We use timber as a raw material primarily for wooden furniture, but also for catalogue paper. Although e-commerce is now the main source of retail revenue, many customers still use the catalogues as a source of inspiration.
It is important to us that the Otto Group only permits the use of tropical timber if it is FSC®-certified and a valid FSC® certificate can be presented. The FSC logo on a product shows consumers that the wood comes from forests which are managed responsibly.
Furniture
With its Furniture Strategy the Otto Group aims to completely switch its range of wooden furniture to articles from responsible forestry by 2025 – indicated by the certificate compliant with the standard of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®). In 2018, we recorded an increase of the use of FSC®-certified wood within the Otto Group to 59 percent (2017: 52 percent). This means that the largest furniture online retailer in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) is still one of the pioneers and is making an important contribution to climate and species protection with its range of certified wooden furniture.
FSC® - FOR RESPONSIBLE FORESTRY
The non-governmental organisation Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) pursues the goal of protective forest use and defines uniform global standards for this purpose. That way, uncontrolled deforestation, violations of human rights, or a major environmental impact are avoided and basic forest functions are preserved. The certification of the value chain from forests to retailers creates transparency and provides orientation for the customer. The Otto Group has actively supported the FSC since the end of the 1990s, and has been an official member of the Forest Stewardship Council® Germany since 2006. The Group intensified its cooperation with FSC® in 2018 and fosters the exchange: Together, we consult furniture suppliers when it comes to a transition to FSC®-certification and we support higher availability and demand for FSC®-certified wood-based materials in Germany.
Paper
The responsible handling of timber for manufacturing print materials or cardboard packaging is an important lever in environmental protection, too. Regarding the catalogues and advertising materials of the Otto Group, the Group’s goal is an increase of the share of FSC®-certified paper to 55 percent by 2019 and to 60 percent by 2020. In 2018, the share of FSC® was 54 percent (2017:43 percent), which represents a considerable increase compared to the previous year. This development results from long-term agreements with our suppliers. In addition, the Otto Group also recorded slightly reduced paper consumption in 2018.