Within 12 months, participating companies learned about the topic of resource-conserving Management and the possibilities of increasing efficiency in one’s own business. Markus Haick, Managing Director of Weseler Teppich GmbH & Co. KG. and the tretford Carpet brand, suggested that: “By participating in the ECOPROFIT Project, companies can alleviate cost pressure in an environmentally-friendly way . So operating in a sustainable way, actually gives them a competitive edge. The use of natural and recycled raw materials – along with resource-conserving entrepreneurial action – is playing an ever more important role”. It’s part of tretford’s DNA. We take our ecological and social responsibility seriously. In fact, it’s anchored in our corporate Guidelines.
Intensive, customized and expert support on site it given to each company that gets involved.
Specific weak-point analyses were carried out at the plants and potential for improvement was identified.
At tretford Carpet, an "environmental team" was formed that represents a cross-section of the workforce. Staff from various areas of the company, such as management, personnel, production, works council, have dedicated themselves to the ECOPROFIT Project, and are looking out for things that can be improved with an eye toward ecological sustainability.
In joint workshops, all environmentally-relevant topics of interest to the participants were dealt with during the project period. This pertains, for example, to such areas as waste disposal, hazardous material storage and energy management. Together, economic measures were developed and implemented to save money and protect the environment at the same time.
The savings achieved not only pay off in terms of the climate and the environment, but also support important investments in the future viability of the companies.
Die Weseler Teppich GmbH & Co. KG with it tretford Carpet brand was awarded the “ECOPROFIT Enterprise, District of Borken 2019“ certificate.
After implementing optimization measures, we see a CO2 saving of 91.4 t and an energy saving of 226,700 kWh, as well as four tons of waste per year that is avoided. Electricity was saved through widespread LED use and a new lighting system. In particular, however, the energy savings were achieved through the renewal of the compressed air system. The heat produced by this system as a “by-product” is used to heat water for the showers in the changing area.
Moreover, an enormous amount of waste was avoided, above all through the intelligent recycling of carpet remnants. Cardboard boxes and packaging was dispensed with in favor of recycled cardboard with grass paper lamination. The printing is climate-neutral thanks to a CO2 off-setting scheme in connection with a reforestation project.
An electric company vehicle was purchased and an E-Bike project was launched to entice employees switch to bikes and leave a smaller CO2 footprint . While the E-Bike project doesn’t directly save costs, it does promote employee satisfaction and health. The topic of “own electricity production” by means of wind or solar energy is already in progress.
“It was interesting to put a spotlight on topics that we’ve always wanted to tackle", is how Markus Haick sums it all up. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved over the course of this year. We plan to stay on the ball, continue to optimize and get even better in the future.
