We place environmental conservation at the heart of our business. All the materials we use are selected with long-term sustainability in mind.

The CEWE PHOTOBOOK and all other CEWE branded products are manufactured 100% climate-neutral – with a net zero carbon footprint. We offset all CO₂ emissions produced by the manufacturing of our products, at no extra cost to our customers.

Together with our environmental partners, we constantly set new goals for handling nature with care.

Our new “Sustainability Certified” logo celebrates our sustainability performance and wide-ranging social commitments. It is a visible sign that we consistently take responsibility for the environment.

Forest Stewardship Council® Certified ✅

The Forest Stewardship Council® is an international, non-profit organization which promotes the responsible management of forests around the world, and we’re proud to have attained our FSC® certification in 2013.

CEWE actively support the worldwide promotion of exemplary forest management and use FSC® certified materials for manufacturing our products. The production of FSC® certified materials (wood, paper etc) is subject to strict guidelines for the sustainable management of forests. These include compliance with national laws, the rights of indigenous people and strict environmental protection requirements.

Reforestation and Conservation

ClimatePartner helps companies integrate an effective sustainability strategy that protects the environment and measurably reduces CO₂ emissions. As part of our collaboration with ClimatePartner, CEWE has chosen to support the Kasigau Wildlife Corridor Project to reforest and protect 500,000 acres of dryland forest in Kenya.

The project has also provided job creation and sustainable development activities for the local community, such as –

• Fresh water access to over 10,000 community members
• 2,300 school scholarships for children of the community
• The protection of endangered populations of over 350 species, including African elephants
• The project operates to Verified Carbon Standard (VSC). The VCS is a leading international carbon offsetting registry, which ensures a project delivers contracted emissions reductions.

The Kasigau Wildlife Corridor Project will avoid the emission of over 54 million tonnes of CO₂ over its 30-year life.

Supporting Communities

The CEWE Group is committed to supporting social, cultural and charitable projects across Europe, with a focus on families and children.

Since 2013, we have provided long-term support for SOS Children’s Villages, a global independent charity group dedicated to the care of disadvantaged children in over 135 countries. As well as providing vital financial support, CEWE arranged a company visit to the SOS Children’s Village in Kumasi, Ghana, sharing photography skills with the children and volunteers in order to raise awareness of village life and the invaluable work the charity does.

In the UK, CEWE Photoworld employees arrange donations to food banks each year, providing essential items to local families in need. We have also organised fundraising events for Macmillan Cancer Support and the Myton Hospice.

As Europe’s leading photo service provider, we recognise the importance of preserving photography’s cultural heritage. We initiate and promote numerous photography competitions, such as the CEWE Photo Award – the largest competition of this kind in the world. It is particularly important to us to foster a passion for photography in young people, giving new talents the chance to shine.

Innovation and Development at CEWE

Research and development has always been a priority at CEWE. In the past, CEWE’s own patents for production equipment were instrumental to innovation in analogue photography. We continue to uphold this tradition in the digital age.

• We design and build equipment prototypes in our own mechanical and electrical engineering development department, aiding the continuous improvement of our production processes.
• We use agile development methods and automated tests to launch pioneering products into the market – like our Award Winning Creator Software.

As a company, we encourage the development of new skills within our workforce. We offer our employees the best conditions and opportunities to allow them to develop to their full potential. This includes qualified personnel management and professional further training programmes.

Our Suppliers

We choose the suppliers we work with very carefully. Our standards are high, and include the consideration of low costs, as well as proven competence, long-term and constant quality assurance, and ecological, economic and social integrity.

Wherever possible, we work with suppliers who are close in proximity to our production sites. This enables us to increase local economic power and reduce CO₂ emissions from transport logistics.

We carefully review our suppliers with regard to their work practices, human rights compliance and ecological record.

The Global Compact is a UN initiative to fight corruption, slavery, child labour and poor working conditions worldwide. The initiative is based on ten basic principles that collectively cover these four areas. Today, more than 12,000 companies and other stakeholders from 145 countries are participating in the initiative.

CEWE follows the principles set out in the Global Compact as part of our commitment to responsibility, sustainability and fairness. Our operational sites are located within Europe and are therefore subject to the legal regulations governing forced, mandatory and child labour.

We do even more to keep our emissions down to a minimum. This includes the use of renewable energies, green IT and climate-neutral shipping. This is how we make our entire added-value chain climate-neutral: from the choice of raw materials, to purchasing, production and delivery.

This is demonstrated in our annual, fully transparent environmental reports to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

The CDP guides over 6,000 businesses and 550 cities in reducing their impact on the environment. The CDP logo demonstrates that CEWE is constantly working to reduce our environmental footprint and that we are constantly reviewing and improving our impact on the world around us.