What values do we wish to pass on to younger generations? How important is it to achieve an economic, ecological and social balance in a company? And how is it possible to reconcile economic success with environmental and social responsibility? At the RONAL GROUP we have given careful thought to these issues and used them to develop a detailed concept: PLANBLUE. It is the integral approach of the group to ensure consistent implementation of sustainability and assumption of our environmental and social responsibility.
In the words of Yvo Schnarrenberger, CEO of the RONAL GROUP:
“For the RONAL GROUP sustainability means ensuring the long-term success of the company while protecting our natural habitat for the people of today and future generations. Against this background, we see ecological issues in particular as a driving force behind innovation – and thus also as a basis for the economic success of the RONAL GROUP.”
No company can be equally good at everything – and this also applies to the key issue of sustainability. It is therefore important and helpful to focus attention on this. At the RONAL GROUP we have used a materiality analysis to determine four fields of action in assessments performed with internal and external stakeholders:
1. Action field of greenhouse gases: We want to cut our CO2 emissions by 50% globally
2. Action field of industrial health and safety: No industrial accidents
3. Action field of the workforce: All employees know their development potential and career prospects
4. Action field of innovative products: To reduce the environmental footprint of our products and wheels
The RONAL GROUP also pursues numerous qualitative sustainability objectives over and above these four key issues. They include continuous expansion of our environment and safety portfolio, our commitment to training and staff development, as well as our aspiration to contribute to greater environmental protection through innovation. In addition to the objectives adopted throughout the company, the individual sites also define their own goals in the framework of the management system and independently monitor whether they are achieved.
We only have one planet, and every individual – and above all every company – should do their very best to protect the Earth as far as possible. This is why the RONAL GROUP relies on an environmental management system certified according to DIN EN 14001, and energy management based on DIN EN 50001. And we also make stringent demands on our suppliers. We already obtain 50% of our aluminum from members of the “Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI). Since April 2018, the RONAL GROUP has been a member of ASI.
Our production is energy-efficient
At RONAL GROUP, centralized and environmentally conscious production with energy-efficient plants takes center stage. Continuous improvements and plenty of implemented projects such as, for example, new heat treatment plants or pilot projects for the use of waste heat from smelters have already allowed us to realize substantial energy savings. For the future, many projects have been planned with the objective of improving energy efficiency and to reduce climate-affecting carbon dioxide emissions.
OUR ENVIRONMENT –
LESS IS ALWAYS MORE HERE
We owe it to future generations to actively protect our climate. It is thus the declared objective of the RONAL GROUP to add value by reducing our relative CO2 emission level by 50% by 2030 compared with 2016/17. With this in mind, all divisions of the company are banking on measures to improve energy efficiency – and to cut emissions of climate-relevant carbon dioxide. But attention is additionally focused here on purchasing electricity from renewable sources with a guarantee of origin, or the option of producing our own energy through photovoltaics or wind. Since the 2015/16 financial year, the company has not only recorded the environment balances of the individual plants, but also their CO2 balances with the relevant causative factors, and submitted these figures for external auditing. With annual targets and a systematic environmental management program we are scaling down the consumption of resources while reducing waste at our sites worldwide.
Figures:
* Demand for energy, gas and electricity
* CO2 emissions (scope 1 and 2)
* Acquisition of water
* Wastewater
* Waste – total, hazardous waste, waste for recycling, waste for disposal
WE UNDERSTOOD EARLY ON –
AND HAVE CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVED
Measures aimed at environmental protection started as early as 1975 with the introduction of environmentally-friendly powder coatings as a primer for our wheels. This was followed by internal environmental guidelines in 1992 and the construction of environmentally-friendly buildings. Since 2016 we have bundled our sustainability measures in an individual integral sustainability concept, which is known as PLANBLUE. From the outset, the RONAL GROUP has placed great importance upon also keeping environmental issues in view in addition to profitability. See here for an overview of the continuous progress made here:
THE RONAL GROUP –
WHERE GOOD IDEAS BECOME WINNING PROJECTS
What is the point of environmental friendliness in theory if it does not live up to our high demands for practical functionality? None at all. You can find out here how we put sustainability projects into practice:
The RONAL R60-blue wheel
We continuously strive to improve the materials and energy efficiency of our products, and we channel investment into the research and development of sustainable wheels. The best example of this is the R60-blue. It is the first automobile wheel to be designed and manufactured according to sustainable principles and with regard for the entire life cycle – from material provision through design development, production and transport to disposal.
Other projects:
* Introduction of ultrafiltration to lessen the use of resources at the Pardubice plant in the Czech Republic
* Reduction in energy consumption at the plant in Walbrzych, Poland, by recovering waste heat in the melting furnace.