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Association of Companies for Climate Protection meets at KWS: CO2 neutrality in companies and reelection of Executive Board
Dr. Hagen Duenbostel, Spokesman of the KWS Executive Board, welcomes the participants to the "Autumn Conference on Climate Protection Companies" in Einbeck.
Einbeck, November 14, 2019
This marks the second time that the Association of Companies for Climate Protection has met at KWS in Einbeck. At this year’s autumn conference from November 11 to 13, 2019, the members of the association discussed the current climate protection plans of the German federal government. They determined that a key focus for 2020 will be the path toward becoming a CO2-neutral company.
At the same time, there was a regularly scheduled election of the association's new management board for the next two years. Jörg Schmidt, Head of Public Relations at Viessmann Werke GmbH & Co. KG, was unanimously elected as the new chairman of the board. Annika Trappmann, Management and CI Officer at Blechwarenfabrik Limburg GmbH, and Markus Mettler, Technical Operations Manager at ebm-papst Mulfingen GmbH & Co. KG were elected as his deputies. The previous chairman, Jan Eschke, Head of Digitalization, Innovation and Resource Efficiency at Worlée-Chemie GmbH, and deputy chair Dr. Jutta Zeddies, Head of Environmental Management for Germany at KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA, chose not to stand for re-election. Both began their tenures on the board when the association was founded in 2013 and contributed significantly to the impact of the company network for six years with their expertise in climate protection and resource efficiency.
The conference concluded with a tour of the KWS campus, which highlighted the key topic of CO2 neutrality in companies, among other things. At the KWS Einbeck location, 32 percent of the energy used currently comes from supplied biogas and thus from renewable energy. Participants also toured the cooling center that began operation at the beginning of the year. It provides much greater efficiency for energy production and distribution throughout company premises and was adopted by the association as a model example of environmental and resource conservation. “We are all responsible for the generations to come. Climate protection is one of humankind’s most pressing tasks and can only move forward when companies and consumers take a common path toward CO2 neutrality. That’s our motto for the future,” commented Dr. Jutta Zeddies at the conclusion of her tenure on the board of the Association of Companies for Climate Protection.
About the Verband der Klimaschutz-Unternehmen e. V.: The Association of Companies for Climate Protection (Verband der Klimaschutzunternehmen e.V.) is a voluntary initiative launched by German industry and brings together companies of all sizes, from small businesses to family-owned global market leaders through to major international corporations, in one cross-industry network to further their commitment to climate protection and CO2 neutrality with innovative real-world examples and technology in keeping with its motto "thinking ahead, modeling, moving forward". In its pioneering role, the association has released more than 150 best practice examples for saving energy since its inception in 2009. On the occasion of its tenth anniversary in June of this year, it announced the results achieved so far: Since 2009, its 37 member companies have saved 1.4 million tons of CO2. That corresponds to the average annual consumption of 123,000 German citizens or the annual energy consumption of all individuals in a medium-sized city such as Göttingen. Plant breeding company KWS has been a member of the Association of Companies for Climate Protection. Since 2010.
KWS is one of the world’s leading plant breeding companies. In the fiscal year 2018/19, more than 5,500 employees in 70 countries generated net sales of EUR 1.1 billion and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR 150 million. A company with a tradition of family ownership, KWS has operated independently for more than 160 years. It focuses on plant breeding and the production and sale of seed for corn, sugarbeet, cereals, rapeseed, sunflowers and vegetables. KWS uses leading-edge plant breeding methods to increase farmers’ yields and to improve resistance to diseases, pests and abiotic stress. To that end, the company invested approximately EUR 200 million last fiscal year in research and development.
* All figures exclude the companies carried at equity AGRELIANT GENETICS LLC., AGRELIANT GENETICS INC. and KENFENG – KWS SEEDS CO., LTD.
The previous Executive Board (from left to right) Dr. Jutta Zeddies (KWS), Jörg Schmidt (Viessmann Werke), Jan Eschke (Worlée-Chemie) and the Managing Director of the Climate Protection Company Association Wolfgang Saam.
The new Managing Board (from left to right): Jörg Schmidt (Viessmann Werke), Annika Trappmann (Blechwarenfabrik Limburg), Markus Mettler (ebm-pabst Mulfingen).
