Rehm Thermal Systems Introduces Environmental Management System

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Droughts and forest fires, floods and other severe weather events: The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly visible. As early as 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was signed by 191 countries worldwide in order to sustainably reduce greenhouse gases that are harmful to the climate. The Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 reaffirmed and concretised these goals – almost all countries in the world now recognise this agreement. But the path to climate neutrality begins in small steps – and Rehm Thermal Systems has been doing its part for years: With the introduction of an environmental management system, a further step is now being taken towards a climate-neutral future for Rehm. A first milestone is to be reached as early as April 2022.

The introduction of an environmental management system (in accordance with DIN EN ISO 14001:2015) at Rehm Thermal Systems is a project supported by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) Bodensee-Oberschwaben, in cooperation with the IHK Ulm. A total of 11 companies – including Rehm Thermal Systems (with its subsidiaries Rehm BlechTec and Rehm Thermal Systems Dongguan, China) – have set out on the path to climate neutrality: In several workshops, the company's managers receive information and documents on the various aspects of environmental management. One of the workshops will be held in the autumn at Rehm Thermal Systems in Blaubeuren-Seißen and will focus on the respective operational processes in relation to the environmental management system. “For us at Rehm Thermal Systems, this is an interesting challenge and opportunity to tackle the topic of environmental management together with the IHK. The global climate targets are of great importance to us and our customers and we want to do our part to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” states Raphael Germann, quality engineer at Rehm and responsible for the project (pictured left). 

Through environmental management, measures are to be taken and improvements achieved so that the companies will be climate neutral in the future. The environmental management system covers a variety of different topics, including the company's environmental policy and goals, environmental regulations, materials, waste, energy, production, suppliers, logistics, hazardous materials and service providers. Emission sources are divided into three categories: Scope 1 (direct emissions from own combustion processes), Scope 2 (indirect emissions from the purchase of performance-based energy) and Scope 3 (upstream and downstream corporate activities). Rehm Thermal Systems and Rehm BlechTec have set themselves the goal of being climate neutral in Scope 1 and Scope 2 by April 2022; Rehm Thermal Systems' Chinese branch in Dongguan by the end of 2022.