Although the focus is on local relevance, it also quickly becomes clear how interconnected the world is today. For example, employees at E.G.O. Elektrikli Aletler Sanayi A.S., Ergene, Turkey, have calculated that each load of magnesium oxide (MgO) travels 16,113 km from China to Çorlu. The extraction and production of MgO, which is used in tubular heating elements to insulate the heating coils, is complex and CO2-intensive. Material and transport costs can be saved thanks to the newly designed recycling system in which MgO, which is lost during the insulation process, is reused. This saves up to 70 metric tons of MgO and more than 2,700 metric tons of CO2, which would have been generated by cargo shipments. A win-win situation for both the company and the environment!
Programs such as the E.G.O. Planet Award therefore not only aim to honor special achievements in the area of sustainability. They also serve to exchange best practices between the locations. It’s no coincidence that most innovations are created when ideas are combined. This makes it all the more important to draw on the ideas of everyone in the company. Sustainability not only takes place at the level of technology or product development, but also affects business models, production technology and processes, sales, and services. Sustainability affects everyone—every employee’s input is needed.
AS EARLY AS 2011, THE E.G.O.-GROUP INSTALLED A BIOGAS-OPERATED COMBINED HEAT AND POWER PLANT TOGETHER WITH A NEIGHBORING AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS; THIS PLANT WAS EXPANDED IN 2020 AND NOW HEATS A LARGE PART OF OUR PRODUCTION PLANT AND OUR ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDINGS.
Dr. Karlheinz Hörsting
COO, BLANC & FISCHER Family Holding
GOAL MET: 100 % RENEWABLE ENERGY
FROM OBERDERDINGEN OUT INTO THE WORLD – AND VICE VERSA
Decentralized biomass plants can be a model for a future-proof energy supply at locations of the BLANC & FISCHER Family Holding corporate groups where no energy is otherwise generated from renewable sources. The same applies to modern environmental technology such as solar power systems or heat pumps. After all, the switch from finite to regenerative or renewable energy sources is important, since emission-free energy supply can only be achieved from renewable energies. Without them, climate-friendly electrification is impossible.
*This figure refers to the entire E.G.O.-Group worldwide
**This figure refers to all German locations of the BLANC & FISCHER Family Holding corporate groups
RETHINKING THINGS IN ALL AREAS
SUSTAINABILITY NOT ONLY TAKES PLACE AT THE LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY OR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, BUT ALSO AFFECTS BUSINESS MODELS, PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY AND PROCESSES, SALES, AND SERVICES.
WOW – GREAT IDEAS!
BIOFILTERS
DID YOU KNOW THAT EGG SHELLS CAN FILTER HEAVY METALS OUT OF WASTE-WATER? USING THIS INGENIOUS NATURAL FILTER SYSTEM, EMPLOYEES OF E.G.O. COMPONENTES ELECTRONICOS SA DE C.V., QUERÉTARO, HELPED TO CLEAN THE LERMA RIVER NEAR THE FACTORY. SINCE THEN, DISEASES CAUSED BY THE USE OF CONTAMINATED WATER HAVE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE REGION.
THE FOREST IS GROWING
TRULY BEST PRACTICE: IN 2020, THE E.G.O.-GROUP LAUNCHED ITS GLOBAL TREE PLANTING CAMPAIGN. THE OBJECTIVE: ONE SEEDLING FOR EACH EMPLOYEE. IN THE MEANTIME, THE FOREST CONTINUES TO GROW. IN ADDITION TO THE 1,600 PLANTED TREES IN GERMANY AND 3,000 IN POLAND, E.G.O. TREE NURSERY IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE FOLLOW- ING NEW ADDITIONS: CHINA: 2,000, MEXICO: 1,200, AUSTRIA: 500, SLOVENIA: 800, TURKEY: 3,000.
LESS IS MORE
THE EMPLOYEES OF ETA TOVARNA D.O.O., CERKNO, SLOVENIA, HAVE TACKLED THEIR EMISSIONS WITH A WHOLE PACKAGE OF MEASURES. THE RESULT IS IMPRESSIVE. WITHIN ONE YEAR, 1,630 T OF CO2, 2,300 MWH OF ELECTRICITY, 7.3 T OF WASTE, 84 M3 OF WATER, AND 116 M3 OF WASTE- WATER WERE SAVED. WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT!
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE END RESULT
ECONOMICAL MANAGEMENT TO COMBAT DROUGHT
COMBINING HIGH-TECH AND COMMON SENSE, THE EMPLOYEES OF E.G.O. APPLIANCE CONTROLS, S.L.U., BARCELONA, SPAIN, HAVE REDUCED WATER CONSUMPTION AT THEIR PLANT: 17 % COULD BE SAVED YEAR-ON-YEAR! SOFTWARE-CONTROLLED CONSUMPTION CONTROL, CONSISTENT USE OF SERVICE WATER, AND TRADITIONAL SURFACE WATER STORAGE ALL HELPED TO ACHIEVE THIS.
DETECTIVE WORK
THE EMPLOYEES OF E.G.O. COMPONENTS (CHINA) CO. LTD., TAICANG, CHINA, LAY IN WAIT WITH A THERMAL IMAGING CAMERA. THEIR GOAL WAS TO IDENTIFY ENERGY LEAKS IN PRODUCTION. AND IT WAS WORTHWHILE: HEAT INSULATION HAS REDUCED ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY 10 % AND SAVED 235 T CO2 ANNUALLY.
Pioneering spirit as a growth driver
At the beginning of the almost one hundred-year company history of the BLANC & FISCHER Family Holding there was an idea: founders Heinrich Blanc and Karl Fischer wanted to make working in the kitchen easier, more comfortable, and safer.
A virtual chat with colleagues
Mystery Coffee is an in-house platform where colleagues of the BLANC & FISCHER Family Holding companies can chat. Across continents.
