Products for a sustainable future – Championship ‘Made in
Germany’
The sustainability strategy pursued by this global company is
primarily reflected in its products. One example is the GROHE Blue
Home water system, which transforms tap water into a filtered,
chilled and great tasting – and even bubbly – refreshment. This
system obviates the need for bottled mineral water and the
associated processing, bottling and transport activities. According
to a study conducted at Georg-August-Universität in Göttingen,
GROHE Blue Home contributes approximately 60 percent less to a
household’s carbon footprint compared to conventional bottled
water.
Management Board member Thomas Fuhr explains: “Our understanding of
quality and our advances in terms of sustainability are very much
driven by our commitment to manufacturing in Germany. In order to
secure our company’s competitiveness going forward, we continue to
invest heavily in our German locations, which set the standards for
our international factories. As of 2011, we have launched regularly
our GROHE Sustainability Trophy as an internal competition between
our manufacturing sites. This trophy acknowledges our employees’
efforts and incentivises them to continue working on their ideas
and solutions for even more sustainable production processes and
even more resource efficient manufacturing of a given
product.”
Beyond day-to-day business
GROHE’s belief in corporate citizenship is encapsulated in GROHE
Dual Tech, a programme jointly undertaken with Don Bosco Mondo e.V.
The two partners have teamed up to offer professional training for
disadvantaged youths in emerging economies. Three training
workshops in India and the Philippines assist young people in
improving their life chances by learning a trade in the sanitary
sector. This makes them eligible for employment in an industry with
great promise and will even enable some of them to set up their own
businesses in the future.
Moving forward with clearly defined sustainability
targets
GROHE has set itself the target of raising energy efficiency by 20%
and shrinking its carbon footprint by 20% by the year 2020. Among
other things, this will be achieved by two new cogeneration plants
commissioned in Hemer and Lahr and by converting lighting equipment
to LED operation. Another milestone on this journey was marked in
December when the company’s energy management system was certified
to ISO 50001; it will be instrumental in improving the overall
energy efficiency on a sustained basis. Moreover, the company has
committed itself to becoming the global sanitary industry’s
sustainability leader by 2020.
GROHE’s stance and actions on sustainability are laid out in
greater detail in the company’s sustainability brochure. Titled
“WATER ENJOYMENT – A CLEAN CONSCIENCE WITH EVERY DROP”, it can be
downloaded from
http://www.grohe.com/sustainability
*Photography: T.Maelsa/BMAS