“We are the first generation able to end poverty and the last generation able to take steps to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Future generations will judge us harshly if we fail to live up to our moral and historic responsibilities.” – Ban Ki-moon

To ensure that this noble aspiration is reflected in our daily actions as a company, we at emphasis have established a sustainability team to systematically review, challenge and drive these goals.

“You cannot live a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do has an impact, and you have to decide what kind of impact you want to have.” – Jane Goodall

Our sustainability team has implemented the following measures:

  • Our employees ride a bike to the office or use public transportation whenever possible. Our company vehicles are low-emission. In our next leasing contracts, we will switch to hybrid vehicles or switch entirely to electric drive.
  • We work from home at times. If we work from home one day per week or one week per month, we can increase our energy efficiency by about 20%.
  • We optimize our travel plans so that we can work on several projects in one place, so that we have to book as few flights as possible even if we have to travel further distances.
  • We book our rooms and events exclusively in environmentally friendly hotels that are certified accordingly and distinguish themselves through measures such as reduced water consumption and LED lighting.
  • We are reducing the amount of travel – which we used to do extensively – by promoting emOnline groups and holding presentations as videoconferences.
  • For client and interviewee catering and other office snacks, we buy only fair trade products that are produced in local factories and whose raw materials are purchased from local farmers or other local producers, so that only short distances have to be covered.
  • We work paperless. Written communication with clients and respondents is done via e-mail – without printouts. Summaries, recommendations, reports – all documents are created paperless. Internally we communicate paperless via MS-Teams.
  • 67% of our workstations have already been converted to laptops in order to save energy.
  • In addition, our IT infrastructure is now 100% cloud-based. This measure contributes to both energy and resource efficiency, saves space and offers our employees the flexibility to work from anywhere
  • We purchase “M-Eco-Electricity”, i.e. 56% of our electricity is purchased from renewable energy sources financed by the EEG levy and 44% from other renewable energy sources.
  • Our printer, which we hardly use, our refrigerator, the washing machine and our dishwasher are energy-saving devices.
  • We have replaced all halogen lights with LED lights that use up to 85% less electricity and are just as bright.
  • We unplug computers and other electronic devices every evening.
  • We do not use paper towels in our sanitary facilities, but only cotton towels that are washed in our own washing machine to save energy.
  • We only use ecologically safe detergents and cleaning agents that are free of microplastics and plant-based.
  • We do not use any plastic tableware. We use only materials such as porcelain, glass and stainless steel.
  • Our sustainability principle consists of the “three Rs“: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. That is, first and foremost, we reduce the use of resources and reuse, as this contributes the most to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. If there is no alternative, we dispose of items that are no longer usable at our local recycling center.

“The earth is a beautiful place and worth fighting for.” – Ernest Hemingway

  • Sustainability can only be truly lived if the people of an organization understand and identify with the purpose of sustainability measures. That is why we repeatedly address the topic of “sustainability” internally and show that this not only realizes a social goal, but that it can also reduce costs, e.g., unnecessary electricity consumption, which is in the interest of all of us.
  • Our sustainability goals can only be achieved in the long term if all employees make these goals their own. Low employee turnover is an important indicator of employee identification with the company and its goals. Here emphasis can come up with exemplary figures: all current employees have had a permanent and continuous employment with emphasis for at least 20 years. Our oldest employee has been with the company without interruption since 1993. Our team has therefore been stable for many years. The absenteeism rate has always been vanishingly low: for example, in 2022, all employees together recorded only 2 days of absenteeism.
  • To ensure that our sustainability principles are always up to date, we hold regular internal meetings in which we discuss our current principles and look for improvements. For example, at our meeting at the beginning of December 2020, it was decided that all radiator thermostats would be set to frost protection in the evening during the winter months. This will prevent the rooms from being heated unnecessarily and thus also save a considerable amount of energy.
  • We have also made it our task to influence our service providers and customers with regard to the topics of CO2 neutrality and sustainability.
  • Our company is certified regarding corporate social responsibility and sustainable procurement and has been awarded for excellent achievements.
  • In addition, we want to accelerate the process of sustainability (re)thinking amongst our competitors.

 

If you have any questions about sustainability, please contact the head of our sustainability team, Ute Morgenstern