DAKO Receives Certification for Its Environmental Management

After a successful audit, the logistics software provider DAKO GmbH received certification according to DIN EN ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems) in August 2022. The certificate confirms that the company from Jena actively engages with the challenges of environmental protection and aims to minimize negative impacts as much as possible. DAKO demonstrates that the concept of sustainability is firmly embedded in its corporate philosophy.

(Jena) The international standard ISO 14001 states: “To meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, a balance between environment, society, and economy is considered essential.” The implementation of environmental management systems in companies contributes to the ecological pillar of sustainability.

DAKO GmbH sees its continuous commitment to sustainability as a social responsibility. This is already reflected in the product range of the IT provider, which enables transport and logistics companies to operate more economically, efficiently, and thus also more resource-conservatively. DAKO has also been involved in research activities on alternative drives and sustainable logistics concepts for many years, which was recently honored by winning the prestigious European Transport Award for Sustainability for the project “SMART MULTI-USE LOGISTICS.” The research results are directly integrated into DAKO products, which combine user requirements and economic efficiency with sustainability goals.

Taking Responsibility for Ecological Action

The certification of the environmental management within the company now emphasizes that DAKO not only values environmental awareness in its products but also takes responsibility for ecological action at its own location. The energy management of the company building, completed in 2017, was designed with a focus on reducing consumption. The building’s heating system utilizes the waste heat from the servers, which are indispensable due to the large amounts of stored data at the IT provider.

Regular Overview of Consumption

Environmental management also includes regularly obtaining an overview of consumption, e.g., through measurements, and optimizing it. The card racks needed for managing customer data (high-performance card readers for thousands of company cards) have already been replaced by devices with lower power consumption. Similar optimization potentials also exist in the selection of service providers. Here, DAKO relies on local partners whenever possible, both to keep delivery routes short and to sustainably strengthen the region. Service providers that operate in a CO2-friendly manner are preferred, and this also applies to the selection of printing materials, even if it becomes more expensive.

Raising Employee Awareness

Raising employee awareness is another point in environmental management. A concept for waste management and the avoidance of material waste with paper and other work materials exists for this purpose. Many processes, such as payroll accounting, are completely digital, contributing to waste reduction. To support environmentally conscious actions, the company has also installed three charging stations for electric cars, which employees and guests can use for up to six vehicles simultaneously.

Photos: © Dako