Engineering tomorrow
Interview
Tatjana Grissemann, Corporate Responsibility Manager - Liebherr-MCCtec GmbH
What efforts has Liebherr-MCCtec made to achieve the EcoVadis Gold rating?
We have refreshed and expanded our corporate responsibility policy taking into account our long-term strategic goals, including defining targets for quantifiable KPIs in the areas of energy and employee health. Furthermore, we have consolidated all locally collected indicators into an overall dashboard.
On the one hand, this will help us to set further strategic targets for the future. On the other hand, we now have all data required for the sustainability report that we plan to create next year.
Can you describe a few specific highlights on the way to the gold rating? What exactly did Liebherr-MCCtec do?
We have anchored sustainability management more firmly in our organisational structure. This has led to sustainability issues being planned and systematically implemented at a more strategic and overall level.
We have aligned our policy with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, derived concrete goals for our company and established key figures to monitor our progress. This year, we also made it clear to the outside world that sustainability is important to us by signing the UN Global Compact.
What role did the electrification of the drives play in this?
In line with our commitment to continuously improve in order to reduce our environmental impacts and to shape long-term industry trends, we are driving forward the electrification of our construction machine portfolio. Many customers and cities are increasingly demanding minimal CO2 emissions and a significant reduction in noise pollution for their projects. Our emission-free products respond to these challenges. However, we also conduct research on alternative, climate-neutral drive concepts.
This year we delivered the first mobile harbour crane which runs on fossil-free and almost emission-free HVO100 diesel. HVO Renewable Diesel is made of 100% renewable raw materials, so no new carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. It is produced through the hydro-treatment of vegetable oils and/or organic fats. These innovations contributed, among others, to a high score in the assessed category “Environment”, in which we are in the top 5% of companies rated by EcoVadis in our industry.
The topic of sustainability is no longer a trend, but is firmly integrated into everyday life. It affects both companies and, increasingly, society as such. What will happen at Liebherr-MCCtec in the next few years?
Our recent success is not the end, merely a step along the way. We will continue to improve, as that is what we strive for. We have mapped out a future pathway and are working to embed a culture of assuming responsibility towards the environment and people at all levels of the company - from employees to management.
Decarbonisation has become a strategic topic. We will continue to work on the reduction of greenhouse gas emission, both throughout the life cycle of our products and at corporate level. Furthermore, as part of the Liebherr Group we look forward to participating in a group-wide sustainability report, a further commitment to more transparency across our supply chains and the future of our planet.