footprint for the first time back in 2021, thereby creating the basis for clearly tracking future changes. Specific measures such as the construction of a biomass power plant are planned in order to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. In it, untreated waste wood is to be used above all to generate steam for concentrating and drying brewers’ yeast.
The aim of this is for Leiber to achieve net zero at its German production site in Bramsche-Engter by 2030. The foundations for a new biomass power plant were laid at the Engter site in October 2022. The aim is a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions from fossil fuels by the end of 2024 thanks to the operation of this biomass power plant.
Social goals
Management development
In 2021, Leiber defined the features of a successful leadership culture for implementation within the company. The competences and requirements of managers were derived from this. Since face-to-face training courses had to be forgone in 2022 due to internal coronavirus protection measures, relevant activities were postponed until 2023.
The goal in 2023 was to train all managerial staff at Leiber in the features of a successful leadership culture during the course of the year. To do this, we undertook and successfully completed a modular managerial staff training course for the female managers (6 modules covering a total of 30 hours of tuition). In addition, all shift supervisors (TWB, TWE, EXE) and production managers underwent leadership and communication training.
Company health management
The goal was for at least 60% of employees to have accepted at least one of the health care offers during the course of 2023. The set goal of 60% was significantly exceeded, particularly because all of the administrative employees were provided with an ergonomic workplace due to the relocation to a new administration building. Health care offers such as the business bike, ‘Hasefit’ and workplace spectacles were also increasingly taken up.
Employee satisfaction and the well-being of employees, particularly those in the shift system, are very important to Leiber, which is why our goal for 2024 is to make the full-continuous shift system flexible with the aid of a working time account: a simple and transparent working time system will be established for continuous operation. This will ensure the respective target staffing levels as far as possible and also give consideration to the employees’ working time and leisure time interests.
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
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.