Why SICK is taking action
A large share of CO2 emissions is caused by daily traffic; in the EU, this accounts for around 30 percent. Of the total CO2 emissions from European road traffic, around 60 percent are caused by motor vehicles. That is why SICK is addressing precisely this issue: With the “Green Mobility” initiative, we want to specifically reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the areas of business travel and commuting by SICK employees.
Striving for sustainability with “Green Mobility”
Electromobility: Necessary business trips are made as environmentally-friendly as possible. Electric cars have already been used at SICK for business trips between German sites since 2011. The voltage supply is provided entirely by green electricity and the fleet is constantly being expanded. In addition, pedelecs are available to employees. The e-bikes were donated by Dorothea Sick-Thies, daughter of company founder Dr. Erwin Sick and a committed environmentalist. She is also the founder of countless environmental initiatives at SICK. SICK is also investing in the necessary infrastructure and continuously expanding its network of charging stations for electric cars, for example in employee parking garages or visitor parking lots.
Promotion of environmentally friendly travel: At a globally active company like SICK, business trips between individual locations cannot be avoided. Whenever possible, business trips are replaced by telephone and video conferences. If business trips are unavoidable, they are made as environmentally-friendly as possible, for example with rail travel or efficient travel planning with car pools. For short distances, SICK relies on electromobility. Since 2013, CO2 emissions caused by business travel (indirect emissions) have been offset via a climate protection project in accordance with the CDM Gold Standard of “atmosfair”.
The work group entitled "environmentally-friendly travel to SICK” has also been active for many years. It helps employees switch to environmentally friendly means of transport, such as bicycles or public transit. In addition, an app makes organizing carpools easy and provides employees with additional motivation to get involved.
Another measure to reduce CO2 emissions is a “Green Car Policy” for those employees with company cars. It has been in force since 2013 and is constantly undergoing further development. The offsetting model makes the choice of a low-emission company car financially attractive.