Your job makes a difference

In IT, many of the conditions are created to enable all colleagues to make their day-to-day work more sustainable. A modern IT structure with cloud-based services enables mobile working and thus reduces commuting and emissions. But that's not all: the flexibility gained also has an impact on the social aspect of sustainability, for example, by allowing a better work-life balance. On the other hand, digital data transmission and storage reduces physical data archives and the paperless office ensures resource-friendly office management. A sustainable IT strategy also makes sure the use of information and communication technology is as environmentally friendly and resource-efficient as possible throughout its entire life cycle.

The HR department also plays a significant role in creating a sustainable company – after all, it's all about the people who shape Jungheinrich. And a lot comes together here: diversity, gender equality and inclusion are key factors in how and who is hired. In the day-to-day work, the culture of the company is shaped, employee satisfaction and socially just and environmentally conscious behaviour are promoted. Learning and training opportunities, individual support and flexible working models contribute directly to the social aspect of sustainability. Health programs, the right office equipment or initiatives for mental and physical fitness, for example through company sports offers, also make a direct contribution ensuring that all Jungheinrich employees are well with us.  

In the field of compliance, structures are created to ensure that codes of conduct and guidelines are followed and that there are confidential channels for reporting violations. For example, there are monitoring committees such as the internal Human Rights Council and the OpenLine compliance portal, which can be used to submit these reports. These represent direct support of Jungheinrich's sustainable development. Compliance is becoming more and more important when we talk about sustainability, as the legal requirements are also increasing and becoming stricter – not only in economic, but also in social and ecological terms. In addition, many different tasks come together here: ensuring a good corporate governance as well as accurate and transparent reporting, surveying and managing corporate risks or the topic of data protection. 

A crucial sustainability driver lies in the area of purchasing: who we work with and what we procure and where are important aspects of our sustainable approach and our carbon footprint. This is where we can play an active role in ensuring that our supply chain meets the highest standards and our partners share the same values and standards as we do by raising awareness of important issues and providing supplier training. This involves fundamental human rights, compliance and environmental criteria. Our Supplier Code of Conduct serves as the basis, and for suppliers who account for a high share of our purchasing volume, we also review these issues using a sustainability assessment. Through its decisions, the purchasing department also plays a key role in reducing emissions outside our direct business activities – as these contribute around 11 times more to global warming within the supply chain as Jungheinrich does directly. 

In the field of marketing and communication, there are double the opportunities to create sustainable change through your own work. On the one hand, the design and execution of marketing measures such as print products, digital services or trade fairs can have a direct impact on keeping their carbon footprint low and making them socially responsible and inclusive. Production, wording and image selection – everything has a direct influence on the impact on people or nature. And, of course, the content also has a significant impact: this is where it is possible to steer the promotion of particularly sustainable products, for example, and also make employees fit for sustainability. And the success of these measures can already be seen: through our growing sustainably active community among employees as well as through the many impressive customer references in which our efficient and low-emission solutions are used. Through our partnerships with charitable organisations, such as our long-standing support for action medeor, we are also making a contribution to the common good.   

Here we are right at the source: how our sites and facilities are managed has a major impact on emissions, the use of resources, safety and the quality of work at Jungheinrich. True to the motto "measure, avoid, reduce, compensate", careful maintenance and servicing ensures that systems are in operation for longer, emissions are reduced and energy can be saved. For example, through clever lighting, heating and air conditioning concepts, a precisely coordinated use of ecologically degradable cleaning products, the reduction of water consumption or good waste management, we contribute to a sustainable corporate development in this field. We also actively contribute to this through modern concepts that ensure the optimal use of space, enable people to work flexibly, and are designed to be inclusive for all employees. 

The legal department gets down to business. This is where we lay the foundations for sustainable management, contract design, guidelines and legal procedures. Appropriate corporate governance, compliance guidelines and the assessment of climate risks, for example help us to actively promote climate and environmental protection as well as social standards. When we negotiate contracts with employees, suppliers and other partners, we can draft them in such a way that ecological and social criteria play a role alongside economic criteria, thereby contributing to future-oriented change. It is important for us to keep an eye on and discuss legal developments in the area of sustainability in order to act in a proactive and forward-looking manner. 

Financial aspects are not the only decisive factor for successful companies. The EU Taxonomy Regulation aims to stimulate investments in sustainable companies. We therefore have to disclose whether our business activities qualify as environmentally sustainable. Companies like us must use certain criteria to show whether and to what extent we operate in an environmentally responsible way, based on sustainable sales, investments and operational expenditure. In addition, ESG ratings (Environmental, Social, Governance) have become important measurement tools on the capital market. We let ourselves be rated and want to actively influence these ratings. At the same time, we are increasingly taking the results of other companies into account in our investment decisions. Our operational real estate management can invest green through sustainable projects, such as photovoltaic systems to generate our own green electricity, or the creation of flowering meadows to promote biodiversity. 

In the area of customer service, which is closest to our customers and our products in use, we have the best opportunities to make both our business and theirs more sustainable. Because here it is primarily about ensuring that everything runs smoothly and remains in use for as long as possible: service, maintenance, spare parts deliveries – everything contributes to this. By using electric customer service vehicles and optimising routes, we can even offer a CO2-neutral customer service. This has already been rolled out in five countries and this is just the beginning.

In the development department, we determine the conditions for the manufacturing of our products and solutions as well as their performance during the utilisation phase. We increase energy efficiency with innovative concepts and have been focusing on low-emission technologies for decades, in particular electrification and lithium-ion technology. Opting for more sustainable materials that consume fewer resources and cause fewer emissions is another focus. In addition to energy efficiency, the circular economy is a key aspect of product development. We strive to design and manufacture products in such a way that their lifespan is maximised and parts are reusable. The environmental impact of the entire product life cycle is already taken into account during the development phase. It is therefore crucial that we ensure that our products are developed according to the principles of eco-efficiency and circular economy. To ensure this, eco-design criteria are integrated into the development process. 

We can contribute a lot to sustainability in production. The efficient use of materials and energy, the optimal utilisation of facilities, the reuse of leftover materials – there are many factors that can make a significant contribution. Also, paying attention to leaks and so preventing a waste of resources or, in the worst case scenario, environmental pollution, shows what a major contribution is being made in this field. With the in-house production of lithium-ion batteries, we can not only ensure the socially and environmentally responsible production of this component, which is so important for electrification, but also prevent supply bottlenecks. Ideas for optimising work areas and processes in production have a particularly large impact on our sustainability efforts when they are scaled up to the entire company. 

This is where the big, future-oriented decisions are made and the strategy is developed. The good thing about Jungheinrich: as a family-owned company, sustainable action lies in our roots. It is part of our DNA to act in the interests of future generations and not for quick profits, regardless of losses. And this is also reflected in ambitious targets and commitments, such as net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, to which we have committed ourselves, as well as in our 2025+ strategy, which already reflects this in its name: "Creating sustainable value". A Sustainability Committee and our internal sustainability platform have been created to anchor sustainability even more deeply within the company.   

Sales plays a crucial role in the sustainable transformation because: our customers' demand for sustainable solutions is increasing. For some customers, sustainability has now become a critical decision factor in tenders. And that's why now is the perfect time to position ourselves as a strong provider of sustainable intralogistics and gain a competitive advantage by presenting our sustainable portfolio. This way, we help our customers to make their companies more sustainable with our solutions. And supporting the effective lifecycle management of our products through maintenance, repairs and updates also helps to prevent new purchases – but still generates turnover. In sales, it becomes very clear that ecological action and economic success can promote each other. 

Everything comes together in the sustainability department and is also carried forward into the company from here. The central responsibility of this department is to anchor the sustainability strategy within the organisation and sustainability principles in all areas of the company. The day-to-day tasks range from strategy development and the implementation of sustainability projects to internal and external communication as well as responding to customer queries. The tasks are based on the so-called ESG model (Environmental, Social Governance) and include, for example, the topics of climate management, circular economy, eco-efficiency, human rights in the supply chain, occupational health and safety and responsible corporate governance. In close exchange with all specialist departments and important stakeholders like our suppliers and customers, we ensure that our company and our value chain are sustainable in this area.