The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 7): The cotton wool specialist Cotonea contributes to providing clean and sustainable energy

The United Nations (UN) have agreed on 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which should be implemented by 2030. The seventh SDG demands access to affordable, reliable, environmentally-friendly and sustainable energy.

For generations, Cotonea has been producing its own energy with its own hydro power plant, which was first put into operation in 1855 at the company's location in Bempflingen. In 2002, the production of solar energy was added. These two sources produce more energy than are needed in Bempflingen and in our production locations in the Czech Republic (weaving and sewing and manufacturing) and so any surplus regenerative energy is fed into the power grid.

If a medium-sized company such as Cotonea wants to achieve the seventh SDG (affordable and clean energy) it must concentrate its efforts on using energy efficiently and sparingly. Cotonea achieves this by using the most economical technology at its production sites.

Thanks to additional efforts (use of LEDs and the latest technology - compressors and frequency-controlled drives, etc.), the company's electricity consumption fell by 20 percent between 2015 and 2020, and it is part of the company's mission to continuously look for ways to optimise energy savings even further. The durability of products and the length of time that they can be used also help to save resources, simply because fewer products have to be manufactured. This is not only about saving energy, but also about saving cultivable land.

Both the high-quality technology (for example, in weaving and spinning, Cotonea uses the yarn that gives each product the best properties) and more than 160 years of experience using the raw material, cotton, mean that our products last extremely long and can be used frequently. As the first "transparent" textile manufacturer, Cotonea has already published this information and further data concerning sustainability under www.cotonea.de/nachhaltigkeit.

Cotonea’s contribution

Cotonea’s contribution to implementing the UN's seventh SDG (affordable and clean energy) are in summary:

• At the company’s location in Bempflingen more regenerative energy (hydro power and solar power) is produced than is needed in both locations.
• The surplus of regenerative energy is fed into the power grid.
• The search for ways to optimise energy savings is part of the company's mission.
• Due to the use of high-quality technology and years of experience, the products are very long-lasting and therefore sustainable. This also contributes to using less energy and resources.