Sustainability
Sustainability Initiative GoGreen250 – next steps
In the last issue of “Kurtz Ersa Magazine”, we already reported on the progress made towards sustainability in 2023 – in this issue, we also want to provide an up-to-date overview of how our GoGreen250 sustainability initiative has developed since its launch in 2020 and what the next steps are.
For example, we were able to increase our ESG rating to 56 points in 2023 and last year we installed a total of 70 charging points at our sites in Kreuzwertheim and Wertheim, which can be used by our business partners, our employees and, of course, our constantly growing e-vehicle fleet. Our fleet now consists of 21 electric and 19 hybrid vehicles. Many employees have also already registered and are charging their private vehicles with us.
How did we achieve this?
We also implemented numerous other measures in 2023. On the one hand, the focus was and is on continuously increasing our energy efficiency, which we have achieved through a large-scale conversion to LEDs, the replacement of two heating systems and an energy-efficient window refurbishment. Furthermore, we also significantly increased the amount of electricity we generate ourselves last year by installing and commissioning a total of three PV systems with around 1.5 GWp. In 2023, we were thus already able to cover around 12% of our electricity requirements at the Kreuzwertheim and Wertheim sites ourselves.
“However, we have not only pushed ahead with environmental protection measures. It is important to us that ESG (environmental, social and governance) is viewed holistically – this means that we implement classic ‘green’ environmental issues, but also develop and drive forward goals and projects in the areas of social affairs and governance,” says Anna Hieble, Head of Corporate ESG. In 2023, we therefore dealt extensively with the Supply Chain Sustainability Act (LkSG) and prepared for its implementation in our supply chain and at our own sites. We also revised our Code of Conduct, which applies to both the Kurtz Ersa Group and our business partners. In addition, we took the first steps towards the international roll-out of our integrated management system (IMS) and began recording our Scope 3 emissions in the upstream and downstream supply chain.
2024 - concrete steps towards sustainability
E – ENVIRONMENTAL
Among other things, we will convert another location to LED, put another PV system into operation and work consistently on reducing our waste volumes. We have an annual budget of at least 1% of EBIT available for this – in 2023, we significantly exceeded this target and even spent around 10% on investing in sustainable measures! We will also continue to work hard on our CO2 target, as we want to be CO2-neutral in Scope 1 and Scope 2 and partly Scope 3 by 2029. That is why we have been supplying our German locations with 100% green electricity since 2023 and with biogas instead of natural gas since 2024 and are consistently expanding our own electricity generation via PV systems. Our vehicle fleet is constantly being electrified and our data collection is becoming more detailed. In 2024, we want to make significant progress in recording our Scope 3 emissions and acquire a suitable software solution to support this.
S – SOCIAL
In this area, we are focusing, among other things, on offering our employees a safe, ergonomic working environment and constantly expanding our health management offering and – with external support – making it as varied as possible. We have also set ourselves the goal of implementing a learning management system (LMS) in 2024 and want to make this available to our international employees by 2026.
G – GOVERNANCE
Continuous improvement in the ESG and CDP rating, for example, is still on the list of measures. The implementation of mandatory Code of Conduct training for our international employees is also being tracked here – we have already been able to train around 75% of our international workforce. The international roll-out of our IMS and the best possible use of our annual sustainability budget are also being driven forward.
Kurtz Ersa Links
Further examples and details of our sustainable actions
can be found in the current Kurtz Ersa Sustainability Report 2023.