With concept and in action: Energy-efficient into the future

Dilemma management is the term used to describe decision-making situations that are based on conflicting objectives. Today, both state energy policy and corporate energy management find themselves in such a tricky situation. There are no clear choices. Nevertheless, every corporation must make beneficial decisions here, not to find the maximum correct solutions, but the optimal ones. Energy is one of the most challenging sustainability issues. Energy issues are actually a trilemma. As complex as they are, they can be depicted in simplified form in the well-known "magic triangle". In the triangle of energy policy, each of the cornerstones creates complete clarity in its own right: it is about security of supply, it is about environmental compatibility, and it is about economic efficiency. In combination, however, the three contradictory demands cannot be maximised, only optimised. The result, energy policy, is a floating state, so to speak. And because the energy landscape is constantly changing nationally and internationally (markets, technologies, regulations), the optimal "energy policy" must be reviewed and adjusted from time to time.

One thing is clear: Increasing energy efficiency is at the heart of shaping a sustainable future. But that's not all: to succeed, we also need innovation, foresight and thoughtfulness - in other words, a lot of mental energy for less physical energy. Numerous companies are voluntarily on the way to achieving this with projects. The following three practical cases are exemplary:

Starling Geneva Hotel: Business, Wellness, Fitness - but sustainable!

"Think green, act green". This guiding principle is also becoming increasingly established in the hotel business. Because many guests expect it, but also for economic reasons. Starling Geneva Hotel, the largest hotel in Switzerland, is one of the pioneers in the industry. With the SQS certification according to ISO 50001, it even set a benchmark. General Manager Christian Marich explains: "According to surveys by hotelleriesuisse, energy costs for hotels range between 2 and 4.5 % of turnover. According to a study, there is a savings potential of up to 50 %, depending on the type and size of the hotel. Prudently managed hotels invest in optimisation measures in a targeted manner. The Starling Geneva Hotel, SQS-certified according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 50001, consistently focuses on sustainability".

The challenge

According to the energy law of the Canton of Geneva, the hotel is a major consumer. Air conditioning and heating are our biggest "energy guzzlers". This is where the decisive savings potential lies. Security is essential for the hotel and grounds in the immediate vicinity of the airport. This is ensured by 132 surveillance cameras, among other things.

Savings potential on track

At the core of our efforts has been our attitude towards environmental aspects since 2009. In the same year, we obtained our first SQS certification to ISO 14001. In order to "pick up" the potential in this broad field, we were the first company at SIG (Service Industriel de Genève) to launch a comprehensive energy-saving project in 2012 to achieve joint energy and financial targets. Specifically, a total of 32 possible savings measures were explored in this contract and then their 12 prioritized. According to SIG calculations, these 12 measures should make it possible to repay the investments of CHF 500,000 pre-financed by SIG within 5 years. All interim results indicate that we will even have achieved the payback from the contract by the end of the third year, i.e. at the end of 2015.

Technical measures

The measures are tailored to our orientation as a business and congress hotel near the airport and Palexpo with a large wellness zone, 3 restaurants, congresses and banquets for up to 1000 people. All this leads to peak loads, which have to be kept in balance with normal operations, also in terms of energy. Investments were therefore made in technical installations (conversion to LED, presence detectors, twilight sensors, etc.) and in software for system control.

Employees at the lever

In order to achieve the ambitious savings target within the framework of our integrated management system, we have created an in-house "Environment and Energy Committee", in which each hotel department has delegated a representative. In this committee of 10 people, we set the targets and periodically monitor the degree of achievement. This is working well. Example: We started with a recycling quota of 56 %, today we have already reached one of 70 %.

Fr. Sauter AG, Basel: It's the big picture that counts

The company does it, the market demands it, certificates confirm it: sustainability is the core business of the globally active family company for building automation in green buildings. Dr. Walter Reithofer, Executive VP Technology and Dr. Dirk Bongert, Head of Quality Management: "The overall consideration of the life cycle of a building is becoming increasingly important. It is worth evaluating not only the construction costs, but above all the future operating costs of a building. With intelligent automation, these can be massively reduced. What's more, total solutions in today's building automation are shifting more and more from hardware to software and service. This is why Sauter is constantly launching new, innovative software products on the market, such as the Sauter Vision Center. This is a 100 % web-based solution with maximum application convenience for monitoring,

"Energy is the first and only virtue of man" Wilhelm von Humboldt

Visualization and operation of building systems. Flexible functions and intuitive operation - in the cloud or locally - allow the mapping of complex processes."

Smart in your own home

As a producer of control and building management systems, Sauter has been committed to the energy-efficient operation of buildings for decades, including its own. The new building from 2010 is highly heat efficient. 30 % of the total energy could be saved. The proximity to the Rhine provides groundwater, which is used for cooling in summer (around 16 degrees). Heat pumps are installed. In addition, there is optimised shading with corresponding automatic mechanisms for the blinds. This allows the temperature to be kept within the desired comfort window with minimal energy expenditure. The key to energy efficiency is intelligent automation. According to a usage simulation, the Sauter Head Office with production and warehouse has a primary energy demand of approx. 32 kWh/m2 per year, which is far below the limit value for highly efficient non-residential buildings of 100 kWh/m2 per year.

Smart in customer projects

The Roche Tower in Basel, Switzerland's tallest building, is a spectacular customer project. It opens up new dimensions in terms of workplace design, energy efficiency and operating convenience. This required the further development of the room control unit with EnOcean technology. Thanks to solar cells, this is energy-autonomous, and its communication with the room controller is wireless via radio, which makes the room design very flexible for the user.

Totally invested in sustainability

Sauter invests heavily in its mission "energy-efficient solutions for living spaces with a future". All products are developed and tuned towards this goal. The pioneer also invests in the eco-balancing of products, which records the effects of all relevant material and energy flows on the environment over the entire life cycle. Only this makes products with the same benefits comparable according to ecological criteria. The company is SQS-certified according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.

Beck Glatz Confiseur AG: Sustainable action made transparent

Entrepreneur Glatz communicates his thoughts and actions both internally and externally. The highlight is his sustainability report. Presented in a light-footed Facebook style, it contains everything you need to know about his philosophy.

Sustainability report in accordance with GRI G4 guidelines

Materiality analysis, stakeholder dialogue and transparency: these are the three core topics of the sustainability report. Beck

Employees shy away from, even hate, dealing with dissatisfied customers.

Glatz is the first Beck and Confiseur in the network with such a document. His commitment proves him right. The areas of environmental protection and energy-saving measures are central components of success. Since the introduction of the sustainability efforts, customer satisfaction has continuously increased, the range of products has become more varied and attractive, and costs have been significantly reduced. The following passages from the sustainability report provide impressive evidence of Glatz's actions:

Quality standards

Healthy products are produced in an environmentally friendly manner and with social commitment. In addition to quality management (ISO 9001), occupational safety and health protection (ISO 18001), measures for environmental and climate protection (ISO 14001) are also being implemented. For example, regional, organically produced and non-frozen products are processed wherever possible. This saves considerable amounts of production and transport energy, so-called "grey energy".

Economy with ecology

Economic success can certainly go hand in hand with a commitment to environmental protection and the assumption of social responsibility. Due to the low emissions thanks to district heating and electric mobility, climate neutrality is a logical and sensible addition.

High energy demand "pushes" creativity

In the bakery and confectionery industry, energy requirements are very high. Electricity consumption is therefore continuously optimised and has fallen significantly in recent years. In 2013, for the first time in the company's 150-year history, less electricity and district heating was purchased despite higher sales. In order to keep CO2 emissions low, Glatz has been purchasing energy from hydroelectric power plants since 2008. The company fleet also consists of vehicles with electric and biogas drives. And when it comes to packaging, attention is paid to compostable materials such as PLA or bamboo, and plastic bags are consistently avoided.

Products declared true

The traceability of the food in the assortment as well as the transparent declaration play an important role. For this reason, the relevant declarations are displayed in the shops or affixed directly to the packaging.

Environmental strategy consistently implemented

Thomas Glatz continues his mission. He says: "With the strategy of consistently implementing environmental measures, we want to show that our company remains economically sound precisely because we align ourselves with environmental protection criteria in wide areas."