All industries are currently striving to become more sustainable, and that includes the sheet metal processing sector. But sustainable operations are easier said than done. Where to begin and what is available as guidance? An insight into Bystronic’s sustainability strategy.
Many industrial companies are actually already becoming more sustainable without even being consciously aware of it. Saving packaging material to reduce shipping costs automatically contributes towards sustainability. And companies that reduce their raw material consumption by making their production processes more efficient are also helping to protect the environment. And even more so if they use the heat generated by their machines to heat their buildings.
Such measures pay off twofold, because the efficient use of resources is just as economical as it is ecological. Thus, measures such as these provide a sound basis for a sustainability strategy. If the various initiatives within a company are brought together and linked to objectives, a clearer picture emerges of where a company stands and what still needs to be tackled.
After all, the urgency to take action is ever increasing: Floods, droughts, and crop failures are persistent reminders of the inconvenient reality of climate change – and of the pressing need to make the transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy cycles. Skyrocketing energy prices and the looming natural gas shortages are playing their part to promote the consideration of new approaches.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals offer guidance
With its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations has outlined the global sustainability strategy, in relation to which all member states report their progress each year (Agenda 2030).
These goals encompass environmental, social, and economic aspects and provide a baseline for national legislation. Actual laws for the achievement of a sustainable future are being implemented at varying rates, but they are being implemented – and as a result, so are ever stricter regulations. This is applying pressure, particularly on industry. Companies that do not take action now will soon find themselves left behind.
The Sustainable Development Goals also offer companies in the sheet metal processing sector an opportunity to expand and accelerate their efforts in the field of sustainability. Bystronic has collaborated with external stakeholders to determine which of the UN SDGs we can and must, already today, contribute towards achieving. This has triggered an enormous surge of motivation among the employees.
The customers’ sustainability makes all the difference
The long-term goal of the strategy is to achieve “climate-neutral production”. On the one hand, this relates to Scope 1, the emissions the corporation causes directly. A considerable progress has already been made in this area: At the Bystronic headquarters in Niederönz, the firm switched to 100 percent energy from hydroelectric power and also installed a photovoltaic system and charging stations for electric vehicles.
On the other hand, its ecological footprint depends on Scope 2: the emissions generated along the supply chain. In procurement, Bystronic is collaborating with its suppliers to analyze how emissions can be reduced for the materials purchased throughout the entire value creation process. In addition, they regularly commission the EcoVadis rating agency to assess the sustainability of its supply chains in order to gain clear guidelines for improvement.
However, as an industrial mechanical engineering company, Bystronic’s greatest potential impact lies in Scope 3: These are the emissions caused by the machines produced. This is why the field of “sustainable solutions” is so vital for Bystronic. By increasing the energy and resource efficiency of the machines sold, the company reduces its customers’ ecological footprint. This is where they can exert the greatest leverage.
But the corporation want to do more than just continue to enhance our machines. In cooperation with energy partners, Bystronic offers our customers package solutions so that when they purchase a machine, they can simultaneously install nitrogen generators and photovoltaic systems. Both of these examples go above and beyond compliance: The regulatory authorities only classify our machines in terms of their energy consumption – and not, for example, in terms of nitrogen consumption or the use of renewable energies.
Article by: Bystronic (Thailand) Co., Ltd. & MEGA Tech