Climate protection needs strong partners

Three companies have been honored as partners of the Climate Neutral Erlangen Alliance. A few days ago, Lord Mayor Florian Janik and Environmental Officer Sabine Bock presented the certificates. With the new additions, the alliance has grown to a total of ten partners. These companies, businesses and organizations actively implement the measures of the Climate Awakening Roadmap and participate in the monitoring of the city of Erlangen - for transparency and measurable climate protection.

The new partners

• Niersberger Group: Together with the municipal housing association GEWOBAU, it is implementing the largest serial refurbishment project in Germany. The special feature is the use of façade and roof elements, including the system technologies (such as heat pumps), which were prefabricated off-site and then fitted precisely to the existing building. Niersberger Group is thus actively contributing to the implementation of the lighthouse project "Serial refurbishment of residential buildings".
• Bezirkskliniken Mittelfranken: They have also achieved partner status with their approach to the circular economy. Using a special process, they recycle old concrete from the demolished buildings of the clinic on the Europakanal and reuse it for the new buildings. With the recycled concrete, they have been able to save over 750 tons of CO2 to date. This corresponds to the annual emissions of over 550 small cars with combustion engines. An important step away from the throwaway society and towards a circular economy.
• e.solutions GmbH: By implementing technical optimization measures and raising awareness among their employees, they were able to reduce their total energy consumption by around six percent in one year. In the future, they want to further increase their energy efficiency and continuously expand the use of renewable energies.

"These companies and organizations are shaping change. Climate protection certainly costs money at the beginning, but it brings new economic opportunities. I am delighted about our Alliance partners who have set out on this journey," says Lord Mayor Florian Janik.

The other partners

• Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg
• GEWOBAU,
• Intego GmbH,
• REHAU Industries SE & Co. KG
• Schaeffler Special Machinery AG & Co. KG
• Siemens Healthineers AG
• Siemens AG.

In the second part of the network meeting, the participants received an impulse from the Stadt- und Kreissparkasse on the importance of ESG key figures for the credit rating of companies. The three letters stand for E for Environment, S for Social and G for Governance.

Another working group, together with a representative from REHAU Industries, explored the question of how to successfully enter the circular economy. Using concrete illustrative objects, the REHAU representative explained how materials must be procured for reuse. In her presentation, the architect from Bezirkskliniken Mittelfranken described the procedure for constructing the new clinic on the Europakanal from old concrete. In the fourth working group, everything revolved around the topic of "greenwashing" and how an organization can currently communicate. True to the motto: Do good and talk about it correctly.

Alliance "an important driver for climate protection in Erlangen"

"With around 60 participants from companies, science, associations and the city administration, the great interest and need for exchange on climate protection topics was once again clear. The diversity and local relevance make the alliance special and an important driver for climate protection in Erlangen," says Sabine Bock, the city administration's officer for environmental protection and climate.

A short report is also available in the city newspaper "Rathausplatz 1" - December 2024 issue.