Optima Group Introduces Environmental and Climate Strategy

OPTIMA will complement the existing sustainability strategy "We care for tomorrow" with a holistic environmental and climate strategy. For this, the company will be awarded the label "CO2-neutral company" of the Climate Protection Foundation Baden-Wuerttemberg by Dr. Patrick Rapp, State Secretary in the Ministry of Economics, Labor and Tourism in Baden-Wuerttemberg, during the presentation on June 02, 2022. Optima is thus the first private-sector company in Baden-Wuerttemberg to receive this label.

The Optima Group is introducing its environmental and climate strategy as part of its 100th anniversary. This will expand the "We care for tomorrow" sustainability strategy. By consistently using renewable energy sources, Optima has already been able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent. With an extensive package of measures, we will reduce our climate footprint by an additional 25 percent by 2030. In addition, all German locations have been operating net climate-neutral since 2022. As a result, Optima is already assuming responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions that cannot currently be reduced and avoided. As of 2023, Optima will be able to determine the individual climate footprint of customer projects, implement reduction measures together with customers and deliver machines and systems in a net climate-neutral manner through residual compensation. In addition, other environmental issues will be taken into account for the long term.

"We understand sustainability as long-term, partnership-based and resource-conserving management. 100 years of future also stands for this sustainability. We think in generations, in the past and also in the future," explains Hans Bühler, Managing Director/CEO of the Optima Group. Existing and numerous additional activities will now be merged into the existing sustainability strategy, which is called "We care for tomorrow". "Our common goal is to make further contributions to climate protection in the short term and to be holistically excellent in the medium term in the areas of the environment, social affairs and corporate governance," adds Stefan König, Managing Director of the Optima Group. Optima's customers are also increasingly interested in the CO2 footprint, reduction targets and measures. In addition, the implementation of a holistic ESG profile (ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance) for achieving the objectives will be pursued more intensively.

Central sustainability strategy with 3 pillars:

Optima's "We care for tomorrow" sustainability strategy consists of three pillars:

Circular Packaging: Developing sustainable packaging solutions for a functioning circular economy. Examples include the conversion of packaging for hygiene products to 100 percent recyclable solutions and the conversion of food packaging to mono-materials and paper. Our objective is for packaging materials to be reused again and again for the same packaging without any loss of quality (cradle-to-cradle principle).
Sustainable technology: Developing resource-conserving machine solutions that take into account the entire life cycle. For the first time, it is possible to calculate the climate footprint of machines, the so-called Product Carbon Footprint (PCF). The PCF will be continuously improved for the production phase and useful life of the machines. The useful life in particular is highly relevant for customers and offers the greatest savings potential.
Corporate sustainability: Optima is committed to ecological, fair, and successful long-term business practices. Today, the company follows the UN Global Compact, the world's largest and most important initiative for sustainable and responsible corporate governance, and external evaluation systems such as Ecovadis. In addition, Optima has been certified since the beginning of 2022 in accordance with ISO 14001 by implementing an environmental management system.

German locations have been climate-neutral since 2022:

The starting point for climate protection measures is the calculation of the Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF). The correct accounting of greenhouse gases and the compensation of remaining emissions were verified by TÜV Süd in accordance with the internationally recognized ISO 14064 standard and the GHG Protocol model. In addition, Optima has been using green electricity since 2009 and has been able to reduce the company's operational climate footprint by 40 percent through additional measures. A further package of measures will reduce this by an additional 25 percent by 2030. Increasing energy and resource efficiency at selected locations and expanding sustainable mobility are important cornerstones for this. To compensate for remaining emissions, Optima is investing exclusively in climate protection projects with the highest quality standard (Gold Standard CER) and is therefore as of now working with the Baden-Wuerttemberg Climate Protection Foundation. This foundation was used to obtain the certificates in cooperation with myclimate.

Climate-neutral delivery of machines and systems as of 2023:

As of 2023, Optima will be the first mechanical engineering supplier to offer its customers net climate-neutral delivery of machines and systems based on an initially reduced and then compensated, project-specific climate footprint. For this purpose, the product carbon footprint (PCF) of the project will be determined. "The emission of greenhouse gasses for individual machine projects will in the future be an additional criterion in the customer's purchase decision. We will be able to identify which measures – for example, in design and procurement – we can use to further reduce our product-related climate footprint. And thus have a direct and positive impact on our customers' climate footprint," says Dominik Bröllochs, Group Sustainability Manager at Optima.

Award of the "CO2-neutral company" label:

Dr. Patrick Rapp, State Secretary in the Ministry of Economics, Labor and Tourism in Baden-Wuerttemberg and member of the Climate Protection Foundation's Board: "I congratulate the Optima Packaging Group on being awarded with the 'CO2-neutral company' label. This award is associated with an in-depth accounting of the company's own emissions and demonstrates the assumption of responsibility and the determined commitment at management level. The emissions are offset with certified, sustainable and climate-protecting measures. I hope that as many companies as possible in Baden-Wuerttemberg will follow Optima's exemplary example and continue to lead the way in sustainability and climate protection."

Holistic consideration of climate and environmental issues:

"The 'We care for tomorrow' sustainability strategy will in future be vigorously promoted by the entire management. We are convinced that we can offer our customers real added value to achieve their sustainability goals," says Stefan König.

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