Hand in hand with the environment
As a company with strong regional roots, the Zimmer Group bears a special responsibility for the careful use of resources and for environmental protection in the region. Using energy and materials as sparingly as possible, as well as conducting business with a focus on environmental and energy efficiency, are important pillars of its corporate philosophy. The medium-sized company took its 40th anniversary in 2020 as an opportunity to further align production with the efficient use of energy and resources.
The amounts of electricity and natural gas required for production are covered through various measures. One million kilowatt-hours of green electricity come each year from the hydroelectric power plant operated by the energy service provider Süwag in Willstätt, 15 kilometers away. The Zimmer Group generates roughly the same amount of electricity itself. Several photovoltaic systems are already installed on the company roofs in Freistett. At the turn of the year, another photovoltaic system will be put into operation on the newly built production hall. “Consuming electricity where it is generated directly on site is an essential element of our environmental strategy,” emphasizes Managing Director Günther Zimmer. “This makes the Zimmer Group another step more regional.”
Overall, according to the company, these measures save 5,595 metric tons of CO₂ per year. The green gas also helps reduce remaining emissions.
The Zimmer Group is also taking the next step in electromobility to reduce CO₂ emissions. A total of 16 charging points are being installed in the parking lots at both company locations in Freistett to charge electric vehicles during working hours. The vehicle fleet is now also being gradually converted to electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
Michael Fischer is the environmental and energy management officer of the Zimmer Group and is committed to continuously optimizing environmental protection performance within the corporate group. Certification according to ISO 50001 underscores the success of these measures. “More than 100 electricity measuring points were installed for consumption monitoring and analysis. This made it possible to identify many additional savings potentials and derive measures from them,” explains Michael Fischer. Examples include the use of heat pumps for air-conditioning the buildings and cooling the machines, optimization of the compressed air network, and the switch to LED lighting.
Looking to the future, the Zimmer Group also wants to raise awareness among its employees of tomorrow for the topic of “environmental protection and energy.” For this reason, five apprentices were trained by the Southern Upper Rhine Chamber of Industry and Commerce for energy topics and advised by Michael Fischer. As part of the “Energy Scout” project, they looked for new energy-saving opportunities and found them, among other things, in the compressed air guns that the company needs for production. The required nozzles are now being developed in-house so that the compressed air guns now consume significantly less energy. At the Zimmer Group, sustainability and the promotion of young talent are both top priorities.
