The learning network

Networking and coop­er­a­tion enables the compa­nies in the “Hohen­lohe Model” to improve their envi­ron­mental creden­tials and to advance the region.

When plans were announced in 1991 to build a hazardous waste incin­er­a­tion plant in the Hohen­lohe district, an action group was quickly formed. Local industry also supported the cause. To render the building of the plant unnec­es­sary, 17 compa­nies from the region, including ebm-papst, agreed to reduce their volume of hazardous waste by half within three years. This was the birth of the “Hohen­lohe Model”.

Since it was first set up, the tasks of the network have changed consid­er­ably. Kurt Weis­senbach, Chairman of the asso­ci­a­tion, describes the activ­i­ties of the group: “We help our 180 members to help them­selves. On the one hand, we provide support for various projects. On the other hand we have formed internal working groups that deal with the issues of waste, the envi­ron­ment and energy.” For example, the asso­ci­a­tion makes an exchange possible between students and compa­nies. It supports the intro­duc­tion of envi­ron­ment manage­ment systems and assists compa­nies in attaining envi­ron­mental certi­fi­ca­tion. The asso­ci­a­tion sees itself as a learning network. The objec­tive is to network know-how in order to effi­ciently realise corpo­rate envi­ron­mental protec­tion. General manager Jutta Bauer does not only see the cost factor here: “We have seen many cases that demon­strate that envi­ron­mental protec­tion can also make economic sense.”

The compa­nies pool their ideas regarding sustain­able economy and in doing so do not just advance the region, they also assume a national role model func­tion. That can be seen, for example in the country’s very first energy effi­ciency round­table. In 2002, ebm-papst and 16 other compa­nies decided to coop­erate in order to achieve common objec­tives with respect to saving energy and reducing CO2 emis­sions. A project engi­neer and a moder­ator supported the compa­nies and gave impetus for the exchange of expe­ri­ence. Company repre­sen­ta­tives meet three to four times a year at one of the member compa­nies to gain an on-the spot picture of effi­cient imple­men­ta­tion. Personal contacts were quickly estab­lished. “When a project like this runs for two years, the people involved get to know each other so well that they call each other directly instead of asking the moder­ator first,” confirms Weis­senbach.

Following the success of this approach, similar schemes are springing to life all over Germany. The Hohen­lohe Model is a partner of the “30 Pilot Networks” project of the Federal Ministry for the Envi­ron­ment, which is helping to set up further energy effi­ciency round­ta­bles in other regions. Here, the asso­ci­a­tion is able to input its own expe­ri­ence and advise other compa­nies and regions. These can benefit from the knowl­edge of their colleagues. And that is entirely in keeping with the network’s slogan: “No need to rein­vent the wheel.”

The Energy concept
Nine of the compa­nies that partic­i­pated in the “Energie-Effizienz-Tisch”, an energy effi­ciency round­table, had set the goal of 9 percent energy savings over six years for them­selves in 2001. In 2007, 20.1 percent were actu­ally achieved. This corre­sponds to average savings of 110,000 euro per year and company or a reduc­tion of CO2 of 15,000 tonnes. The values are produc­tion and climate-corrected.