Sustainability –
a strong focus
Sustainability is of central importance to us. For this reason, we have appointed a new sustainability manager. Henriette Schaab will drive our commitment in this area even further and ensure that we act sustainably in all aspects of our company.
Our ‘foresight’ in terms of sustainability is not only evident in the development and manufacture of our products, but also in the equipment of our production facilities with resource-saving technologies. We focus on innovative solutions that reduce energy consumption and improve our environmental footprint.
A central component of our sustainability concept is the recycling of packaging materials. Here we work closely with the company Interzero, which confirmed back in 2010 how much energy we save by using recycled packaging. It goes without saying that we always favour materials that come from renewable raw materials when these are available.
Further expanding our commitment to sustainability is firmly on our agenda. This includes reducing our carbon footprint and increasing the use of renewable energy in our production processes. We not only want to act more sustainably, we also want to be a role model for other companies.
Sustainability as a catalyst for innovation
In this interview, our new Sustainability Manager Henriette Schaab talks to us about her strategic goals in the area of sustainability at Schulz & Sohn and reveals how small measures to activate employees can have a big impact.
Drinking water dispensers instead of PET bottles
As part of our ongoing commitment to greater sustainability, Schulz & Sohn switched its drinking water supply from disposable water bottles to modern drinking water dispensers from August 2024. In 2023, around 14,000 litres of water in PET bottles were consumed in our company – the equivalent of around 100 crates of water per month.
All employees receive personalised 700ml bottles that can be filled at four stations throughout the company. There is a choice of still, cold and sparkling water – depending on individual taste. The water dispensers are regularly serviced to ensure consistently high quality. As part of the introduction of the system, a water workshop was held in our company, in which the employees were comprehensively informed about the advantages of the system.
This changeover marks an important step towards a more environmentally friendly future.
E-mobility – Refuelling at Schulz & Sohn
With 4 charging stations for electric vehicles, we offer our employees and customers free electric charging. We are already using this to power one of our new e-company cars, an E-Smart. We obtain the electricity for the charging station partly from our solar panels on the roofs of our production hall.
To all visitors of our company: You are cordially invited to charge your electric vehicle during your stay with us!
Certification –
for optimum quality
Our company has been ISO 9001:2015 certified since 4 June 2021. The scope is: ‘Development, production, sales and project planning of special products for the cleaning and care of coffee machines’. The ISO certification, issued by TÜV Süd AG, certifies that Schulz & Sohn GmbH fulfils an internationally valid, special quality standard.
Recycling for climate protection – Coop with Interzero
As early as 2010, the company certified in black and white that we were saving energy by reusing packaging materials. We favoured components made from renewable raw materials.
Since then, Schulz & Sohn has achieved impressive successes in terms of environmental protection and resource conservation in collaboration with Interzero. By recycling materials, we have been able to make a significant contribution to saving greenhouse gases and primary resources.
An annual ‘resources SAVED by recycling’ study by the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT confirms what we are achieving together in terms of climate and resource protection.
We received a certificate for our achievements in 2023.
Ökoprofit – an integral part of our strategy
In 2023, we successfully completed the Ökoprofit programme.
‘Ökoprofit’ – a programme to promote operational environmental performance and resource efficiency – is a valuable tool for us to evaluate and improve sustainability in our company. The successful completion of the programme in 2023 confirmed that we are moving in the right direction. At the same time, it opened up numerous other opportunities for us to optimise our environmental footprint in the future.
Over the course of a one-year commitment, our Ökoprofit team worked together to implement measures that had a direct impact on our environmental footprint. We are committed to making further progress each year.
The sun feeds us with energy
Since December 2011, a solar system with 19 kW has been installed on the roof of our 350 sqm office building. With the expansion of our facilities in 2013, we had another system with 99 kW installed. This allows us to produce a large part of our required electricity ourselves.
