Plastics processor to focus on renewable energy and material cycles

The manufacturing sector – particularly the plastics industry – has a key part to play in curbing climate change. With this in mind, the Ensinger Group’s owners and management team are acknowledging their responsibility when it comes to limiting and gradually reducing the company’s greenhouse gas emissions – in line with the requirements of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

As its first step, the climate strategy now adopted by the plastics processor envisages gaining a comprehensive overall picture of the company’s worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. On the basis of this, Ensinger will – during the course of the current business year – decide on its reduction goals. Balancing and target setting shall take place in accordance with international standards. The intention is to submit the reduction goals to the Science-Based Target Initiative, an independent organisation for the targeted management of activities, and to have these approved. The GHG reduction measures derived from the targets chiefly address energy management and material resources. For example, the proportion of purchased and self-generated electricity that comes from renewable energies is to be increased step-by-step. In addition, more and more materials will be integrated into a material cycle.

Ensinger has already carried out some important spadework here, since a robust energy and environmental management system has long since been established. Working together with the company ClimatePartner, a CO2 balance sheet covering two years has been prepared. The percentage of electricity obtained from renewable sources has been continuously increased, and at the Cham plant, a switch to green electricity is being made this business year, which will meet the entire power requirement. Similarly, the proportion of recycled material used and prepared in house has recently been significantly increased.

As a member of the Management Board, Dr. Oliver Frey is responsible for developing the climate strategy at Ensinger. “We are confident that in a few years it will be possible for us to eliminate, worldwide, the company’s directly influenceable emissions. Our aim is to manage the company in a climate-neutral way, if possible without needing to use external offset schemes”, says Dr. Oliver Frey.

The Ensinger Group is engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of compounds, semi-finished materials, composites, technical parts and profiles made of engineering and high-performance plastics. To process the thermoplastic polymers, Ensinger uses a wide range of production techniques, such as extrusion, machining, injection moulding, casting, sintering and pressing. With a total of 2,700 employees at 35 locations, the family-owned enterprise is represented worldwide in all major industrial regions with manufacturing facilities or sales offices.