Waldkirch, 7 October 2020 – SICK AG is one of the first companies to join the new climate alliance of the state of Baden-Württemberg. By signing the comprehensive Climate Protection Agreement, SICK has voluntarily agreed to commit itself to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions even further and making its energy consumption more efficient. Speaking at Baden-Württemberg’s 9th Resource Efficiency Congress, Franz Untersteller, the state’s Environment Minister, honored the southern-Baden sensor company for its commitment to climate protection.
Baden-Württemberg’s Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector initiated a new climate protection alliance in August 2020, which came into force as soon as the first companies signed it. On signing the agreement, the members of the climate protection alliance declared that they would mutually support the achievement of political and corporate climate protection goals and together make a lasting contribution towards a positive climate transformation. SICK AG is one of the 17 initial signatories of the climate alliance and was acclaimed for this at Baden-Württemberg’s Resource Efficiency Congress on 7 October 2020.
“Neither humanity nor its economic activities can exist without an intact environment. For SICK, sustainability means taking concrete measures for climate and environmental protection, and taking our corporate responsibility for the following generations seriously. We welcome this initiative by the Ministry of the Environment and hope that more companies in Baden-Württemberg will join the alliance,” said Dr. Tosja Zywietz, member of the Executive Board of SICK AG with responsibility for Operations, at the official presentation of a certificate by Environment Minister Franz Untersteller.
“A highly industrialized state like Baden-Württemberg has a special responsibility for climate protection as a role model and pacemaker. The state government is well aware of this role, as are the companies in our state. Together with these businesses we want to make a contribution towards the necessary transition to an increasingly sustainable economy,” Environment Minister Franz Untersteller commented on the initiation of the new climate alliance.
SICK’s goal: Reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2030
By signing the Climate Protection Agreement, SICK AG has set itself the goal of reducing its net greenhouse gas emissions to zero at every German site and at all its production sites worldwide by 2030. In Germany, SICK reached this target for its business journeys and its site emissions – including upstream energy generation (Scope 1 and 2) – as long ago as 2013. In the next step, the company will concentrate on further improving its energy and material efficiency, increasing the use of renewable energies, and optimizing mobility and delivery chain processes.
The agreement will initially run for ten years, but can be extended by both partners. In addition to an initial assessment and an annual determination of greenhouse gas emissions, SICK will present a Monitoring Report every five years. The Climate Protection Agreement and Reports will be made available on Baden-Württemberg’s website.
SICK is also working on anchoring sustainability in all business divisions beyond the scope of the Climate Protection Agreement. This includes, among other things, environmentally friendly production processes, the use of recyclates and promotion of the circular economy, reduction of packaging material and switching to sustainable materials, as well as using healthy regionally sourced food in works canteens. SICK’s Sustainability Strategy, updated and approved in 2019, includes a total of 14 areas for action that are to be gradually implemented during the coming years.
Environmental protection is a tradition
The sensor company, based in Waldkirch, will celebrate its 75-year jubilee in 2021. Company founder, Dr. Erwin Sick, was already concerned about the environment and developed the first flue gas density measurement device in order to help reduce air pollution. SICK is now an expert in analysis devices for measuring pollutants, for example ship’s emissions or at processing facilities. In addition, sensor solutions from SICK contribute towards environmental protection by intelligently controlling production plants, optimizing logistical processes, and increasing energy efficiency in the photovoltaic and wind turbine industries.
SICK has been operating a certified Environmental Management System according to ISO 14001 for more than 15 years. The company defined a three-stage climate and environmental protection strategy in 2013, and was one of the first signatories of Baden-Württemberg’s WIN-Charta sustainability agreement. SICK committed itself to ecological sustainability with its Sustainability Strategy (updated in 2019) and intends to further expand its environmental protection measures to its main fields of activity worldwide.
SICK at the Resource Efficiency Congress 2020
As a result of the continuing coronavirus pandemic, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment’s Resource Efficiency Congress (7 - 8 October 2020) took place as a hybrid event this year: Participants could follow the talks by State Premier Winfried Kretschmann, Environment Minister Franz Untersteller, and the participating companies and climate experts live via an online stream and actively contribute to discussions. In a ‘Commitment Talk’, Torsten Hug (Member of the SICK Management Board with responsibility for Quality Management) presented the company’s motivation and concrete climate protection measures. Bernhard Müller (Member of the SICK Management Board with responsibility for Industry 4.0) also informed Congress participants about how innovations in sensor technology could be used to achieve environmental goals. Transmission took place from the Messe Stuttgart.
SICK is one of the world’s leading producers of sensors and sensor solutions for industrial applications. The company, founded by Dr. Erwin Sick in 1946 and based in Waldkirch-im-Breisgau near Freiburg, is a technology and market leader. It has a worldwide presence with more than 50 subsidiaries and associated companies, as well as numerous sales offices. SICK achieved Group sales of about EUR 1.8 bn. during the 2019 fiscal year with almost 10,000 employees worldwide. More information on SICK is available at www.sick.com