Heidelberg India

The closing report for the dialog on climate protection between politicians and business leaders was handed over to Germany’s Minister for the Environment Dr. Norbert Röttgen on February 7, 2011. This dialog is a shared platform between the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety (BMU) and well-known representatives of German industry. It is geared towards finding joint approaches for minimizing greenhouse gas emissions such as CO2. For example, Germany aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020 and by at least 80 percent by 2050 compared to the base year 1990. The dialog on climate protection consisted of four working groups: Building services, financial management, trade and industry, and products. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) was invited by the BMU to represent the mechanical engineering industry in working group 3 “Climate protection in trade and industry”.

• Environmental protection demands an integrated approach

Heidelberg is fully committed to the climate protection targets of the German government and the measures laid down to achieve them. Environmental protection has been firmly established as a corporate goal of Heidelberg since 1992. At the Heidelberg Amstetten site, home to the company’s foundry, innovative ventilation and air-conditioning equipment in the mechanical production facility saves up to 1,150 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year. The cold water used to cool the foundry is generated using waste heat, which cuts energy requirements by a further 630 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

• Improve resource and energy efficiency through continuous improvement process

Pursuing a holistic approach to environmental protection, Heidelberg analyzes and optimizes its own processes in development, production, and service. The company has ambitious goals for the future: “For example, we are seeking to reduce energy consumption in our plants by 30 percent by 2015 compared to the base year 2008. Fifty percent of the heat required is to be generated from biomass or combined heat and power,” says Stephan Plenz, Member of the Management Board responsible for Heidelberg Equipment and environmental management.