In order to develop RIEGLER & Co. KG into a 100-percent net-zero company, we have had our total carbon emissions professionally recorded by ClimatePartner GmbH since 2019.
This corporate carbon footprint forms the basis for our sustainable climate protection strategy: First we implement an emissions reduction plan to cut as many emissions as possible through our own efforts, or ideally avoid them altogether. We then offset unavoidable emissions by contributing to international climate protection projects.
This way, we have been able to reduce and offset our emissions and have been a 100-percent net-zero company since 2021.
As a company, we have a responsibility towards our planet, our society, our employees and our business partners. We want and must do our bit to reduce carbon emissions and to preserve our world for future generations. We are guided in this by the Paris climate goals and Sustainable Development Goal number 13 – climate action. This is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were agreed in 2015 as part of the UN Agenda 2030. For us as a company, we believe climate protection is where we can make the greatest possible impact and have the greatest opportunities to become active.
To achieve these goals, we take various measures, such as the use of 100-percent green power, energy-saving programs, or a sustainable mobility concept.
We currently offset carbon emissions with sustainable offsetting programs. By developing new methods and holding discussions with the relevant partners, we also want to reduce them through our own efforts in future.
One important element in the climate balance is mobility. That’s why we have started to switch our fleet over to electric and/or hybrid vehicles, and are planning to achieve 100-percent electromobility by 2030.
We are reducing paper consumption: Our main catalogue and brochures are becoming more compact and are being shifted more online. We also send out our invoices in digital form, and we’re gradually moving our shipping papers to this format too. Where we still use paper, we make sure it is recycled with a lower grammage. All mail is sent using “GoGreen”, the climate-neutral mail service of Deutsche Post.
We work with parcel service provider GLS. By using GLS KlimaProtect, we already send packages to our clients in a climate-neutral way.
Materials procurement and delivery are indispensable for us. Trucking and shipping are also changing, however they are generally not yet climate-neutral. In global freight transport, we are therefore trying to bring about a change in thinking in discussions with our suppliers and are always seeking new ways of reducing our carbon footprint. Where this is not yet possible, we compensate for the emissions using climate protection programs.
We try to avoid flying as much as possible and when we do to make up for this through effective use of modern communication channels. Instead of short flights or long journeys in a private vehicle, we rely on more environmentally friendly rail transport.
One major factor in relation to avoidable harm is packaging materials. That’s why we are developing and operating a modern logistics system that saves packaging and is continually aimed at reducing the need for repackaging. For this we use RESY-compliant materials as much as possible in our packaging and cushioning material, as well as for cardboard boxes.
We recycle 100 percent of our waste (PE/PP/mixed plastics/paper/cardboard/wood) in cooperation with ALBA “resources SAVED by recycling”.
As a power source, we use 100-percent green energy from hydropower. In addition, we subscribe to the notion of “green IT” by using technical appliances for as long as possible and paying attention to recycled materials and replaceable components in purchasing. Light and water regulation is carefully handled by sensors, ensuring consumption only where actually required. And in our new buildings we use efficient infrared heating systems. In addition, the lighting is gradually being converted to LED lamps.
In order to reduce the number of kilometers employees travel by private car, we offer an ongoing option to work from home. We have also teamed up with JobRad to enable our employees to lease high-quality bicycles to make the commute a healthy and environmentally friendly bike ride.
Beyond our day-to-day operations, we also support meaningful conservation projects in the region. After all, we have a responsibility as a company not only to ensure economic growth, but also to stimulate sustainable development locally.
Some emissions cannot be avoided entirely. In cooperation with external partners and service providers in particular, we can only stimulate change through discussion. That’s why we offset the carbon emissions we simply cannot avoid generating in full through our support for sustainable projects in cooperation with ClimatePartner GmbH.
As a future-oriented company with longstanding roots in Bad Urach, we know: Only by solving problems pre-emptively can we create real added value. That’s why we are continuing to develop our company and our portfolio further. We apply this same approach to the challenge of manmade climate change: We set our goals and find our own paths to solutions.
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