“There should be no Greenwashing”

Reducing CO₂ emissions is one of the “burning” issues in the area of sustainability. According to the International Energy Agency, industry accounts for around one third of global CO₂ emissions. How is RONAL GROUP dealing with this?

JUDITH PIETSCHMANN
Cutting CO₂ emissions is naturally crucial for us too. We have set ourselves the goal of providing our customers with CO₂-neutral products and being completely carbon neutral by the year 2050.

Where are we currently on this path?

JUDITH PIETSCHMANN
The greatest impact on reducing CO₂ will come from the use of recycled aluminum. For us as a manufacturer of light metal wheels, aluminum is one of our main resources. The production of primary aluminum and the manufacturing process of a wheel are energy-intensive processes that have effects on the environment and climate. Around two-thirds of our greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to primary aluminum, the remainder being due to energy and other “Upstream Scope 3” emissions. With the development of the first CO₂-neutral wheel – RONAL R70-blue – composed largely of recycled aluminum, we have taken a big step toward reducing CO₂.

NADINE SCHAUFELBERGER
Not only that, but with this report, we have created transparency about the impact of our business on the environment – and not just with regard to reducing CO₂ emissions. We cannot achieve our goals without our suppliers and the contribution they make. We have to work together toward the goal of CO₂-neutrality. We already work closely with our aluminum suppliers and have been able to reduce our carbon footprint from primary aluminum by 25%.

Speaking of transparency: what are the challenges facing you currently?

NADINE SCHAUFELBERGER
First and foremost we have customers demanding that we quickly reduce CO₂ but without imposing additional costs for the final product. This doesn’t make it any easier to reconcile business with sustainability. At the end of the day, we are a business that needs to make money. A major issue in the future will be transparency in the supply chain. As a customer, we share responsibility for ensuring that social and environmental standards are met.

CEO Oliver Brauner says: “PLANBLUE: this is our path toward becoming a sustainable company. We want to achieve our goals together – with our employees.” What contribution can individual employees actually make?

NADINE SCHAUFELBERGER
It is important that we all “pull together” in one direction. Only together can we become more sustainable and achieve our ambitious targets. Employees can demonstrate environmentally conscious behavior by saving energy and water both at work and at home. Machine efficiency in home use can also play a big role, as it does in the workplace. Car sharing, both private and professional, has long been an issue. Waste separation and the use of glass collection points are well-known methods and therefore a “no-brainer”. You just have to do it.

Are you doing this all together?

NADINE SCHAUFELBERGER
No, at the beginning of the current financial year, we set up a new Sustainability Committee, which I am pleased to preside over. Energy, Operations, Finance and Supply Chain make up the core team. On top of this there are other business departments, depending on our focus topics. The committee will expand over time, the list of tasks will be fleshed out, and roles clearly assigned. If we want to achieve our climate targets, we still have a wide range of tasks ahead of us. We certainly will not get bored.

JUDITH PIETSCHMANN
The committee is new, but the structured sustainability activities under the “PLANBLUE” label have been in place for six years now. Don’t forget, this is not RONAL GROUP’s first sustainability report. However, this is the first report to go public. We are not obliged to do so, but want to send a clear signal to the automotive supply industry.

What is your main focus, personally?

JUDITH PIETSCHMANN
That we act consistently and transparently. We are not “greenwashing” here in an effort to secure a supposedly better image both in-house and externally. Something like that would certainly come back to haunt us. Incidentally, “sustainability” doesn't just imply an environmental commitment. There are still the areas of health and safety at work, employee development and legal compliance. We are an industrial company with plants in eleven countries and intend to contribute to the Sustainability Development Goals – the SDGs.

NADINE SCHAUFELBERGER
Transparency is very important to me. In a similar vein to what Judith mentioned, there cannot be any sense of greenwashing. The company should communicate openly, transparently and honestly both externally and internally – even if we have not met interim targets. Lying to line your own pockets is useless. With this Sustainability Report, we have already taken a major step toward greater transparency.

What do you think, will there still be a RONAL GROUP sustainability report in ten years?

NADINE SCHAUFELBERGER
We will certainly continue to report on our activities in the area of sustainability in the future. Reports are one thing, but building continued awareness in the company is only possible with regular communication: “sustainable storytelling” about sustainability issues, if you will.

JUDITH PIETSCHMANN
By then, of course, this will no longer be "my" report, but if I could have one more wish here, it would be that our wheels be made of 100% renewable raw materials and secondary materials by the end of 2030/31. That’s something I would raise my glass to.