Whether in transport or production, industrial efforts to save energy and material lead to using less raw materials, which, in turn, leads to carbon emission reductions. Resource efficiency is active climate protection, a vital component of the German 2030 climate protection programme.

Therefore, the federal environment ministry supports businesses seeking ways to reduce material and energy. This film depicts four companies that are already reducing their carbon footprint by several tons a year, doing their part to protect the planet.

One company’s project, a new, more efficient facility for sorting recyclable plastics according to colour, was funded by the government’s environmental innovation programme. (02:19) Compressing air is a high-energy process, releasing waste heat, i.e., carbon, into the atmosphere. Leakages not only require more operating energy, but they also generate more waste heat. With innovative technology, a company in the Stuttgart region revealed 17,000 compression leaks at an automotive parts supplier’s factory, saving energy and 9,000 tons CO2 annually. (00:45)

Other important resource efficiency factors are production methods and material selection. A Berlin business has succeeded in significantly reducing sheet metal thickness without loss of stability via a special bionic honeycomb structure in the metal’s surface, so-called vault structuring. The thickness reduction can save between 30 and 90 percent of raw materials. (01:06) An iron foundry in Kempten works with an app that analyses and optimises casting processes, saving 200,000 kWh of electricity which corresponds to approximately 100 tons of carbon emissions per year. (01:32)

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Learn more about apps that help you save material and energy:    • Industry 4.0 – It’s Easy! Apps help s...  
Learn more about bionic vault structures:    • Bionic vaulted structures – Nature’s ...  
Learn more about plastic recycling:    • Recycling plastics – Resource efficie...  
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Comprehensive resource efficiency information:
Web: https://www.resource-germany.com
Twitter:   / vdi_zre  
LinkedIn:   / vdi-zentrum-ressourceneffizienz-gmbh  

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety