At SEW-EURODRIVE A/S, we have significantly increased our focus on sustainability. We have done this by strengthening our decentralized business model and initiating relevant measures regarding our upstream activities. We are thereby continuously working to reduce our own CO2 footprint.
At the same time, we want to help our customers reduce their CO2 footprint through energy advising and a focus on extending the lifespan of their existing transmission solutions.
We have an ambition for our sustainable profile to be a competitive parameter in relation to both existing and potential new customers.
During 2022, we have increased our local assembly capacity by up to 50%. We have invested 20 million DKK in upgrading our assembly layout, so that in Denmark we now assemble 70% of the gears we sell. In doing so, we reduce our CO2 footprint compared to having pre-assembled units delivered from our headquarters in Germany. This is because the unassembled gear motors take up approx. 30% less than the total units when they are being transported from A to B.
There is a big difference in the energy efficiency when comparing different gear types. For example, when using highly efficient gears, there is only a 5% energy loss, while simple conventional gears, such as helical-worm gear units, can have up to 50% energy loss. We will make this difference more transparent for our customers, so that it will be easier to choose the most energy-efficient gear for the specific need. Our ambition is to help our customers reduce their CO2 footprint with the help of the right energy consulting.
Our products are of such high quality that the lifespan can be extended up to twice with the help of planned service, retrofit and remanufacturing. Steel, which is the main material in our products, is a raw material that has a relatively large CO2 footprint, but also a large recycling potential. We will use that potential actively to help our customers reduce their CO2 footprint by extending the lifespan of their SEW products.
We focus on hybrid and electric cars in our car policy. This means that the company cars we buy for e.g. our driving sales personnel primarily are electric cars or alternatively hybrid cars in cases where it makes sense in relation to the expected driving pattern.
In addition, we would like to make it easier for our employees to convert to a greener form of transport. As part of our increased focus on sustainability, we have installed charging stations from Clever in the car park at our head office in Greve, so that our employees can charge their electric or hybrid car while they are at work.
We focus on ensuring that our heat consumption and the electricity we use must be as green as possible. We have already converted from natural gas to district heating. The next thing we will tackle is our power consumption - partly we want to make sure that the power we use is as environmentally friendly as possible. In addition, in the near future we will implement solar cells on the roof of our buildings in Greve, so that we can produce green electricity for our production.
We are part of a worldwide group with headquarters in Bruchsal, Germany. This means that our local focus on sustainability goes hand in hand with the global initiatives that SEW-EURODRIVE works with worldwide.
Read more about how SEW-EURODRIVE works with sustainability here.
