Sustainable sealing at scale
Every day, around 20,000 packages leave RS Group’s distribution centre in Bad Hersfeld, Germany. Each one is sealed with just a small amount of tape — but at this scale, even the smallest materials matter.
For RS, packaging is an opportunity to move us closer to our sustainability goals – reducing environmental impact, improving efficiency, and delivering on our commitments. That’s why, in 2025, we partnered with long-standing supplier tesa to rethink our sealing solutions — ensuring they are secure, reliable, and designed for a reduced environmental impact.
Turning everyday materials into impact
From cartons to containers, packaging plays a key role in both operational performance and environmental responsibility. Customers increasingly expect less waste and more sustainable solutions, while regulations such as the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) are raising the bar for recyclability and material use.
We can get ahead of these trends by switching to future-ready solutions that save resources, cut waste, and enable circularity. Our Bad Hersfeld site is a key logistics hub, handling up to 45,000 orders and 20,000 packages daily. Speed and reliability are non-negotiable – but neither is sustainability. We aim to cut plastic use, reduce waste, and promote the transition to a circular economy, all without compromising on customers’ unboxing experience.
Innovation through close collaboration
tesa has been a strategic partner for c. 15 years, and in 2025 we strengthened that collaboration with a shared vision to make packaging processes more efficient and more sustainable.
The result: an innovative sealing tape for transit cartons that achieves outstanding bond strength – and helps RS make measurable progress toward our sustainability targets.
Our teams worked hand-in-hand, exploring every possibility to identify the optimal solution for RS’s specific needs. Scientists and engineers from tesa brought deep expertise and technical knowledge, designing and testing high-performance sealing tapes. Their support didn’t stop at rollout – they also ensured a seamless transition, boosting operational efficiency and unlocking measurable sustainability gains.
Those advances not only benefit the environment but also demonstrate both companies’ proactive approaches to sustainability. By actively shaping the shift to circular packaging solutions, together we are setting new standards for sustainable packaging practices. Regulations like the EU’s PPWR provide an important framework for this transition, but for RS and tesa, the real motivation is empowering customers and reducing environmental impact.
“This partnership with tesa has been pivotal — not just in delivering a packaging solution, but in helping us take a real step forward in our sustainability journey. It’s a testament to what can be achieved when two companies align on purpose and performance.” Liam Dowds, Head of Packaging, RS Group
Designed for impact
tesa’s expanding portfolio of more sustainable solutions is shrinking the environmental footprint of products and processes across the value chain. Innovations include tapes made from renewable sources such as sugar cane or corn starch, and post-consumer recycled PET – both replacing fossil-based raw materials.
Paper-based products – with paper sourced in line with responsible forestry management and certified on base of trusted standards as of FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®) – also help customers comply with regulations and move closer to achieving their sustainability goals. These tapes can be recycled together with cardboard and paper packaging, with no need to separate materials and no impact on the quality of the output material.
Circularity through collaboration
Through this collaboration, we are helping to accelerate the shift towards more circular packaging systems. The solution includes paper-based alternatives that can be recycled alongside standard cardboard packaging — simplifying disposal and improving recyclability. tesa’s products meet Better World product criteria for recycled, biobased content and recyclability, achieving up to a 40% carbon footprint reduction while reducing single-use plastic waste.
This approach helps us:
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Reduce plastic use across our operations
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Minimise packaging waste
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Support compliance with evolving regulations
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Maintain a positive customer unboxing experience
Delivering progress, package by package
With an estimated 407 billion packages shipped globally in 2025 across the wider distribution industry, the cumulative impact of packaging decisions is significant. At RS, we recognise that even small changes – when applied at scale – can make a meaningful difference.
By continuing to innovate with partners like tesa, we are embedding sustainability into the everyday, ensuring our operations are not only efficient and reliable, but also aligned with a more responsible future.
Explore tesa’s products in our Better World product range.