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  1. Sustainability
  2. Environment

Ecology - responsibility for the environment

Philosophy

ifm’s philosophy clearly defines our approach of managing natural resources as carefully as possible. We demand and promote environmentally conscious decisions and behaviour both within the company and with our business partners.

Environmental policy

The environmental policy of ifm electronic gmbh is based on our corporate philosophy. It is the vision on which our environmental management system is based and the framework for the environment-related targets and principles. Our actions are not only determined by legal regulations but also by the ecological awareness to assume responsibility for the effects and consequences of our actions.

Environmental management and publications

In order to meet our ecological responsibility in-house and to continuously optimise environmental protection, our environmental management system was established over 20 years ago and certified in 2020 to DIN EN ISO 14001 and EMAS (EU Eco-Audit). Every year we publish an environmental statement - in German - in accordance with the EMAS standard. Here, we provide information about our environmental management system as well as our environmental performance, goals and measures.

An overview of environmental topics at ifm is also given in the sustainability info sheet as well as our edition "Sustainable thinking and acting. The ifm quality, environmental and occupational safety management". It contains our corporate environmental policy, environmental protection measures taken as well as information about critical substances.

Environmental measures

The creation of ifm’s "Occupational Safety and Environmental Protection” department dates back to 1991. So we can look back on a long time with a lot of experience and correspondingly on an equally long list of environmental protection measures taken. These include, for example, the continuous expansion of energy efficiency measures, the substitution of environmentally hazardous substances, comprehensive precautionary measures and the annual preparation of an operational ecological balance since 1993. Current environmental goals and measures are laid down in the EMAS environmental programme and updated annually. In addition, ifm has committed to climate neutrality in its operations by 2030. For this purpose, the group of companies follows the three-step sequence "avoid, reduce and compensate" and, in addition to direct and energy-related emissions, also considers selected emissions from the value chain.

Products

The durability of our products is highest priority for us and is a core element in reducing the resource consumption and avoiding waste. As early as the product development stage, we pay special attention to the economical and sustainable use of resources - from the idea to the production to the product. In doing so, we take into account environmentally relevant aspects and check relevant regulations and standards for their applicability.

By the way: Many of our products contribute also directly to preventing or reducing negative environmental impacts.