Against the backdrop of the global challenges caused by climate change, and as part of its sustainability strategy, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has made a commitment to become climate neutral by 2030.
To help achieve this goal, the company has set up an Environmental Social Governance (ESG) panel, which is responsible for developing strategy and defining, implementing and monitoring the associated measures. The panel is headed by Dr. Eva Boll, who reports directly to the CEO.
‘Heidelberg is well aware of its responsibilities regarding the dangers posed by global climate change and affirms the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Agreement,’ said the company’s CEO, Rainer Hundsdörfer. ‘For many years, we have been actively working to gradually minimise harmful emissions and reduce the health and environmental impact of our sites. We have now made a further commitment to ensuring our worldwide production and distribution sites are operating on a climate-neutral basis by 2030, which is earlier than required by legislation.’
To achieve this goal, Heidelberg has already defined several measures and started to roll them out. Initially, the focus is on increasing energy efficiency at all production and distribution sites and supplying these sites with green energy. This alone will lead to a clear reduction in CO2 emissions. The company will then use emissions certificates to offset the residual, unavoidable emissions. Heidelberg subsequently aims to achieve complete climate neutrality at its sites without the use of emissions certificates by 2040 at the latest.
However, the ESG sustainability strategy at Heidelberg extends far beyond the issue of climate neutrality. The company sees sustainability as a long-term balance between the environment, business and social responsibility and is focusing on the areas of climate strategy, environmentally friendly products, sustainable HR management, compliance and good governance.
‘Heidelberg has made a commitment to sustainable HR management geared toward issues such as new work, demography management, inclusion and diversity, health management and employer branding,’ explained Marcus A. Wassenberg, CFO and Chief Human Resources Officer at Heidelberg. ‘After all, a growing number of financial market players are putting more emphasis on sustainability management as a key criterion for future investment decisions.’
Human rights issues and environmental considerations are also to be anchored throughout the entire value chain, which includes all the suppliers to the Heidelberg Group.
‘Heidelberg takes a holistic view of sustainability management and factors in all aspects, such as climate and environmental protection with regard to the production and use of its products, and social criteria,’ stated Dr. Boll. ‘Over the coming weeks and months, we will be continuing to work step by step on the catalogue of criteria and planned measures. By the end of the current financial year, we will create a road map with interim targets for the years ahead. The environment, cost-efficiency, and social responsibility will all go hand in hand.’
All in all, the global trend toward climate and environmental protection and sustainability is also opening up new growth opportunities for Heidelberg. One example concerns the company’s activities in the field of electromobility. For example, Heidelberg provides wallboxes commonly used to charge electric vehicles, and is planning to gradually expand its portfolio in the fields of charging infrastructure and the smart home. An international rollout is also a key element of this strategy. Furthermore, Heidelberg has extensive expertise in automation concepts and solutions for carbon-free production that can also be put to good use outside the graphic arts industry.
‘The holistic approach adopted by Heidelberg in its sustainability management activities is not just an expression of our sense of responsibility. Thanks to the decarbonisation solutions that are integral to this approach, it also opens up new growth opportunities for the company in a whole range of sectors, even outside our core business,’ Hundsdörfer said.
Heidelberg has also joined several sustainability initiatives, including the Blue Competence sustainability initiative of the VDMA, and most recently the CEOs bekennen Farbe initiative, which promotes the use of recycled paper, the 4evergreen forum, which is designed specifically for the packaging sector, and the Healthy Printing initiative.
HEIDELBERG GRAPHIC SYSTEMS SOUTHERN AFRICA
+27 86 142 4756
warren.jones@heidelberg.com
www.heidelberg.com/za
