Certificates
More than 90 percent of the wood used for the worldwide production of Faber-Castell pencils come from FSC®-certified forests, and thus originate from sustainable sources.
Faber-Castell also uses PEFC-certified wood alongside FSC®-certified wood. Through a combination of the two certification schemes, Faber-Castell can ensure the wood products are purchased exclusively from sustainable sources.
You can find our FSC certificate here.
The latest status of the FSC certificate can be accessed at any time via the official FSC "Public Search Certificate" database: www.search.fsc.org/en/
Learn more about Faber-Castell's FSC® policy here.
Learn more about the Forest Stewardship Council: www.fsc.org
You can find our PEFC certificate here.
The latest status can be accessed at any time via the official PEFC "Find Certified" website: www.pefc.org/find-certified
Learn more about Faber-Castell's PEFC policy here.
Learn more about the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes : www.pefc.org
All production sites producing wood-cased pencils are certified to FSC® or PEFC standards. For sites which do not produce wood products, these two certification schemes are not relevant. All 22 sales companies are certified according to FSC® Chain of Custody standard. This means that every product can be traced from raw material, through all production steps, to the finished pencil in stock.
All production sites in the Faber-Castell Group are certified according to the international norms to ensure that quality and environmental protection standards are met.
The initial certification for ISO 9001 (Quality Management) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) began in 1997 and was completed in 2011 for all production sites. All sites are audited and certified according to the revised standard from 2015. The Faber-Castell Cosmetics plant in Elgin, USA, which opened in March 2019, received ISO certification in May 2019.
You can find our ISO 9001 certificate here.
You can find our ISO 14001 certificate here.
Seals
The timber used for the worldwide production of pencils under the Faber-Castell brand comes from certified sustainable forestry (e.g. FSC®, PEFC, SFI).
Faber-Castell was the first manufacturer to introduce environmentally-friendly water-based varnish technology, which is used for almost all writing instruments produced at the main factory in Stein.
Every product contains valuable raw materials. To extend their lifetime, products with this symbol are refillable.
Faber-Castell offers a wide range of erasers. Erasers with this symbol are produced under strict quality control and are PVC-free.
Faber-Castell works on reducing plastics or replacing them with recycled materials. Products or packaging with this symbol are made from recycled plastics, known as recyclate.
For this, plastic waste from industrial production is processed and used as a new raw material in manufacturing.
Faber-Castell works on reducing plastics or replacing them with cardboard or other alternative materials. Packaging with this symbol is made from recycled cardboard.
Packaging with this symbol is made of recyclable cardboard.
For all Faber-Castell products that have at least one sustainable feature, we want to highlight our commitment to sustainability and provide transparent information about it.
Carbon-neutral production
Note: As part of a realignment of our sustainability communication, we have decided against use of the "carbon neutrality" claim. In the interests of sustainability, however, we still deplete existing product packaging and communication materials with this claim. We remove this claim from new or currently being revised product packaging and communication materials. The mention on this sustainability website is for information purposes only.
On what basis did Faber-Castell use the claim "carbon-neutral production"?
The amount of CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions caused during manufacturing of the product in the Faber-Castell production sites was offset by the forests we manage in Brazil. This means that the forests absorb a certain amount of CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and convert it into biomass and oxygen. The amount of CO2 emissions caused annually in the Faber-Castell production sites was deducted from the total amount of CO2 absorbed by the forests we manage. This offsets the climate-relevant CO2 footprint of Faber-Castell's global production sites. Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from the production processes (gate-to-gate) and Scope 3 emissions (business trips and goods transport), which are the responsibility of Faber-Castell, were covered. We have had the calculations verified annually by TÜV Rheinland from 2012 to 31 March 2024.
Carbon-neutral product
Note: As part of a realignment of our sustainability communication, we have decided against use of the "carbon neutrality" claim. In the interests of sustainability, however, we still deplete existing product packaging and communication materials with this claim. We remove this claim from new or currently being revised product packaging and communication materials. The mention on this sustainability website is for information purposes only
On what basis did Faber-Castell use the claim "carbon-neutral product"?
All CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions caused during material sourcing process and production, transport to our production sites and delivery from the production sites to the distribution centres, were calculated in cooperation with ClimatePartner and compensated by internationally certified climate protection projects.
The amount of CO2 emissions caused during manufacturing of the product in the Faber-Castell production sites was offset by the forests we manage in Brazil. This means that the forests absorb a certain amount of CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and convert it into biomass and oxygen. The amount of CO2 emissions caused annually in the Faber-Castell production sites was deducted from the total amount of CO2 absorbed by the forests we manage. This offsets the climate-relevant CO2 footprint of Faber-Castell's global production sites. Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from the production processes (gate-to-gate) and Scope 3 emissions (business trips and goods transport), which are the responsibility of Faber-Castell, were covered. We have had the calculations verified annually by TÜV Rheinland from 2012 to 31 March 2024.
You can find more information at:
The calculation of the corporate carbon footprint of our production and affiliated sales sites is verified by TÜV Rheinland.
Learn more about our corporate carbon footprint at ID-Nr. 0000040930: Faber Castell - Certipedia
Management systems and policies
Integrated management system for quality, environment and social affairs
The integrated management system FABIQUS (Faber-Castell integrated management system for quality, environment and social affairs), introduced globally in 1998, was modernised and optimised in Germany in 2016 by the addition of a CAQ (computer-aided quality) system, to manage standardised documents and implemented processes in an optimal way. “FABIQUS 2.0” has so far been implemented in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the USA.