Konrad Merkt GmbH has been manufacturing high-quality sheet metal and tubing components for the office furniture industry for more than 70 years. The company mainly produces frames and table bases for ASSMANN. This long-standing business relationship is valued highly by both sides. “Over the years, our business relationship has become more and more solid. This applies not only to our economic processes, but also in terms of numerous ecological issues,” says Konrad Merkt. Both companies are now certified in accordance with ISO 14001 (environmental management), utilise photovoltaic systems as alternative energy sources, and take energy and environmentally friendly processes into account in production. This development is based, among other things, on a shared understanding of values and a willingness to engage in constructive dialogue, as Konrad Merkt says: “We speak regularly and are always giving each other new food for thought in the search for potential improvements.”
Andreas Fipp, who keeps an eye on all operational processes at ASSMANN, shares this assessment: “Merkt is a reliable partner that not only provides us with all the necessary information on sustainability during the regular on-site audits, but also works with us to consistently drive this issue forward. Particularly with regard to climate protection, it’s an extremely efficient partnership and in line with the climate objectives of the European Green Deal.”
Reducing carbon footprints
A stated goal of both companies is the continuous reduction of carbon emissions. At ASSMANN, the direct and indirect energy and emissions levels at the site itself (Scopes 1 and 2) are already recorded using the data from the company’s ISO 50001 energy management certification. The first step in this process is to determine the company's total energy consumption – electricity, fuel and heating – and then use measurements and specific energy indicators to record how much energy is used by the various consumers. Subsequent analysis then reveals which potential savings need to be realised. Incidentally, ASSMANN has been using 100 per cent green electricity for years. However, what is relatively new is the recording of indirect emissions from processes that take place outside the company (Scope 3), for example from material deliveries from partners such as Merkt. “Only by taking this third level into account can we take a comprehensive view of our carbon emissions. But there are several things we need to do in order to achieve this, including establishing an intensive dialogue with our suppliers. Only by taking their activities into account can we get the whole picture and develop suitable measures,” says Andreas Fipp.
This is a requirement that Merkt reliably fulfils. Based on a clear target, all of the company’s specialist departments come up with specific projects that are then visualised and tracked in a strategy map. The measures include material and energy efficiency projects, as well as the reduction of chemical substances, value analyses of products and muchmore besides. As Konrad Merkt is keen to stress: “The sustainable optimisation of products and processes automatically goes hand in hand with an improvement in our environmental footprint. For example, our components are very durable, include a high percentage of recycled materials, and can also be easily recycled themselves. These properties are important and help us to continuously reduce our carbon footprint.”
This valuable information enables ASSMANN to fully disclose its own carbon footprint at product level. The company can already map the ecological footprint of its core products as part of the FEMB level sustainability certificate. “We want to extend this expertise to our entire product portfolio,” says Andreas Fipp, looking ahead in the full knowledge that this will require a number of further steps. However, in his opinion, the course has already been set for a climate- friendly future for the company: “Climate protection plays a major role in all areas of our company, for example in the purchase of more energy-efficient machines and the installation of the charging infrastructure required for electric vehicles.” ASSMANN also acts sustainably when it comes to structural changes. For example, the new highbay warehouse was designed to ensure that its photovoltaic system can absorb maximum solar radiation. This new energy source can cover around 10 per cent of ASSMANN's energy requirements at the Melle site. The aim for the next few years is to implement further measures to increase self-sufficiency at ASSMANN.
Climate – our results in detail
Energy
Since autumn 2022, we have been carrying out energy management in accordance with DIN EN ISO 50001 in order to monitor our energy consumption, identify optimisation potential and implement measures. The focus here is on our main sources of energy consumption: fuel for our own truck fleet and company cars, electricity for production facilities and lighting, and the combustion of wood chips to generate heat. In addition to the overview of the company’s overall consumption, we have drawn up key figures that show the energy consumption of the individual areas in relation to a comparative figure (see Digital Factbook). Our aim is to reduce these key figures every year using targeted measures.
Overall, fuel consumption in 2023 was reduced by 10.4 per cent to 4,345 megawatt hours, mainly due to a reduction in the truck fleet (–17 per cent). This reduction is the result of lower delivery volumes and more efficient logistics routes. The fuel consumption of our company cars has risen due to increased travelling and customer visits, but an improvement is expected from 2024 due to the increased use of electric vehicles.
In 2023, our total electricity consumption amounted to 4,084 MWh and was mainly attributable to extraction, lighting and compressed air generation. Through measures such as conversion to LED lighting and pressure reductions in our compressed air systems, we were able to reduce electricity consumption by 0.6 per cent compared to the previous year. We plan to continue this in 2024. Consumption did not fall in proportion to the lower production volume, as the use of the extraction system was comparable and the construction of the new high-bay warehouse resulted in additional electricity consumption. Last year, our existing photovoltaic system covered 0.9 per cent of our total electricity consumption. With the installation of the new photovoltaic system on the roof of the new highbay warehouse, this share will increase to around 10 per cent in 2024. As we use green electricity for the rest of our electricity needs, 100 per cent of our electricity comes from renewable sources. We are also planning to expand our renewable energy generation; various feasibility studies are currently being carried out on the use of wind energy or additional solar energy in order to achieve self-sufficiency of 50 per cent by 2030. An energy monitoring system is also to be introduced by 2025 to record consumption and identify potential for improvement. Some 99.7 per cent of the thermal energy consumed came from production waste such as wood chips and offcuts. The remaining 0.3 per cent was accounted for by heating oil, which was only used as a backup when conducting maintenance work on the combustion plant. By connecting the exhibition building to the combustion plant, we were able to completely eliminate the use of gas, which means a saving of around 90 MWh on gas. The recalculation of the amount of chips used to generate heat results in a different figure than in the previous year, but at 3,719 MWh it reflects the exact thermal energy generated.
CO2 emissions
All of ASSMANN's activities generate emissions that affect the balance in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming (greenhouse effect). We use the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol to record and evaluate these harmful GHG emissions. To facilitate better comparison, the emissions to be regulated under the GHG Protocol are converted into CO2 equivalents and divided into three areas (scopes):
Scope 1 covers the company's direct emissions, such as the fuel consumption of the company's own vehicle fleet. Scope 2 covers emissions caused by energy procurement, such as electricity consumption. Scope 3 covers emissions caused indirectly along the entire value chain, including upstream and downstream activities such as material consumption and goods transport. The recording of Scope 3 often requires data from suppliers and customers and is currently partly based on approximate values, but this scope accounts for the largest portion of CO2 emissions at ASSMANN. There are also out-of-scope emissions that are not specifically recorded or regulated.
ASSMANN’s corporate carbon footprint (CCF) amounted to 39,668.45 tCO₂e in 2023. Some 96 per cent of this was attributable to Scope 3, which is due in particular to the use of materials for products (38,110.86 tCO2e). The remaining emissions (3.86 per cent) were attributable to Scope 1 through the production of thermal energy and the company's own vehicle fleet. The purchase of green electricity resulted in hardly any Scope 2 emissions for ASSMANN; a small proportion (0.07 per cent) is attributable to electromobility. Some Scope 3 categories, such as capital goods and leased property, plant and equipment, could not yet be included in the 2023 reporting year. In order to improve the database in Scope 3, the Sustainability Manager developed an action plan that includes, in particular, the precise calculation of raw material emissions. We also aim to systematically calculate and continuously reduce the carbon footprint of our core products.
Our targets for the future
| Area | Target | Unit | Key fig. 2022 | Key fig. 2023 | Target 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity | Reduction in electricity consumption at the production site by 7.5 per cent by 2026 compared to the base year 2021 | MWh | 4,089 | 4,084 | 3,983 |
| Vehicle fleet | Transition to e-vehicles as company cars | Percentage of company cars | 3 | 25 | 90 |
| Vehicle fleet | Saving on truck trips by loading one additional piece of furniture per trip | ||||
| CO2 emissions | Improving the database in order to set specific targets for reducing CO2 emissions in Scope 3 in 2024 |