Energy – nothing runs without it, not in sports and not in business. Saving energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy are what it’s all about.
Why conserving energy is so important
The production, distribution and consumption of energy in its various forms have dire ecological effects. The depletion of limited, non-renewable natural resources like oil, gas or coal has a hugely negative impact on our ecosystems.
As a company, we are responsible for conserving energy and switching to alternative sources such as wind power.
Conflicts and energy waste
Time and again, it is the supply of energy that leads to social conflicts, as shown by the Russian natural gas pipeline through the Ukraine or the Gulf Wars.
The more independent we as a company are of such energy sources, the lower our economic risk, but of course also our moral "complicity" in such conflicts.
An easy way to save costs
In addition to its environmental impact, energy consumption also has a high impact on the profitability of the company: the lower the energy consumption, the lower the running costs.
It is hard to believe how much power is constantly wasted - for example, for the stand-by operation of electrical devices which is completely unnecessary. Saving electricity means saving money and protecting the climate at the same time. So, pull the plug and switch it off! Read more here.
Climate neutral despite energy consumption
All energy consumption results in climate-damaging emissions. These are largely responsible for climate change, which threatens the very existence of mankind. This is why we urgently need to implement the energy system transformation in Germany and globally: higher energy efficiency and the conversion to renewable energy sources!
In order to offset the negative effects of our energy consumption, we have been paying a carbon offset to the myclimate organization for all emissions generated at our company headquarters in Tettnang-Obereisenbach since 2012. This means that the entire VAUDE site in Tettnang-Obereisenbach, including manufacturing, is climate neutral. More information here.
Electricity and heat at VAUDE: 100 % renewable
The efficient use of energy is just as much of a given for VAUDE as the use of renewable energy sources for electricity and heat.
This is why renewable energy accounts for more than 50 % of VAUDE's total energy consumption. The other half of our total energy consumption is not yet generated from renewable sources. The reason: it constitutes fuel for our company vehicles. Unfortunately, there is currently still no way of avoiding using diesel and petrol from fossil fuels. More about our company fleet here.
The "dip" in the proportion of renewable energy in 2015 and 2016 is due to the fact that lightning struck our production building and our Made in Germany production was temporarily move to a rented facility. The landlord used fossil fuels for electricity and heat. Ever since our VAUDE production is back in our own premises, all machines are working again with 100 % renewable electricity and gas.
Certified energy management
In 2008, VAUDE introduced a business Environmental Management System and has been certified according to EMAS and ISO14001 ever since. Energy management plays a central role in this system: All energy consumption is recorded and evaluated annually.
From these results, we derive goals and measures. EMAS commits us to a continuous energy improvement process.
Since 2008, in Obereisenbach, we have been working steadily towards:
The steady reduction of energy consumption
Conversion of energy to renewable sources
High energy efficiency in our office building
VAUDE has renovated a part of the building that had been used as a warehouse to make offices, in accordance with DGNB standards (German Sustainable Building Council). The entire administration building was modernized. After a fire in 2015, VAUDE built its new Manufaktur production site in 2016.
Energy efficiency played a prominent role in every phase of the construction work. The building has attained a very high energy efficiency rating due to better insulation, a living roof, floor heating, wooden construction and clever lighting solutions. More about our work environment here.
Climate-neutral despite energy consumption
Energy is an important environmental issue for VAUDE, because the production of VAUDE products requires as much energy as the rest of the business: including all production machinery, the transport of materials and goods, heating of the offices, the company fleet, the daily commute for employees and the electricity used by computers.
This applies to the company headquarters at our Tettnang-Obereisenbach site, but of course, especially to the production of VAUDE products and all the materials needed for the rest of the supply chain.
Voluntary commitment for energy-saving consumables
VAUDE has made internal commitments to keeping upstream energy consumption as low as possible for goods and services that we procure at our headquarters in Tettnang-Obereisenbach.
Here are a few examples:
All office equipment such as computers, printers, coffee makers and so on, meet a high energy efficiency standard (minimum: Energy Star; preferred: Blauer Engel).
The VAUDE company fleet is in the process of conversion to low-fuel consumption and electric vehicles. More on our company fleet here.
The VAUDE Café and the canteen are certified organic and purchase almost exclusively organic, locally-sourced products. These generally require less energy consumption for cultivation, production and transport.
As a participant of the IHK Energieimpuls-Netzwerk Bodensee-Oberschwaben, we are obliged to increase our energy efficiency. We have set concrete goals to accomplish this – read more at: Our Goals in Detail.
In 2017, we introduced new energy management software. This enables us to record and evaluate energy consumption according to organizational units, e.g. administration, manufacturing, canteen etc.
VAUDE’s total energy consumption at the company headquarters in Tettnang-Obereisenbach sank by 1 % in 2018 compared to the base year 2013. In light of the fact that sales rose by more than 27 % compared to the base year 2013, we can be a little proud of our energy management. Read more about decoupling resource consumption from business growth here. And here you can read more about VAUDE growth. VAUDE's total energy consumption also includes fuel consumption for our company vehicles. Read more about VAUDE's mobility targets here.
Legal regulations in Germany
VAUDE is subject to applicable legal regulations regarding energy in Germany.
These are in particular:
Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) - relates to buildings
Energy Saving Act (EnEG) - concerns office remodeling in particular
Federal Emission Control Act (BImSch and 1. BImSchV) - relates to heating systems
Renewable Energy Act (EEG) - relates to the supply of the photovoltaic electricity produced and fed into the public grid
Energy consumption in the supply chain
Far more energy is consumed in the upstream supply chain in the manufacture of VAUDE products than at the company's headquarters in Tettnang-Obereisenbach. Where our products are manufactured is explained here.
At the same time, we have much less influence over how the issue of energy is dealt with there. They are not our own companies, but independent contractors. Nevertheless, we are working very closely with them - both in terms of human rights and working conditions as well as in terms of environmental protection. We report on how we are trying to meet our responsibilities here.
