Resource Conservation and Waste Management

The responsible use of resources and management of waste are an essential part of our environmental responsibility. With systematic green waste management, we reduce negative impacts on the environment.

As a logistics service provider, we place a strong focus on energy consumption and emissions in the context of our environmental responsibility and, thanks to detailed data capture, systematic management and ambitious targets, have already made significant achievements in this area. By the same token, we aim to increasingly measure and manage our recyclables and waste volumes, and reported on this topic for the first time last year. To this end, our waste management undergoes a continuous improvement process with a focus on waste disposal processes, a commitment that is also formulated in our environmental and energy policy and is based, among other things, on the waste hierarchy of the German Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act (Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz – KrWG). In concrete terms this means that we assume responsibility for the environmentally compatible use of resources and define realistic targets for measures, in particular for the avoidance, reuse and recycling of recyclable materials as well as waste. In this connection, we also give consideration to waste-related transports and ways of reducing them.

Our environmental management system has been certified in accordance with EN ISO 14001 since 2014 at all German auto terminals and transport centers in our AUTOMOBILE Division, as well as at 13 more contract logistics locations. The management system provides the framework for processes, responsibilities and, not least, the implementation of environmental protection requirements, including those relating to waste management. At new sites such as our C3 Bremen logistics center, efficient waste management is part of the equation from the planning phase onward.

Improvement thanks to targeted collection

Our sites are responsible for the legally compliant separation, collection and disposal of recyclable materials and waste and to this end work with mostly certified waste management companies that have specialized in recycling, energy recovery and waste disposal. A considerable proportion of the total waste results from our customers’ business activities – for example, when goods are delivered to us packaged and we have to dispose of the packaging. In some cases, the customer specifies and organizes the disposal channels. We then collect and separate according to their specifications. Where we are responsible ourselves, we centrally and uniformly record all quantities and types of waste generated.  

Five levels of the waste hierarchy according to the Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act (KrWG)

In addition to the regulations of the German Commercial Waste Ordinance (Gewerbeabfallverordnung – GewAbfV), the basis is a management system module which our employees can access at any time and which explains the respective processes and responsibilities. At 20 percent of the around 50 German sites under consideration, the respective customers are responsible for waste disposal, so no data is available to us. Of the sites for which we are responsible, we were able to systemically integrate 80 percent into the data capture process in the reporting year. Such a standardized procedure and corresponding documentation is vital in meeting not only our own standards but also the growing demands placed on us by our customers and lenders in this context.

At 96 percent, most of the waste we generate is non-hazardous. The small amount of hazardous waste is mainly machine, gear and lubricating oils, absorbent and filter materials, and rechargeable batteries. The proportionally largest non-hazardous waste fractions are paper, paperboard and cardboard, as well as wood. In 2022, we achieved a separate collection rate of 89 percent – further improving on this value is a logical aspect of sustainable waste management.

Protecting people and the environment is a top priority when dealing with waste. With consistent waste management, we can not only reduce negative impacts but also lower disposal costs. In addition, there are various possibilities to pass on recycled materials to other market players, thus returning them to the materials and economic cycle. Overall responsibility for this topic area lies with the central Safety and Environmental Protection as well as Sustainability departments, which work closely with the sites and with the quality management of our AUTOMOBILE and CONTRACT Divisions. These train their own environmental management coordinators at the sites, for example, who are responsible for capturing the data and are available as points of contact for the employees.

Percentage breakdown of generated waste in 2022

Recycling und Reduktion als wirksame Hebel

Many of our sites already have measures in place to reduce waste or improve reuse and recycling. One example is the recycling of Styrofoam packaging, which takes place both at the Supplier Logistics Center in Spartanburg, USA, and at the Emmerich site, with a combined volume of around 260 metric tons. In both cases this involves protective packaging for products or components supplied to us by our customers which we process further. Instead of disposing of this transport packaging, we compact the material on site and remarket it – thus ensuring that 100 percent of the originally single-use product finds its way back into the cycle. At a number of sites, we also compact wood waste with the help of so-called roll packers – rollers lowered into the waste containers. This has enabled us to reduce the number of transports to the disposal site as well as the corresponding emissions – for example at one of our sites in Bremen by a full two-thirds.

Percentage breakdown of non-hazardous waste in 2022

Our new C3 Bremen logistics facility, which went into operation in the reporting year, sets completely new standards when it comes to sustainable logistics real estate. This is also reflected in the waste management system in operation there, which meets the requirements of the WELL standard. By providing appropriately labeled waste containers directly at source, we make it as easy as possible for our employees to separate waste, for example into paper and residual waste. As far as possible, we avoid the use of plastic trash sacks. The disposal concept provides for the separate collection of paper, paperboard and cardboard packaging, foil packaging, mixed waste and wood in color-coded large containers. Even in the washrooms we rely on recycling, and provide separate bins for used paper towels. These can then be returned to our suppliers’ plants and recycled into new hygiene products. By using special toilet paper dispensers, we also anticipate paper savings of between 20 and 30 percent. We are currently reviewing the transfer of the overall concept to other sites.