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Environment

Protection of our livelihoods

Our economic activities and the pursuit of our corporate goals leave their mark on our planet. To minimise these impacts, we organise our production sustainably to protect the basis of all our lives as best as possible. We endeavour to manufacture our products and provide our services in a resource-efficient manner that produces as few pollutants as possible. This is how we ensure the basis for life in the future. However, this way of thinking and acting does not only apply to the production process, but also starts with the development and design of our products. A sustainable product life cycle is our benchmark.

This is how we live sustainability at STEINEL

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1. in our organisation and production plants

For us, avoiding emissions comes before offsetting them, especially in the manufacturing of our products. We work towards greater sustainability every day by taking targeted measures in our production facilities and by aligning our organisational processes with sustainability.

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2. with and through our products

We design our products for durability and energy efficiency. Even at the development stage, we pay attention to sustainable construction in order to avoid short product life cycles and unnecessary electronic waste. Since 1986, we have been developing and producing products with motion sensors so that light is only switched on when it is really needed. The intelligent sensor technology of our luminaires and sensors has been shown to achieve enormous CO2 and energy savings.

-41%

Reduction of CO2 emissions
Thanks to targeted measures, we were able to reduce our CO2 emissions by a total of 41% across all plants in the period from 2017 to 2022 – and we are continuing to make progress!

-7t

Reducing paper consumption
Instead of a detailed operating manual, our products come with a quick-start guide. This saves us 7 tonnes of paper a year.

-92%

Energy consumption
Thanks to intelligent lights and networking, we only need 8% of the energy previously used.

-10t

Plastic savings
By switching from irrelevant plastic and polymer components in our product packaging to paper, we have already saved 10 tonnes of plastic and polymer.

Sustainability in organisation and production

STEINEL employees at work in the production plant

We are committed to increasing sustainability in our company every day.

We try to make all our organisational and manufacturing processes sustainable. Our products are "made in Europe", and we have a high level of vertical integration in our factories. For example, we assemble our printed circuit boards ourselves and we have our own plastic injection moulding. This enables us to shorten logistics routes.

We align our environmental and energy management with existing international standards. We rely on a continuous improvement process to achieve the environmental goals we have set ourselves. We have an energy audit carried out by independent third parties to check where we stand and how we can further improve the company's energy efficiency. The DIN standards that we naturally comply with include:

  • Quality management according to DIN EN ISO 9001:2015
  • Environmental management according to DIN EN ISO 14001:2015
  • Energy management according to DIN EN ISO 50001:2018 (Steinel Mölkau)
  • Energy audit according to DIN 16247-1: 2012
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ISO 14001 Certificate

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ISO 9001 Certificate

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ISO 50001 Certificate

Already a success today

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41% fewer CO2 emissions since 2017

Responsible and sustainable action requires the economical and efficient use of energy. All consumption and the associated greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1,2) are evaluated and analysed in the STEINEL environmental dashboard. Since STEINEL's reference year of 2017, sustainability measures have continuously reduced emissions at all locations. The STEINEL environmental dashboard enables us to identify further savings potential and to sustainably reduce our emissions.


To calculate our greenhouse gases and CO2 emissions, we use the CO2 equivalents from the German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (Bundesamt für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, BMWK) and data from the German Environment Agency. To calculate greenhouse gas emissions, CO2 emissions are multiplied by a factor of 1.12.


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The world's first sensor light from STEINEL
The world's first sensor-switched light

In 1987, Steinel invented the sensor-switched light. Before the world started worrying about climate change, resources and sustainability, we developed products for the future. The sensor-switched light only switches on the light when it is needed. This is easy on the environment and on the wallet.

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Introduction to energy audits

To officially seal our sustainability strategy, we have been conducting an annual energy audit according to DIN 16247-1: 2012 at our main plant in Herzebrock-Clarholz since 2012. We conscientiously implement the measures derived from this audit.

A developer at STEINEL at his computer workstation.
environmentally friendly design

We ensure that our products are sustainably designed from the development stage onwards. To do this, we work with an environmental checklist that we can use to ensure that our products are designed in accordance with environmentally relevant standards and specifications.

Excerpt from the ISO 14001 certificate
ISO 14001 certification

In 2014, all Steinel locations were certified not only according to the quality management standard DIN EN ISO 9001, but also according to the environmental management standard DIN EN ISO 14001.

The Amfori logo.
BSCI audit

Since 2017, our production sites in Romania and the Republic of Moldova have been certified with top marks (A) in all areas by amfori BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative), in particular to ensure compliance with social requirements.

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German Sustainability Code

In 2021, we became one of the first companies in our industry to report in accordance with the German Sustainability Code (DNK). This is a cross-industry transparency standard for reporting on corporate sustainability performance.

A STEINEL product box lies on a table with its plastic-free contents.
Start of packaging conversion

We want to avoid the unnecessary use of plastics and plastic in our packaging and have changed all possible components. Our sales packaging is made of 99.23% paper, paperboard and cardboard.

The photovoltaic system at the STEINEL plant in Curtea de Arges, Romania
Installation of a photovoltaic system in Curtea

The solar panels we installed cover 40% of the electricity needs of our plant in Curtea de Arges (Romania). This system generates around 574,000 kWh of emission-free electricity per year at our largest plant, which represents a saving of over 63 tonnes of CO2.

A STEINEL solar-powered light on the Hallig island.
Start switching to green electricity tariffs

In 2022, the electricity tariffs at the Herzebrock and Mölkau sites were switched to green electricity. This means that up to 100% of our electricity comes from hydropower.

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green travel policy

We have made it our mission to make business trips greener. We pay attention to which means of transport we use for business trips and try to keep the CO2 pollution caused by our business trips as low as possible. We offset unavoidable CO2 emissions with sustainable projects. However, our approach is to avoid instead of offset.


Sustainability of our products

Sustainable product development: We pay attention to sustainable construction as early as the product development stage. The electronics integrated into our products are coordinated with each other: For example, lights with fully integrated LEDs have a significantly longer lifespan compared to lights with replaceable bulbs. Fully integrated LED systems can be better connected to heat sinks. This means that they can be operated at low temperatures, which ensures a longer service life for the LEDs and thus a lighting duration of 30,000 - 60,000 hours. This longevity saves resources and avoids electronic waste, since no components need to be disposed of. That is sustainability for us.

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Avoiding plastic components in the packaging

We have set ourselves the goal of replacing all technically irrelevant plastic packaging elements with recyclable paper/cardboard solutions. All accessories are now packed in bags made of 100% recycled paper instead of the conventional plastic bags. We are replacing the polystyrene that we previously used to secure the goods with precisely fitting moulded fibre parts that provide the same level of protection. We are already saving over 10 tonnes of plastic per year. We are currently working intensively on further environmentally friendly packaging options. The extensive operating instructions have been replaced with small, clear Quickstarts that require only 12.5% of the amount of paper previously used.

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Solutions that drastically reduce CO2

When developing our products, we set ourselves the goal of making the world's buildings increasingly intelligent and thus more sustainable. With our connected lighting solutions, up to 95% of CO2 and energy can be saved today. We have confirmed this in a study together with the University of Pforzheim and the INEC Institute.

95%

CO2 savings proven many times over

200€

Potential annual savings per light

2years

Amortisation in the shortest possible time

Professor Mario Schmidt


"Combining LEDs with intelligent control promises the greatest energy
savings."

Professor Dr Mario Schmidt
Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences / INEC Institute

Discover the results of the study in our free white paper and learn from the expert interview how intelligent lighting systems combine the need for economy with the convenience of negligence, thus ensuring cost-effectiveness.

to the white paper

Solutions that drastically reduce CO2

Our Lighting Intelligence solutions can already save over 90% of the energy used for lighting in car parks worldwide. And all this with greater convenience for users and a fast return on investment for operators.

Our conviction in our ideas drives us forward every day. And sometimes even our boldest forecasts are exceeded. For example, we have managed to save over 92% energy in a car park in Zurich by modernising the lighting system.

Heuried in figures

-92%

Energy consumption
Thanks to intelligent lights and networking, we only need 8% of the energy previously used.

30%

Fewer luminaires
Fewer luminairesare needed than with conventional solutions.

 
80%

Higher light level
We can increase the light level by 80% despite using less energy.

Further topics related to sustainability

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social responsibility

We put people first. Whether as an employee, apprentice, manager or inventor. Our set of values is expressed in STEINEL's guiding principles. These are the guidelines for our actions and demonstrate our responsibility.

Find out more
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governance

Our goal of sustainable corporate governance requires the integration of social and ecological concerns. Independent certifications create transparency and provide security for our products and our supply chains.

Find out more