After Us The Future

It is one of those uncomfortable questions that companies prefer to avoid: Is the world better off because your company exists? Paul Polman and Andrew Winston first posed this question in 2021 in their “Net Positive Manifesto”. Since then, it has been haunting the boardrooms of global corporations, causing economic analysts and journalists to ponder, and fueling debates on social media. Many would rather leave the question unanswered. GKD, on the other hand, has taken the bull by the horns. The world should be better off because GKD exists. So simple, yet so difficult. After all, how can this be achieved and also proved?

The idea of using resources responsibly is nothing new: The term “sustainability” originally comes from 18th century forestry operations. Today, however, it has become a comprehensive concept for targeting ecological, economic, and social balance – and a central benchmark for sustainable economic activity. With its filters, screens, filter and process belts, and even stainless steel façade fabrics, GKD is in the fortunate position of being able to offer products and solutions that have a positive impact on the environment. They filter particles or pollutants from air or liquids, improve thermal regulation in buildings, or reduce energy consumption in production processes. All of this is expressed in the vision that the company has been publicly promoting since 2023: “FOR A HEALTHIER, CLEANER, SAFER WORLD”.

One thing is clear: Any company that manufactures products which promote sustainability has it easy. Yes, there is certainly some truth in this statement. On the other hand, “taking the easy way out” has never been one of the family company’s strengths. Responsibility and ethics play a greater role for the Kufferaths. For them, a family business has always meant a commitment to long-term management that is geared toward the next generation. In other words, it is about sustainable principles.

Better ideas do not need a label

GKD’s products and solutions are good examples of how environmental aspects have become increasingly important in the business since the 1980s. In 1983, the engineers at GKD succeeded in developing a drying belt for use in sugar factories that demonstrably reduced energy costs of 3,000 German Marks per hour compared to the belts commonly used at the time. However, nobody at the time called it sustainable, and it was also not certified. It was simply the better solution.

Two years later, it was a similar story with another idea. Fine mesh from GKD were already being successfully used in aircraft construction. They still offer protection against lightning strikes and electromagnetic fields to this day. However, airplanes also make so much noise that they can make people ill. So the experts developed a special acoustic fabric for aircraft engines that significantly reduces the noise level. These mesh types are also still in use today.

From the 1990s on, sustainability became increasingly systematic at GKD. In 1992, an internal company strategy working group set to work on identifying sustainable potential, from customer needs to the supply chain, from the use of materials to process optimization. Their results were incorporated into the “Strategy Handbook 2000”. “Use as many recyclable materials as possible”, it says, or “stricter environmental regulations fundamentally represent new market opportunities for us”.

The 2000s bring further developments: GKD weaves metals with fibers, paper, or synthetics – creating materials that can store CO₂ or purify water. Sustainability becomes a function. These meshes don’t just transform processes, they shift perspectives.

The latest developments for filtration of microplastics in road traffic with the CAPTURION or the award-winning VORTX separation unit, which takes microplastic filtration to a new level, are also part of this tradition. Both are solutions for a market that is still in its infancy and holds enormous future potential.

Even polluting industries can become cleaner

“For us as a family business, sustainability has always meant acting in a way that ensures the future of the company,” says Stephan Kufferath. In the four decades that he and his brother Ingo ran the company, these convictions were like a silent guiding principle: Take responsibility. Think long-term. Pass on not only a product but also a principle to the next generation.

With the arrival of Lara Kufferath in 2019, this mindset not only gains a new face, it also gathers momentum: “Sustainability is our strategy” is her clearmessage to customers and business partners, to subsidiaries and employees throughout the world. “I’m convinced that we’re more successful today because we act sustainably,” says Lara Kufferath, who has been in charge of the company’s fortunes with a new Management Board team since 2024. “Using resources efficiently, purifying water, and producing green energy are profitable business areas for us. We’re making our contribution to a better world and, in doing so, make money that we reinvest in the future,” explains the CEO. “Whether we’re talking about our sales markets, the personnel markets of the future, the financial markets, or suppliers – sustainability is becoming a critical success factor in all our markets.” The fact that products are also being developed for so-called “dirty” industries such as mining is not a contradiction in terms. As the demand for minerals and raw materials, such as lithium and rare earths, for use in technologies is growing rapidly, simply avoiding the old industries because they are ecologically questionable is not an option. On the contrary, the aim must be to make mining processes as efficient, safe, and resource-conscious as possible. Of course, GKD also has corresponding products for the sector in its portfolio.

As a globally active company, GKD aims to implement its sustainability strategy at all locations on all five continents. After all, climate protection, clean water, and safe production processes are global challenges. However, the focus on sustainability can vary depending on the location and market environment. For example, the regulations in China are even stricter in some areas than in Europe. In South Africa, sustainable water management is right at the top of the list, followed directly by sustainable energy generation through photovoltaics. The fact that its 270 kW photovoltaic system, installed in 2023, significantly reduces the production facility’s carbon footprint is encouraging. However, the team considers it more important that production runs safely even during the frequent power cuts in the country. Similar examples can also be found at the other locations: Sustainability is not seen as a moral burden, but rather as an opportunity.

Short-term and long-term goals

The idea of the “net positive company”, as formulated by Polman and Winston in 2021, essentially means giving more to the world than you take from it. Not just in terms of carbon footprints but also in a broader sense – ecologically, economically, socially. In order to bring this vision to life in business terms, GKD has identified three central areas of focus. Firstly: the products and solutions themselves and the materials behind them, which contribute to sustainable processes in a wide range of industries – such as water processing, CO₂ reduction, and electromobility. Secondly: the company’s own value chain, from raw material procurement, through production, all the way to logistics. This relates in particular to our ecological footprint, for example energy and water consumption, emissions, and waste – both within our company and throughout the entire supply chain. And thirdly: the social contribution – within the company and beyond.

This process was brought to life by the SEE GKD – Sustainable Economic Enterprise initiative, which was launched almost two years ago. Colleagues from a wide range of areas worked together to develop structures aimed at systematically embedding sustainability within the company and implementing the EU’s CSRD requirements.

Since then, five interdisciplinary working groups have been focusing on specific metrics, potential analyses, and areas of action – with the aim of making the company’s impact on the environment, economy, and society visible. The SEE initiative ultimately laid the foundation of GKD’s sustainability strategy, which builds on the structures it established. Since the beginning of 2025, it has set clear goals for GKD’s three main fields of impact – with the long-term goal of becoming a net positive company.