2nd meeting of the Climate Neutral Erlangen Alliance

The forum serves to share good examples of climate protection. The common goal is to reduce CO2 emissions to zero in the coming years. More than 50 people from 28 companies and organizations were represented at the second meeting in November.

Material passport for buildings

In a working group, Niklas Kamm presented methods with which his company is implementing the topic of the circular economy more strongly in the construction of buildings from the outset. The Managing Director of project developer S&P Commercial Development: "When a building reaches the end of its life cycle, a large proportion of the raw materials used are disposed of. It is often difficult to separate the components and it is often unclear which materials are actually used. We have therefore introduced the material passport for buildings, in which all materials used are listed so that they can often be reused later. One of the biggest tasks for the real estate industry is to plan and construct buildings in a recyclable way in order to save resources and CO2."

Study to discover the last ounces of CO2

The plant manager of the Siemens electronics plant, Lorenz Rappl, in the neighboring town of Fürth, also took a new approach. In his working group, he reported on how the electronics plant is to become CO2-neutral by 2025. In line with the principle "You can't improve what you can't measure", the first step he took was to precisely and accurately record all energy flows in the building. The next steps followed on this basis: reduction of energy losses, installation of PV systems, nitrogen and compressed air generation and much more. A decarbonization study is now set to discover the last ounce of CO2 and avoid it by 2025. "Someone has to wear the hat and feel responsible for buildings and systems. This is the only way to achieve an ambitious goal," emphasizes Plant Manager Rappl.

Encouraging people to give up their cars with offers

In the second part of the event, a panel discussion focused on mobility in companies. What offers convince employees to leave their cars at home? If the employees of the technology company Intego give up their cars at least twice a week and cycle to work, the company bears the cost of purchasing the two-wheeler. Managing Director Thomas Wagner has already been able to reach a large proportion of his workforce in this way. However, it would be difficult for employees from rural areas. There would still be a lack of attractive bus connections, the Managing Director admitted. Siemens Healthineers relies on a wide range of mobility options. These range from bicycle repair stations, changing rooms and the Erlangen-Forchheim shuttle bus to regular campaigns. The offers for the changeover are there. Siemens Healthineers would like to motivate even more employees in Erlangen and Forchheim to leave their cars behind and switch to bicycles, public transportation or carpooling in the future through continuous improvement. This is particularly important for employees who live locally and only have to travel short distances.

Mobility station also for the public

Managing Director Andrea Pickel of the car dealership of the same name is also preparing for the future. The dealership is currently planning a mobility station. Among other things, e-cars can be charged there using the dealership's own PV system. In the future, the mobility station will also be open to the public. According to the managing director, demand is high. Therefore, the economy should also create offers.

The head of municipal mobility planning, Christian Korda, reported on free public transport in the city center from 2024. In addition, the VAG bike will be coming to Erlangen next year. These are both concrete measures to make it easier to switch to public transport.

Shaping the ecological transformation process together

Lord Mayor Florian Janik: "Climate protection is becoming an increasingly important economic factor, if only in view of rising energy prices. The Climate Neutral Erlangen Alliance brings together companies and organizations that want to shape the ecological transformation process together. They support each other, enrich each other with good examples and thus help to develop new ideas and overcome hurdles. We welcome every company that sets out on this journey."

Sabine Bock, municipal climate and environmental protection officer: "The Climate Neutral Erlangen Alliance brings together people who are breaking new ground in very different fields in order to save CO2. Our aim is to give the pioneers a platform at our events so that they can inspire others to follow suit with their examples."

Interested companies and organizations can contact Ignacio Ugarte, the city's representative for economy and climate (e-mail ignacio.ugarte@stadt.erlangen.de, phone 09131 86-3447).