Sustainability & Environment

 

Sustainability and Environmental Responsibility are Fundamental to Rosenberger

Therefore it is of the highest priority to pursue economic, social and ecological goals - equally and simultaneously. The company strives to create long-term value, offer good working conditions and treat the environment and natural resources responsibly.

 

Environment & Energy

Rosenberger is Committed to Sustainable, Environmentally Friendly Business Practices

From incoming customer orders through product development, supplier selection and production to delivery of the final product. In addition to the primary objectives of the Rosenberger Group including the preservation and protection of natural resources, great importance is attached to the proper disposal of polluting emissions and waste.

Further corporate goals include replacing energy from conventional sources with renewables and the elimination of environmentally harmful materials and substances. Rosenberger is certified to ISO 50001 and since 1998 to ISO 14001 including subsequent recertification.

Climate Protection

Rosenberger is committed to the 1.5°C target of the Paris Climate Change Convention. Rosenberger intends to become a CO2 neutral company by 2050. The declared goal is to half the CO2 emissions by 2030.
Rosenberger produces green energy itself. Where this is not possible, Rosenberger buys green electricity from certified sources, such as hydropower, wind power, solar and photovoltaic energy. Through the use of green electricity as well as through climate protection projects, Rosenberger is able to make its entire energy and heat requirements at its Fridolfing headquarters CO2-neutral.
In 2020 the total CO2 emissions of the headquarters have already been reduced by 26.8 % compared to the previous year.

 

Examples of Relevant Environmental Protection Activities

In 2017 a new production building for surface coating - the single most expensive investment in the company's history - was put into operation. With the construction of this new electroplating shop a number of new facilities as well as safety precautions have been installed, all of which of course meet the European standards of the best available technology.

Because environmentally harmful chemicals are used during the electroplating process, along with plant requiring approval, the new building falls under the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG). The approval procedure is particularly demanding as all potential environmental effects must be evaluated.

The safety precautions include a fire alarm system with smoke detectors in the ventilation systems. In addition, the surface technology is protected against accidents on several levels with the derivation and interception of liquids escaping from electroplating baths being a top priority. 

Due to the production process a large proportion of the metals used ends up as oil-contaminated chips in the chip and oil treatment plants. The cleaned oil can be pumped back into the cooling system and the metal chips - now containing less than two percent oil - to be returned to the materials supplier almost sorted by type.

This ensures optimal recycling of materials and only small quantities of new raw materials needing to be purchased.

A special feature is the highly efficient biomass heating plant. Around one sixth of the total energy required is generated by the heating plant using renewable energy sources - in this case local wood chips.

Rosenberger can cover more than 98% of its heating needs through the biomass heating plant. To meet the same energy demand with oil fuel about 565,000  liters would be necessary. Rosenberger’s initiative therefore translates into an emission saving of approx. 1,500 tons of CO2.

The new Energy Center is equipped with four air compressor and heat recovery systems.

Since 2008 about 4,200 MWh of heat energy has been recovered. Accordingly, more than 1,000 tons of CO2 have been saved.

To further increase the efficiency of our heat recovery the waste heat from the compressed air generation is used as process heat for our surface technology. In this way, the amount of heat energy recovered can be increased to approx. 1.5 GWh per year which enables savings of over 2,000 m³ of wood chips per year.

In 2022 Rosenberger installed further photovoltaic systems at the Fridolfing site. As a result, the site now has approx.. 4,600 PV modules on a roof area of 7,800 m. The system supplies the company with approx. 1,700,000 kWh of solar electricity per year, thus saving almost 715 tons of CO2 per year. At the same time emissions such as lead, nitrogen oxide or mercury are reduced.

A special feature of the photovoltaic system is the zero feed-in. By using 100% of the electricity produced by the solar plant, Rosenberger does not feed into the public Grid, therefore waiving the state feed-in tariff.

 

Sustainability Report

The sustainability report of Rosenberger Hochfrequenztechnik GmbH & Co. KG provides an insight into the company's data, figures, strategies and goals as well as its sustainability-related activities. The report refers to the corporate Rosenberger group and has been prepared in accordance with the "Core" option of the GRI standards of the Global Reporting Initiative.

 

Sustainability Policy for Suppliers

The dedication that we show to our sense of social and ethical responsibility and to treating our environment with respect, are vital elements of our corporate philosophy. This is why we are continually working to implement practices such as obtaining energy from renewable sources and achieving an overall reduction in CO2 emissions.

In order for the partnership that Rosenberger has established with its suppliers to achieve success over the long term, both parties require a common understanding of the sustainability policy outlined in the remainder of this document.