by Annika Böhringer
Despite its industrial port and some 1.8 million inhabitants, Hamburg counts as one of the greenest cities in Europe. Crowned the European Green Capital in 2011, the city is aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by 80 per cent by 2050 and Bechtle is doing its bit to help Hanseatic city achieve this ambitious goal whilst also striving to attain the Bechtle Group’s own sustainability objectives.
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With some 600 employees, Bechtle Hamburg is one of the group’s largest system houses and a true role model when it comes to sustainability. It has been an active partner for the City Of Hamburg in all things climate since 2021, joining a community that is committed to corporate environmental protection. The partnership must be renewed every year and cemented through specific actions such as in terms of energy saving, all of which is a piece of cake for the Hamburg office thanks to their extensive portfolio of measures designed to align with the Bechtle Sustainability Strategy 2030.
The system house has broken down the four strategic areas of action—ethical business practices, environment, people, and digital future—into a multitude of smaller measures, which together have a big impact. Some examples are the switch to 100 per cent green energy in 2022, the continuous expansion of vehicles running on alternative fuels in the company fleet, and the Bechtle forest in Hohenaspe between Hamburg and Kiel, which is growing as dynamically as the company itself. And who could forget Tuan, the Sumatran orangutan at the Hagenbeck zoo, whose food is paid for through a sponsorship programme.
Less adorable, but just as important is the plan to achieve ISO 14001 environmental standard certification in 2023 with sights set on the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) by 2025. One thing that is abundantly clear is that Bechtle’s most northerly system house has a lot on its sustainability agenda. Thankfully, they have an enthusiastic devotee to the subject in the form of Laura Klotz. As Bechtle Hamburg’s Sustainability Officer, she works closely with the sustainability team at the Neckarsulm headquarters contributing her experience as a Bid Manager. After all, there are no tenders without sustainability these days as many customers, particularly large enterprises, put the fulfilment of strict sustainability standards at the heart of their projects. “Our customers value our sustainability efforts and we are proud to be able to offer them innovative solutions,” explains Laura Klotz.
The new Bechtle logistics hub in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg is the perfect complement to those in Bielefeld and Neckarsulm giving Bechtle a total of nearly 60,000 m2 warehouse space in Germany. With much shorter distances to customers in the north and east, energy consumption and carbon emissions are significantly reduced.
A good example is Dataport—the IT service provider for the states of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Saxony-Anhalt. Bechtle was able to win the company over with its concept of using e-cargo bikes to deliver goods to 29 locations and 3,500 IT seats with a 15-kilometre radius—quickly, efficiently and with zero emissions.
