The environment
Protecting our natural resources is important to us, which is why we aim to continuously reduce the environmental impact of our actions. Everyone is called to step up: from plant security, housekeeping, product assembly and production planning to administration, product development and the Management Board. All of us work toward the goals of resource conservation and sustainable stewardship.
More green on the shop floor
HEIDENHAIN products help our customers to increase their productivity and reduce their CO2 emissions: The high-performance functions of our CNC controls shorten non-productive time and boost efficiency during machining, resulting in higher throughput and a smaller carbon footprint per finished part. And improved sensor optics in our encoders eliminate the need for purge air, thus reducing the CO2 footprint of these feedback devices by up to 99% during operation.
Sustainable business processes
Consuming less and promoting biodiversity: Energy and various raw materials go into making our products on over 63,000 sqm of manufacturing space at our headquarters in Traunreut. We take a variety of measures to reduce our consumption of raw materials and energy, and to continuously optimize our material usage. During our manufacturing processes, recycling also plays a prominent role. And across our grounds, we endeavor to both preserve and increase biodiversity.
Our core environmental goals in 2026
Expanding green energy
We harness a variety of eco-friendly energy sources, including solar, geothermal, and wind. To continue expanding the role they play at HEIDENHAIN, we are installing more photovoltaic panels, using more geothermal energy in manufacturing processes, and constructing two company-owned wind turbines.
Consuming less energy
We are implementing various improvements within our Production department, such as switching to LED lights, optimizing our compressed air lines, reducing the air line pressure and installing heat recovery systems. To uncover even more energy-saving opportunities, we will also be expanding our energy monitoring capabilities.
Reducing emissions
We are implementing various projects in our manufacturing departments aimed at further reducing our CO2 emissions. Relying more on district heating is one of them. And through extensive heat-loss prevention measures and the use of regenerative energy sources, new buildings will be as CO2-neutral as possible.
Conserving water
As part of the surface-finishing processes in our Mechanical Components Production department, our products undergo a final cleaning step. By acquiring and implementing a new, resource-efficient cleaning system, we will be reducing the amount of wastewater that contains cleaning solution by approximately 50%.
Reducing hazardous materials
In our production process for encoder graduations, we are replacing a highly toxic developer solution with a developer compound based on potassium hydroxide. Because this alternative developer compound is easy to neutralize, it is far better from an ecological perspective.
Eco-friendly packaging
We're focused on developing packaging systems that conserve resources and are easier to recycle. A key step in this process is our effort to gradually replace PUR-based convoluted foam packaging. We are replacing this material with recyclable alternatives that are eco-friendly and meet our functional requirements.
Near-term target for 2030
DR. JOHANNES HEIDENHAIN GmbH aims to reduce its Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions each by an absolute 42% by 2030 against a 2022 baseline.
Net-zero target for 2050
In addition to its near-term target, the company aims to reduce its Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions each by an absolute 90% by 2050 against a 2022 baseline.
