Is it possible to produce machine tools in a climate-neutral way?

Machine tools are prime examples of energy-efficient machines. There is no doubt about that. But can machine tools also be produced in a climate-neutral way?

In a survey conducted by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), 340 companies in the mechanical and plant engineering sector provided input on their own situation with regard to climate protection and the environment. The high number of complete responses underscores the importance of the topic. This is also evidenced by the fact that around ¾ of all responses came from managing directors.

The key statements made by companies in the mechanical and plant engineering sector are:

- In non-European markets, above all in China, demand for climate-neutral production is high due to political pressure.

- In Europe, political pressure is not yet as high, but is increasing - keyword: European Green Deal.

- Often, high pressure is felt from direct competitors.

- Today's CO2 price has no steering effect.

- Today's suppliers are often not in a position to provide qualified information on environmental issues.

- The middle management (of the own company) is today often not yet qualified and not yet sensitized for the importance of the topic area.

- There is an oversupply of information - but there is a lack of clarity.

How is climate-neutral production possible?

The path to climate-neutral production basically consists of 8 steps:

Step 1: Greenhouse gas balance

The amount of greenhouse gases caused (emitted) has become accepted as a uniform measure of climate neutrality or climate impact. Consequently, the preparation of a greenhouse gas balance sheet, i.e. the comprehensive determination of the current status with regard to a company's greenhouse gas emissions, is the logical first step.

Step 2: Climate targets

Once it is known how high the current greenhouse gas emissions are in a company, ambitious goals must be defined to reduce these direct and indirect emissions.

Step 3: Measures for energy saving and energy efficiency

Once you are aware of the greenhouse gas emissions in your own company and have defined climate targets for your company, you need to start reducing greenhouse gases. The first and most important point is the introduction of measures to avoid unnecessary energy use. This is followed by emission reduction through targetedtagte measures to increase energy efficiency in the company.

Step 4: Renewable energies

No matter how great efforts are made to avoid waste and increase efficiency, energy consumption will hardly be reduced to zero. Therefore, the remaining energy should be sourced as far as possible from renewable sources such as wind, hydropower and solar energy.

Step 5: Offset unavoidable emissions

Ideally, all (residual) energy required for production can be obtained from renewable sources. In this case, the goal of climate-neutral production would already have been achieved. However, this may not always be possible. In this case, unavoidable remaining emissions must be offset by supporting climate protection projects in order to ultimately achieve climate neutrality.

Step 6: Communication

Communication is divided into communication within the company and external communication.

Internal communication includes the preparation and provision of climate information such as metrics, targets, emission values (e.g. at product or raw material level). In particular, the blending with financial metrics allows climate information to be included in the company's own risk management.

External communication includes B2B communication within the market (directly within the value chain or indirectly through a third party sustainability rating) on the one hand and B2C, i.e. towards the end customer (e.g. external presentation of the company, product branding) on the other.

Step 7: Supply chain management

Suppliers can be involved in climate-neutral production as follows:

At the people level:

First, key players must be identified internally (e.g., buyers) and convinced. Then, key suppliers must be brought on board. Finally, opportunities and risks can be identified together.

At the policy level:

Once the opportunities and risks have been jointly identified, framework conditions for jointly achieving climate neutrality can be agreed. These are then underpinned by best practices and benchmarks. Finally, these agreements and solutions can be shared with other stakeholders.

At the performance level:

When looking at a supplier's performance, it is important to first clearly define an assessment approach. This is the only way that the supplier can adapt to the wishes of its customer. These may also have to be strictly specified. Then (technical) potentials can be identified and raised. Targets and target achievement periods must then be defined for implementation.

Step 8: Evaluation of financial risks and opportunities

In order to evaluate the success of one's own actions, the climate change-related risks and opportunities must be assessed in monetary terms. This shows the economic impact of climate-friendly action compared to inaction.

Summary

Climate-neutral production can be achieved in just a few steps. It is obvious that the implementation in individual cases is not easy. Nevertheless, even the longest journey begins with the first step.

This first step towards climate neutrality is to determine how high the CO2 emissions in one's own company actually are. Once you are aware of the level, you can formulate targets. Now you can move on to operational action and eliminate unnecessary energy use, increase energy efficiency, produce the remaining energy in an environmentally friendly way and - if necessary - compensate for any remaining emissions by supporting climate projects. But: If you do good, you also have to talk about it. Internal and external communication regarding one's own actions are therefore important points for acceptance. As a further step, suppliers must be involved and, finally, the monetary impact of the company's climate protection activities must be assessed.

Anyone interested can download the guide here.