Packaging Valley organised the Climate Day together with Umwelttechnik BW for the first time. The aim is to support member companies on their way to greater sustainability and climate protection.
Together with Umwelttechnik BW, the first event was held on 22 June 2023. Packaging Valley Climate Day, with the aim of, Supporting companies from Packaging Valley on the way to their sustainability goals and promote them. The focus of the event was on familiarising the participating companies with the the latest legal requirements in the area of sustainability and show what the path to climate neutrality can look like, as well as what free support and funding opportunities are available - but above all a Space for exchange and know-how transfer with and between members and experts in the field of environmental technology and sustainability.
For many companies, especially SMEs, the path to climate neutrality seems to be underestimated. legal requirements due to stricter climate protection regulations, lack of standards, confusing terminology and sustainability reporting still looks like a big labyrinth today. Yet climate change is a serious problem - the green transformation is a necessary step. The core of the Packaging Valley Climate Day was precisely about providing Packaging Valley members with insights into the transformation path for anchoring sustainability in the company.
The participants used the Packaging Valley Climate Day as an opportunity to exchange ideas and answer these and other questions together. Many manufacturing companies come together in Packaging Valley and, with Umwelttechnik BW and the Competence Centre for Climate Protection in Companies BW located there, they have a network that uses its expertise to support companies on their path towards climate neutrality and secure their future competitiveness.
The Climate Day provided impulses and discussions. As an introduction, Elisabeth Kraut from 7stepssolution gave a compact overview of the political framework, current legal requirements in the area of sustainability and the terminology such as EU taxonomy, CSRD, CSDDD and ESRS. The participants then received Insights into customer requirements using the example of Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG, itself a climate-neutral company since 2020.
„Climate neutrality must always be viewed holistically. It is not enough to focus solely on the company's own emissions (i.e. Scope 1, 2 and 3 with impact) and reduce these as far as possible. Because this part of the CO2-emissions generally account for just 10 per cent of total emissions from business activities. This means that all partners involved in the supply chain must participate in the reduction, i.e. decarbonisation, of their business activities. This is the only way to achieve the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Climate Agreement. In this respect, manufacturers of packaging machines must also influence their suppliers involved in the supply chain so that they all commit to the important path of CO2-reduction. Because climate protection is only possible together!“
Georg Hoffmann, Sustainability Manager at Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG
But what exactly does climate neutrality involve? And how can climate neutrality be achieved? Umwelttechnik BW provided answers to these questions. In this presentation, the participants were given a Insight into the vision and possible goals. The state's climate protection strategy „Companies do climate protection“ was used to show what Baden-Württemberg has to offer companies and that the Competence Centre for Climate Protection in Companies BW at Umwelttechnik BW offers low-threshold, non-binding and free support. This was followed by Workshops with intensive dialogue on the steps of transformation. The results show how important it is to think innovatively, take a holistic view of climate neutrality and develop various transformation paths tailored to the individual industry that contribute to the 1.5 degree target.
With the first Packaging Valley Climate Day, a format has been created that to promote the exchange of best practices and experiences between manufacturing companies, to learn from successful sustainability projects.
Source: Packaging Valley
