Gustav Wolf 2030

Gustav Wolf on its path to CO2-neutral production.

The contributing factors to the energy balance of a manufacturing company are very multifaceted. Gustav Wolf pursues a holistic approach that includes the entire supply chain as well as the manufacture of wire and rope products.
This is the only way to maintain the vital trust in the sustainability of the products for customers and employees. At Gustav Wolf, the vision of climate-neutral production is no longer just a vision, but has already been implemented to some extent: The Polish wire plant in Zimna Wodka is the beginning, a plant with state-of-the-art production and environmental standards. The company's geographical location was chosen to ensure that in the long term renewable energies such as wind and sun can cover 100% of the company's electrical energy needs. The area surrounding the plant is proven to have good conditions for wind power and very good to excellent conditions for photovoltaic systems. Coupled with the initiatives of the local authorities and trade associations, these conditions are sufficient to meet the needs of the current and future expansion stages. A volume of 4000 kw/h is targeted by 2030.

When using natural gas, Gustav Wolf relies on state-of-the-art plant technologies to keep the demand and thus the emission of CO2 low. Scalable, fully automated plants and state-of-the-art burners and insulating materials ensure that the company meets the highest European environmental standards. Natural gas is supplied locally so that no additional emissions are caused by the transport of cisterns or similar. Besides the energy input required to manufacture all products, Gustav Wolf has been involved in energy recovery for a very long time. This is achieved through the targeted use of heat exchangers and state-of-the-art pump technology and sensor systems. In combination with in-house expertise and approaches from the I4.0 area, a standard was created for the Polish plant of the Gustav Wolf Group that significantly reduces the CO2 balance of the products. This approach is backed up by the involvement of the most important suppliers and the company's own employees. Comprehensive studies carried out in the run-up to the establishment of the plant have shown that the delivery routes for customers and suppliers have been significantly shortened. By optimizing the supply chain for wire products in Poland, a reduction in output of up to 85% has been achieved to date. Gustav Wolf follows two main approaches when selecting staff. For one thing, we focus on the qualification and training of employees, which is offered in all Gustav Wolf plants. All products used by industrial users and end consumers are largely fed into a recycling process. In this process, steel is reused 100 %.

What does CSR mean for a traditional company such as Gustav Wolf in the social sense, as well as with regard to the climate goals of the German government, which are summarized in the paper "Growth, Structural Change and Employment"?

"The principle of continuous economic growth and the constant development of technologies must be reconciled with a simultaneously growing imbalance, which has a negative impact on large sections of the population. Climatically, socially and economically. Worldwide. This is the only way we can meet our own demands in terms of responsibility." (Quote from management)

The renowned company sees greatest leverage in the avoidance of CO2.

Most manufacturing companies cause CO₂ emissions primarily in connection with the provision of energy, for example for process heat, mechanical energy or lighting. To reduce these energy-related emissions, we at Gustav Wolf are working on two levers in particular: First, we aim to reduce our energy consumption as far as possible by consistently using efficient technologies. On the other hand, we want to cover the remaining energy requirement from renewable sources as far as possible and, if necessary, also use decentralized, in-house generation capacities for this purpose. We have already identified wind as our primary energy supplier and are working on its implementation at our "future location" Poland, together with other companies in the special economic zone. Another approach involves the supply chain, as a look at the CO₂ footprint of our end products shows. We only generate approximately 50% of the total greenhouse gas emissions of our products ourselves. The rest is generated in the supply chain: during transportation and upstream production processes in the supplier companies. Gustav Wolf has recognized this as an opportunity and creates additional competitive advantages for itself by constantly trying to optimize transportation and working proactively with our suppliers to reduce the CO2 balance.

The standards of Gustav Wolf include:

- Quality management in accordance with ISO 9001

- Environmental management in accordance with ISO 14001

- Energy management in accordance with ISO 50001