WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ALWAYS IN SIGHT
Our planet is our livelihood. We aim to keep the environmental footprint of our company and our products as small as possible throughout their entire life cycle. Climate-friendly production is essential for us as we develop and design our own machinery. To achieve this goal, we are continuously working on science-based decarbonisation measures.
One key element of our emissions reduction strategy is the use of renewable energy. For example, Schubert generates clean green electricity using its own photovoltaic system. At the same time, we minimise our consumption of energy and raw materials. In the long term, we aim to significantly reduce our site-specific CO2 emissions. To this end, we design future facilities to meet our sustainability standards.
Schubert works primarily with local or German suppliers to further reduce CO2 emissions. We support our employees’ efforts to switch to environmentally friendly modes of transport – whether by providing charging points in the company car park or by subsidising e-bikes. We also adhere to the principle of avoiding waste wherever possible, implementing strict, well-planned recycling and waste management systems, especially in production.
“Our goal is, by 2030, to reduce our absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 42 per cent compared with 2021.”
Max Wagner, Head of building management, Gerhard Schubert GmbH
HOW WE ACHIEVE
CLIMATE-FRIENDLY PRODUCTION
For us, climate protection means, first and foremost, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 as much as possible. That’s why we’re gradually switching from fossil fuels such as oil, gas and petrol to renewable solutions at our sites. Building heating and our vehicle fleet offer the greatest untapped potential for this transition. We are now covering our electricity requirements entirely with certified green electricity and our own solar panels. The foresight of our founder, Gerhard Schubert, has proven to be a major advantage at our Crailsheim site. Decades ago, he opted for geothermal energy in several Schubert buildings. Since 2024, this climate-friendly heating and cooling system has been supplemented by our large ice storage unit beneath the new Hall 3. It has such a large capacity that it can also be used to support additional buildings in future.
For us, there are three key areas of focus when it comes to using resources efficiently and sparingly. Firstly, fostering awareness across the whole team of the value of raw materials and energy. Secondly, accurately tracking our consumption of resources. And thirdly, establishing reliable processes for reducing this consumption over the long term. We are consistently implementing all three measures step by step. This is particularly true in production, where we use the greatest quantities of resources, such as steel, paints, plastics, electronic components and, of course, electricity. At the same time, we are focusing on the economical use of paper, office supplies, IT hardware and water in our development and administration departments. We benefit enormously from combining sustainability with our lean strategy for streamlined processes. The more efficient we become, the more sustainable our products are – which ultimately helps our customers act more sustainably as well.
For decades, a high level of in-house production is one of the hallmarks that has set Schubert apart. In 2024, this key figure stood at 52 per cent – reflecting our commitment to always delivering the best solution to our customers. That’s why we develop many of our solutions in-house and insist on the highest standards of product quality from our suppliers. This approach led to the establishment of our Schubert Fertigungstechnik and Schubert System Elektronik subsidiaries, which reliably supply Gerhard Schubert GmbH with mechanical and electronic components sourced from nearby. We also maintain long-standing partnerships with other local and German suppliers. Our partners are so important to us that we regularly highlight their performance through our Supplier League – a dedicated Schubert competition in which we rate the reliability, speed and quality of deliveries. And relying on support from partners within our local region or our own country also means that we can keep CO2 emissions low thanks to short supply chains.
A Schubert packaging machine can easily weigh several tonnes. We manufacture more than 130 machines a year in Crailsheim. Inevitably, such a large volume of material generates a considerable amount of waste. This makes it even more important for us to consistently act in a sustainable way. We have established a sophisticated waste management system in our production halls to sort raw materials by type. This allows them to be properly recycled by our partner companies and reused as equivalent-quality materials. Such measures support the sustainable principle of the circular economy. The cycle is already working very well for metals, single-material plastics, paper and cardboard. Our employees also share their ideas and suggestions for improvement, which we consider a welcome sign that sustainable thinking at Schubert extends to every corner of the company.
Climate-friendly production
KEY STEPS
IN 2025
