Reduction in CO2 Emissions thanks to Sustainable Buildings
Beiersdorf is aiming for at least Gold level LEED certification in the planning of its new production center in Mexico. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized certification system for sustainable buildings that fulfill certain environmental requirements, in particular with regard to the building’s construction and operation. The construction of the building will be carried out using a wide range of sustainable measures, e.g. cogeneration systems for generating energy, the optimizing of water purification processes, deploying renewable energy, and reusing the discharged water from production for sanitary purposes and garden irrigation. The new plant will use significantly less water and be much more energy-efficient than comparable structures.
In the Hamburg offices, Germany, we implemented a range of measures aimed at reducing CO2 emissions in 2012, e.g. actions like optimizing lighting and installing high-efficiency motors and pumps, together with more significant projects including cogeneration systems. In Spain, our offices moved to a green building. We now use less air conditioning, heating and light. Furthermore, we use solar panels to heat water and generate electricity. In 2011 we installed a photovoltaic system at our offices in Italy. Every year it saves 35,000 kg of CO2 which is equivalent to planting 4,665 trees.
Energy Savings on the Production Line
Until now, all compounding equipment such as tanks or pipes has been steamed in place (SIP) after a cleaning in place (CIP) process. However, we are now able to achieve optimal levels of cleanliness by cleaning without steaming, thus using fewer resources. In 2012 our production facility in Berlin, Germany, reduced the steaming frequency for one of our continuous production lines. They are planning to extend this to other production lines in the future. In Hamburg, Germany, leakages in compressed air systems were identified and eliminated to reduce energy consumption. Using a detection device, employees identified several leaks, which when sealed, resulted in savings of 600 m³/h for the period July 2011 until October 2012.
Green IT
In 2012 Beiersdorf Shared Services (BSS) reduced the number of hardware servers in the Hamburg data center in Germany by over 30%. IT power consumption decreased through consolidation to virtual server platforms. We are also working to continuously replace older devices with new, energy-saving models, reduce stand-by use and expand the shared use of devices such as printers. Because frequent business travel and long-distance flights generate large amounts of CO2, we encourage our employees to use audio and video conferencing whenever possible.
Green Logistics and Transport
We are developing environmentally friendly logistics processes. As part of this, we optimized container loading, capacity utilization of the trucks used to transport our products, and transport routes. We have built a tool to measure our Europe-wide CO2 emissions from transport, which has been in use since 2009. In addition, we began measuring emissions in our European warehouses in 2011. Beiersdorf is also a member of the “Green Freight Europe” initiative, which is an association of European industrial and transport companies that seeks to establish a European standard for measuring, analyzing and managing CO2 emissions from road traffic. They provide a platform for verifying and reporting CO2 emissions and work to support cooperative efforts between transport companies and manufacturers, for example by promoting best practice sharing or a uniform monitoring process.
In 2012 Beiersdorf AG finalized its “Green Car Policy” in Germany, which sets specific limits regarding CO2 emissions for all company cars – from the sales team to the Executive Board. Compared to other companies we have imposed relatively strict limits. This initiative has started at the beginning of 2013. Our Italian office joined the program “Companies for eMilan”, a network of different companies which care about sustainability, and bought an electric company car (ecar) in 2012.
Our “We care” strategy has the goal of integrating sustainability across the whole value chain and all processes. However, we know that our employees play an equally important role in bringing our strategy to. It can only reach its full potential when each and every employee implements and continues to develop it. After all, “We care” is the sum total of many “I cares.” ...more
If you are interested in your personal CO2 footprint visit www.myimpactontheplanet.com and learn how to reduce it.
