Leuze is CO2 neutral in Germany

Objective 2022 achieved: thanks to improved energy efficiency, Leuze has taken the step to become a CO2 neutral company in Germany. Indirect emissions in the supply chain will also be examined going forward.

Environment Social Governance (ESG) is part of the Leuze company strategy. For Leuze, growth means taking responsibility - for the environment and society, too. In this context, the Sensor People have achieved an initial sub-objective that they were aiming for: the company is CO2 neutral in Germany since 2022.

Improved energy efficiency

As part of their growth strategy, Leuze had set the target to become CO2 neutral in Germany by the end of 2022. To do so, the company first examined its direct emissions and on this basis, it optimized the issues that were identified: thanks to comprehensive investment in new buildings and the modernization of existing buildings, it was possible to achieve a substantial reduction in energy consumption. Leuze was also able to significantly improve its energy efficiency in production: this was due to a massive expansion of its own renewable energy generation using photovoltaics, among other measures. As a result, the Sensor People were able to reduce last year the purchase of electricity from external sources by about half. Leuze has been using 100% green electricity by external electricity for years. A part of this is supplied by Leuze's own hydropower plants, which are leased out. The vehicle fleet has also been optimized: several hybrid and fully electric company cars are already in use. And there are more to follow. In addition, Leuze provides charging stations to its customers and employees. This is complemented by employee programs such as "Job-Rad" (bicycle to work), offering the opportunity to charge e-bike batteries on company premises.

Preventing deforestation

In order to compensate for unavoidable direct CO2 emissions, Leuze supports an international forest conservation project in the north of Brazil on approx. 148,000 hectares. This is not related to reforestation, but is a project that supports the conservation of the rain forest as a natural CO2 sink. The forest conservation project saves emissions by preventing the deforestation of the jungle.

Sustainability remains firmly on the agenda

But for Leuze, avoiding direct emissions is not enough. As an international company, the Sensor People also want to make a global contribution to more sustainable management. This means that the examination of indirect emissions in the supply chain is also part of the agenda. As with most companies, these play a major part, as well as being more difficult to influence. In this context, it is about questions such as: where do the components come from? How and in what conditions are they produced? Do these reflect the ethical and ecological demands posed by Leuze? What does this mean in the context of competitiveness? To get answers to these questions and initiate improvements, Leuze carries out regular audits, not only in Germany but also in manufacturing countries like in Asia.

For a circular economy

As a further step, Leuze also aims to become CO2 neutral on the product side. Individual new sensor series are already being examined with a "cradle to cradle" approach to achieve this. In this context, the Sensor People are checking the extent to which an actual product contributes to CO2 emissions and what this means for companies operating systems with Leuze sensors.

Leuze SenseBees

In addition to reducing CO2 emissions, Leuze also protects the local ecosystem and is dedicated to preserving the bees and biodiversity on site. For this purpose, Leuze has established five bee colonies on the Leuze site around its company headquarters in Owen/Teck. The Leuze SenseBees are cared for by an experienced beekeeper, who ensures that the Leuze bees are well looked after.