Tag: forklifts|materials handling|sustainability

Parts specialist TVH has reached the second level in the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) sustainability trajectory, and may now call itself SDG Champion.

TVH − a global player in the field of parts for forklifts, industrial, construction and agricultural equipment – was one of the first Belgian companies to receive the UNITAR certificate of SDG Pioneer in 2020. This constituted international recognition for corporate sustainability.  Specifically, TVH garnered the highest praise during the last audit for its recycling efforts, ergonomic work environment, and extensive electric vehicle fleet and infrastructure. Now, TVH has also reached the next level, becoming an SDG Champion.

Anton Theunynck, Global Sustainability Manager at TVH (pictured left with Frederik Hanssens, TVH’s SHE Manager), said: “To our company, sustainability is of strategic importance. This clearly helped to convince the jury, as did our choice to commit to specific SDGs through targets and measurements. A final convincing element was our policy to have key actors, such as the board, management and focus groups, take on a specific role, all the while providing the necessary cross-pollination. We were also given some homework: translating all of this into bigger strategic actions.”

UNITAR wants to offer governments and organisations a compass for corporate sustainability, based on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs). To receive UNITAR certification in Belgium, a company must realise actions for all 17 SDGs and obtain the Voka Charter Corporate Sustainability at least three years in a row. TVH meets both conditions.

 

Briggs Equipment, one of the UK’s premier asset management and engineering services specialists, has underlined its ongoing commitment to sustainability by becoming an officially accredited carbon neutral business. The company will also be implementing a wide-ranging environmental strategy that will ensure Briggs and its customers can continue to operate in a sustainable fashion moving forward.

Working with Carbon Neutral Britain, Briggs is offsetting its carbon footprint via approved projects that contribute towards protecting the environment and supporting communities across the world with sustainable development. Additionally, Briggs is pledging to plant a tree for every new machine it sells. This activity will see thousands of new trees planted in the UK each year.

To support this initial work, the company is exploring a wide range of transformational infrastructure projects. This includes investigating the installation of green energy options like solar and wind power for onsite storage, the continued roll-out of hybrid and electric vehicles in its company fleet, the installation of electric charging points at Briggs locations, ongoing promotion of green technology and much more.

Sustainability forms a key part of the company’s overall business strategy moving forward, which means customers can build their carbon strategy with Briggs in the confidence that their equipment partner is fully committed to sustainable working.

In recent years there have been significant technological advancements in battery technology, bringing electrification to more and more applications and larger and larger equipment. This applies across the spectrum from warehouse operations to ports and container handling. These developments have enabled Briggs customers to invest with confidence in electrification across their equipment fleets and as a result they’re experiencing significant environmental benefits and uncompromised performance.

Briggs Equipment’s Group Managing Director, Pete Jones, commented: “We’re incredibly passionate about our environmental responsibilities and recognise the importance of operating as a sustainable organisation. This new programme of activity is a natural evolution for our business as for many years we’ve provided our customers with various tools to reduce their, and our, environmental impact. Our certification and offsetting initiative with Carbon Neutral Britain provides an umbrella for all these activities to come together as a comprehensive approach. We are pushing forward with a wide range of projects and initiatives that will deliver significant benefits and allow our customers to build their carbon strategy in partnership with us.

“We’re also exploring various infrastructure projects for renewable energy generation at our premises that will contribute significantly to our green objectives.  The phasing out of diesel and petrol vehicles from our company fleet, switching to hybrid and electric vehicles is already well underway.

“Many of our customers are also embarking on their own ‘green journey’ and we are pleased to see the industry responding to the challenges ahead. Briggs is here to support those companies as they evolve towards a more sustainable model of working.”

Hyster Company has set ambitious environmental goals to achieve by 2026. Now at the halfway point, Hyster reveals the progress so far of its green manufacturing initiatives and innovative products and solutions designed to help customers achieve their sustainability goals.

“Part of the overall goal is to significantly reduce our global carbon footprint,” explains Conal McNally, Environmental Engineer for Hyster Europe. “Moreover, environmental targets have been set to reduce carbon emissions, VOC emissions from painting operations, and hazardous waste all by 30%, and water consumption by 20%. We also aim to achieve zero waste landfill at all sites and to offer a greater range of alternative products that enable customers to cut emissions cost-effectively.”

Most manufacturing processes tend to create waste. As a global manufacturer of industrial products, Hyster recognises the importance of responsible material use and is pushing to mitigate its waste footprint across all aspects of the value chain. The majority of waste created in the manufacturing of Hyster lift trucks is now being recycled.

For instance, in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, where Hyster Big Trucks are produced, any non-recyclable waste is incinerated in the Netherlands’ cleanest burning facility, and any excess heat is used for heating in the factory building and nearby homes. Solar panels have also been fitted to provide some of the power to the site.

“We have already achieved our goal of zero landfill waste at our manufacturing site in Nijmegen,” adds McNally. “And the plant producing Hyster trucks in Craigavon, UK, has also been extended with similar green initiatives at the centre of its design and build.”

The new building design includes a smarter approach to heating, a more effective use of natural light, the creation of areas for biodiversity, and a Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) amongst other important initiatives. 97% of waste from the site is now recycled, and waste to landfill has reduced by almost 45%.  A specialist at the site is working to use materials responsibly in the packaging of Hyster products, and to increasingly make packaging recyclable and sustainable.

To further support the reduction in its carbon footprint, Hyster also employs low-emission methods to deliver finished trucks to customers, wherever possible. Hyster ReachStackers, for instance, can be transported by barge from the Nijmegen facility to the main port of Zeebrugge in the Netherlands. Transport on the water reduces the number of trucks on the road, helping save on fuel consumption.

“As well as implementing sustainable manufacturing processes, we are also evolving the complete range of Hyster products towards low or zero emissions with key advances in technology and truck design.,” says McNally. “From Big Trucks used in ports and terminals, right down to low-capacity lift trucks in busy logistics operations, Hyster products increasingly incorporate a range of clean energy solutions.”

For example, innovative applications of lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen fuel cells are enabling Hyster to develop zero-emission Container Handlers and ReachStackers for the first time.

Plus, Stage V engines that comply with EU emission regulations are introduced for Hyster Big Trucks, with capacities of 8t or more, helping businesses comply with emissions legislation, while also heightening productivity, and reducing the cost of ownership for the customer.

In 2021 the Hyster J10-18XD lift trucks (pictured) were also launched, featuring lithium-ion battery packs and up to 18t lift capacity, for comparable performance to ICE trucks, but with zero emissions.  This follows the recent launch of the 7-9t lift capacity, J7.0-9.0XNL series of electric lift trucks, with fully integrated lithium-ion batteries and rapid opportunity charging.

“A big part of our green approach is supporting customers across multiple industry sectors in their own sustainability objectives with the right products, and the right aftermarket solutions, such as carbon-neutral lubricants,” says McNally.

Some Hyster Big Trucks for the European market are prefilled with Shell’s carbon-neutral engine oil, and it is also in use at the factory producing Hyster lift trucks in Craigavon, Northern Ireland.

“The demand for sustainability is growing across all areas of the materials handling industry, to comply with legislation, company environmental targets, and CSR policies,” says McNally.  “Like many of our customers, we are closely monitoring our performance and progress against our own environmental goals and continue to strive for ambitious targets in EMEA. Similar progress is also being made by Hyster in JAPIC and the Americas.”

 

Acting responsibly towards the environment, partners, customers, and employees is firmly anchored in STILL‘s corporate philosophy. Therefore, the company has once again undergone a sustainability audit by the international assessment platform EcoVadis this year – with an outstanding result: STILL is awarded the gold sustainability certificate for their commitment regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR).

For 10 years now, STILL has been subject to evaluation by the renowned rating agency EcoVadis. It involves taking a close look at the four major sustainability fields ‘environment’, ‘labour practices and human rights’, ‘fair business practices’ and ‘sustainable procurement’. After achieving very good results in previous years, STILL was awarded the gold sustainability certificate for the first time in 2021.

This puts STILL among the best of the engineering companies examined worldwide by EcoVadis and sets a high standard for forward-thinking, globally active industrial companies. This applies especially to aspects of environmental protection. Here, STILL ranks among the top 1% of all companies assessed in this sector.

Taking responsibility, shaping the future

Operating economically in line with environmental and social standards is a top priority at STILL and forms the basis of all strategic decisions. This includes maximum transparency across the entire value chain, the responsible use of resources from production to disposal, and ensuring and promoting high social and safety standards among suppliers and partners. All these standards are anchored in the company’s philosophy and are practised across all divisions and hierarchies.

In order to make them as transparent as possible for business partners and customers, STILL has its  CSR standards audited by the independent rating agency EcoVadis.

“The gold sustainability certificate is a great acknowledgment of our values and our long-standing efforts,” says Frank Müller, Senior Vice President Brand Management / Sales & Service Steering STILL EMEA. “Especially in view of the current climate situation, there is no alternative to economic practices that focus on the long-term protection and conservation of our global resources.”

CSR – the sales argument of the future

And so certificates like the EcoVadis sustainability medal will become the future quality labels of the economy. Because sustainability and responsibility have never been more in the focus of corporate assessment and international competition than they are today. CSR is no longer a question of image. Rather, operating responsibly together with a value-oriented corporate philosophy have become relevant differentiation criteria and sales arguments in the global competition for customers, orders, and partnerships.

 

 

The Aschaffenburg, Germany-based intralogistics specialist Linde Material Handling (Linde MH) has released its sustainability report for 2020. It takes stock of major social, ecological and economic aspects of the company’s activities and sets out specific targets for the future. Sustainability is firmly anchored in the company’s corporate strategy. Going forward, regular updates will continue to be published to document the progress being made.

“At Linde Material Handling, we are convinced that sustainability has become a crucial factor,” says Stefan Prokosch, Senior Vice President Brand Management at Linde MH. “In this regard, we focus both on our own sustainable business practices and on the products and solutions we manufacture.”

The intralogistics company aims to be a responsible and reliable partner to its customers in helping them achieve their own sustainability goals by means of innovative technologies. The sustainability report summarises the status quo as well as company objectives for the coming years and is based on the international standards for sustainability reporting set out by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). It is initially available for download as an English version PDF on Linde MH’s website.

Linde MH has been reporting on its own activities since 2014 and has presented a comprehensive set of guidelines within its current publication: The main section, covering corporate organisation and strategy, employer profile, employees, health, safety and environment, products and supply chains, and social responsibility, is followed by a detailed appendix with tables of relevant key performance indicators. There is a clear commitment to sustainable business practices, and this goal, together with customer satisfaction and profitable growth, forms a triad within the 2027 corporate strategy.

“For us, sustainability has become a measure of success because it secures our company’s future viability,” explains Hans-Georg Connor, Director Health, Safety & Environment at Linde MH. Specific goals have been defined to achieve this, including an EcoVadis rating of at least 75 points by 2027, a 5% reduction in reportable accidents annually, certification of all company sites according to ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 by 2024, and an average illness rate of no more than 3.3% for 2021.

In its report, Linde MH recognises its employees as a cornerstone of success. Offering career opportunities and advanced training programmes as well as an environment that fosters teamwork, the international company presents itself as an attractive employer who has maintained its strong commitment to training even during the two years of the coronavirus pandemic. In the year under review, the company employed 334 apprentices training in 14 occupations all over Europe and 30 students pursuing 10 for-credit dual-course college programmes in Germany.

A further chapter is devoted to Health, Safety and Environment (HSE). It lists measures and targets designed to maintain the health of employees and prevent accidents wherever possible. The same applies to the area of environmental protection: An initial milestone is to reduce energy-related greenhouse gases by 30% by 2027, with the CO2 footprint generated in production, sales and services in 2017 serving as the basis. Some progress toward this goal has already been achieved: Around 79% of the electricity purchased in 2020 came from renewable energy sources.

The 57-page report devotes ample consideration to the contribution that Linde MH is making to greater sustainability with its products and solutions. Prokosch explains why the focus is primarily on the products’ use phase: “As we know from our life cycle assessments, this is where the greatest leverage for climate protection is to be found. And with the new generation of Linde electric forklifts, we are creating another prerequisite for achieving CO2 neutrality in the long term.”

In general, the topic of energy plays an important role for Linde MH. “We want to be energy consultants for our customers and deliver the best possible solution for every application. To enable us to do this, we have the broadest range of energy options available,” Prokosch continues. “When it comes to recycling lithium-ion batteries, a viable solution already exists. The recycling of cells remains a challenge, however – the recycling rate is still low today.” Here, the company is working closely with battery manufacturers.

With its numerous safety solutions, Linde MH also offers a holistic concept for improving safety in intralogistics. In addition to sensor- and ultra-wideband-based assistance systems, this includes safety consulting that can be used to identify and mitigate safety-critical points in operations. Last, but not least, the high product quality of the company’s industrial trucks also contributes to the responsible use of resources.

Linde Material Handling’s principles relating to supplier behaviour are becoming increasingly important. They set out the clear expectation that human rights will be respected and international social standards complied with. In particular, these include the prohibition of child labour and forced labour in accordance with the requirements of the International Labor Organization (ILO), as well as the enforcement of statutory minimum, health and safety standards.

In order to achieve the greatest possible transparency with regard to the sustainability of Linde MH’s supply chain, an EcoVadis rating or a comparable assessment is to be available for 25% of top-spend strategic suppliers by 2022, 100% of strategic and high-risk suppliers by 2023 and 100% of direct suppliers by 2025. Moreover, minimum requirements for sustainability in the supply chain are to be defined and communicated by 2023, and from 2027 they will become mandatory for all suppliers.

Click here to download the report