Climate change is progressing unabated. The consequences of one of the greatest social challenges of our time have long been felt around the world. “As individuals, but also as employees of a technology group, we have to be aware of our responsibility and promote sustainability in a significant way,” says Oliver Berger, Head of Environmental Protection and Occupational Safety Inspection in the Körber Business Area Pharma at the Markt Schwaben site. As a physical engineer, Berger points to the urgency of increasing sustainable activities and compromising less on environmental protection.

For the past three years, Berger has also been bringing his personal convictions to the Markt Schwaben Environmental Circle, in which he is involved together with six colleagues. The working group’s goal is to create an awareness of environmental protection and sustainability within the company and implement projects that reduce CO₂e emissions, save energy or avoid waste, for example.

Promoting sustainability

“There are many environmentally conscious employees at our site who are bringing their own sustainability ideas, such as the installation of a photovoltaic system, to the attention of the management,” says Patrick Hess, Head of Software Development Inspection in the Körber Business Area Pharma. He, too, has been working in the Environmental Circle from the very start.

His commitment has met with great approval. “Our CEO Christian Habicht proposed the establishment of the Environmental Circle in 2020. In him, we have someone at our side who is personally committed to promoting sustainability at Körber,” says Hess.

Since then, the experts of the Environmental Circle have met every two weeks to discuss sustainable project ideas, of which many have already been implemented. For example:

• The complete switch to green electricity.
• A wood chip heating system, which replaces the oil heating system in a lightweight construction hall.
• A heat pump now supplies the company with 95 percent of its cooling and heating; district heating is only added in an emergency.
• The introduction of a circular use system for coffee cups: The plastic cups originally used were replaced with reusable stainless steel or ceramic cups.

Finding new sustainable solutions

In addition, the members of the Environmental Circle also support quality management at the Markt Schwaben site with their expertise. As sparring partners, they help, for example, with the certification of the environmental management system according to ISO 14001 or with the implementation of CSR ratings by external sustainability rating agencies such as Ecovadis. The experts of the Environmental Circle prepare a comprehensive environmental management system report, which is then taken into account in the rating. This report includes life cycle assessments that provide information on the consumption of raw materials, energy, and water, for example. It also shows the emissions and waste volumes generated during the accounting period.

In addition to aspects such as environmental protection and resource consumption, topics such as occupational safety and working conditions also play a role. “The report also looks at sustainability in terms of employees. The certification of the environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001 can therefore have a positive effect at several levels and build additional trust through transparency, also on the customer side,” says Hess.

Damit Nachhaltigkeit und Umweltschutz in der gesamten Industrie voranschreiten können, ist es laut Hess wichtig, Standards zu schaffen, an denen sich Unternehmen untereinander messen können. Solch ein Zertifizierungsprozess sei immer auch ein Realitätsabgleich und zeige Optimierungspotenziale auf. Gemeinsam mit den anderen Mitgliedern des Umweltzirkels unterstützt Hess das Zertifizierungsverfahren. „Nachhaltigkeit muss ein kontinuierlicher Prozess sein. Es geht darum, immer in Bewegung zu bleiben und neue Lösungen zu finden.“

Sites that use solar power

One of these new solutions will soon be put into practice: on the roofs of the factories and the office building in Markt Schwaben. By the end of 2023, around 1,600 solar modules are expected to generate about 600 kilowatt-peak of electricity there. “We want to operate sustainably, but can only do that if we work with renewable energies,” says Berger, who manages the project.

As honorary chairman of the Association for Energy Transition in the Bavarian district of Starnberg, he has been advising municipalities, private consumers, and companies on energy self-sufficiency for 15 years and planning photovoltaic systems for farmers from his district, for example. For Berger and the Environmental Circle members, the installation of the photovoltaic system is a particular success. Since conducting a feasibility study in 2020, Berger has also been contributing his technical expertise to the entire Group. Together with his colleague Peter Bär from Group Procurement and Supply Chain Management, he is already planning further photovoltaic systems for other Business Areas’ sites.

Sustainability as a personal driving force

Solar panels also generate electricity on the roof of his own home, enabling him to be self-sufficient for two thirds of his energy. Two electric cars and a heat pump, which he has operated for eleven years, round out his private energy portfolio. For him, climate change and its consequences are the most important and underestimated challenge of our time. “Right now, we are living at the expense of future generations,” he says. “We have a responsibility to act now.”

The commitment of Oliver Berger, Patrick Hess, and their colleagues is now having an effect. Employees outside the Environmental Circle are already approaching the group with some ideas. One trainee, for example, came up with the idea of saving electricity by switching off devices such as monitors or docking stations overnight using a timer. “He did the math and presented us with his plan. Currently, we are recording our electricity consumption and discussing measures to implement the idea for whole rooms. Even small sustainability ideas can grow into something big,” says Hess. This is an attitude that Oliver Berger and Patrick Hess from the Environmental Circle carry into the company — and a further contribution to the overarching goal of Körber’s sustainability strategy of making production CO2e-neutral by 2025.

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