Lean and Green Honors Bünting, Chep, and Lorenz

The fact that greenhouse gas emissions in Germany are generally continuing to decline – according to the Federal Environment Agency, slightly by 1.9 percent in 2022 – is also due to the commitment of numerous companies in the logistics sector. The Lean and Green initiative annually honors sustainable resource-saving logistics with the awards and stars of the same name. Today, GS1 Germany, the carrier of the initiative in Germany, presented several companies with awards for their success in reducing their CO₂ emissions in warehousing and logistics processes.

(Köln/Berlin) At the German Logistics Congress, organized by the Federal Association of Logistics (BVL), Chep received the Lean and Green 3rd Star. The 2nd Star went to Lorenz Bahlsen Snack-World. Bünting SCM/Logistics celebrates its Lean and Green debut with the award.

Chep Germany, based in the heart of Cologne, is a founding member of the Lean and Green initiative. Since receiving the Lean and Green Award for the first time in 2014, the company has continuously reduced its CO₂ emissions while always keeping over 90 percent of total emissions in view.

The pallet pooling provider and expert in supply chain solutions has optimized its logistics processes by introducing inspection points at strategic locations with retailers and manufacturers. This innovation eliminates the need for separate transports to inspection sites and has saved 63,200 truck trips and thus 4,880 tons of CO₂ in Europe alone in the last financial year.

With the “Track and Trace” project, Chep is setting new standards in supply chain transparency: By using trackers on pallets, real-time data is generated that revolutionizes not only transport but the entire supply chain. This enables more efficient planning, reduced downtime, and ultimately further reduction of CO₂ emissions.

More Efficient Transport Utilization and Long Trucks

The family-owned snack manufacturer Lorenz focused on optimizing transport utilization in customer deliveries as well as internal goods transport and on a lower heating requirement to achieve lower CO₂ emissions. In collaboration with its customers and through internal network optimizations, the snack provider was able to reduce the number of transports by 38,000 between 2014 and 2022. Energy requirements are now 22 percent lower than in 2014, as significantly less natural gas is needed for heating.

In addition, around 750 transports took place in 2022 between the production sites and logistics locations in Hankensbüttel, Lower Saxony, and Neunburg vorm Wald, Bavaria, using long trucks.

Lorenz also supports several social projects and, as part of the certification for the Lean and Green 2nd Star, has taken over 99 percent of its logistics-related greenhouse gas emissions into scope, thus significantly exceeding the requirements. Overall, it was possible to reduce transport and logistics-related greenhouse gas emissions by around 35 percent CO₂ per cubic meter of transported goods.

Bünting Receives Lean and Green Award

With the successful certification for the Lean and Green Award, Bünting SCM/Logistics has taken the first step of the initiative for sustainable logistics and has set ambitious goals to achieve the Lean and Green 1st Star next year. This milestone stands for a reduction of CO₂ emissions along logistics processes by 20 percent. The company aims to achieve 17 percent of this in 2023.

The logistics service provider relies on a total of nine different measures. For example, the company has switched its lighting to energy-efficient LED lamps. In addition, Bünting has installed a photovoltaic system in its warehouse in Nortmoor. Other measures on the way to the Lean and Green 1st Star include the use of eutectic plates for cooling goods and bundling effects in its own procurement logistics. Bünting is also digitizing processes with AI-supported scheduling software. A dynamic planning approach ensures nearly 100 percent tour utilization. The focus is also on reducing write-offs/spoilage.

Photo: © BVL / Caption: “Awarded by Lean and Green: Bünting, Chep, and Lorenz”