Jungheinrich goes green at its German production facilities

Effective immediately, all Jungheinrich sites in Germany, including the company’s six German production plants, will operate exclusively on green power, the maker of lift trucks announced today.

The company added that the transition of its foreign branches and plants to green electricity will follow. At the same time, Jungheinrich has begun to generate its own solar power and is gradually equipping its sites with photovoltaic systems for this purpose.

By switching to renewable electricity, the Group has reduced its yearly greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 15,500 tons of CO2 in Germany alone. In a group strategy it presented last November, Jungheinrich put the topic of sustainability at the center of its business activities and set out ambitious goals. Achieving climate neutrality is one of these goals.

“Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and Jungheinrich has set itself the goal of taking a leading role in the fight against global warming,” stated Jungheinrich Chairman of the Board of Management Dr. Lars Brzoska. “The switch to renewable energy sources to meet our electricity needs is an important contribution to more sustainability.”

The next step is the planned transition to eco-power at the Jungheinrich sites abroad. At the same time, the Group has begun to equip its sites with photovoltaic systems so it can also generate its own green electricity in the future. Since mid-February, Jungheinrich has independently operated its first system on the roof of its plant in Moosburg, Bavaria. The Group headquarters in Hamburg-Wandsbek will be equipped with solar panels over the course of this year. Projects at many other sites are currently being planned and will follow.

In the 2019 financial year, Jungheinrich production plants and subsidiaries in Germany jointly consumed approximately 45,600,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. By completely avoiding the use of electricity from fossil fuels such as brown and black coal or natural gas, the company is now reducing its emissions from electricity consumption in Germany to zero. Compared to the conventional energy mix, Jungheinrich is thus reducing its yearly CO2 emissions by approximately 15,500 tons.

The product life cycle assessment of the trucks manufactured by Jungheinrich also improves with the transition of production to green electricity, the company stated. Approximately 11 per cent of the energy that a Jungheinrich electric truck consumes over the course of its life cycle stems from its manufacture. “For us, responsibility for products starts not just at the factory, but many steps before that. As part of our Strategy 2025+, we are intensifying our activities to make Jungheinrich’s supply chain more sustainable, and this includes energy purchasing. This allows us to create sustainable value for our customers, our employees, our shareholders, our business partners and society at large,” explains Dr Brzoska.

In December 2020, Jungheinrich joined the international “50 Sustainability & Climate Leaders” campaign, an initiative by groups from different sectors that are playing a leading role in climate protection and realization of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.