In December 2008, ten companies, institutions and public organisations joined forces to form Klimapakt Flensburg e. V. to promote climate protection in Flensburg. The declared goal is to achieve climate neutrality in the city of Flensburg by 2050.
The founding members, which include the SBV, have since been joined by other supporters. They are working together to promote climate protection with campaigns and events, at trade fairs and through general public relations work.
The Climate Pact has made its voice heard with high-profile campaigns - with school campaigns in favour of climate protection as well as a concept developed by Flensburg students for solar installations with the participation of Flensburg citizens.
Other successful campaigns:
- "Fresh bread rolls - fresh air!": The Climate Pact is cooperating with bakeries in the city under this motto. Anyone who picks up their bread rolls by bike - instead of by car - gets a free roll.
- "We cycle - still - to work": competition for companies to encourage as many participants as possible to cycle to work. SBV regularly takes part with teams of employees.
- "Great climate in Flensburg schools and daycare centres": recognition of the numerous campaigns in schools and daycare centres, such as participation in the Stadwerke run, the introduction of a waste separation system or participation in the "We get to school without a car" campaign.
- Flensburg e-mobility market: two days of activities and information on all aspects of e-mobility. The Flensburg e-mobility market took place in Förde Park for the first time in 2014.
- The Flensburg Climate Pact, together with numerous regional stakeholders, is supporting the introduction of a reusable cup system in Flensburg and the surrounding area.
- "Flensburg's climate protectors" are honoured as part of a climate pact campaign. In July 2019, Jürgen Möller, SBV Chairman of the Board and Climate Pact Chairman, honoured "MOMO-Naturbutik" for its "unpackaged" offering.
- The "Die Fjordbeweger" campaign gives Flensburg residents the opportunity to transport loads in an environmentally friendly way. They can rent cargo bikes at three stations and move goods weighing up to 125 kilograms through the city. The service is free of charge, but the initiators would be pleased to receive a donation.
SBV is not only a founding member of Klimapakt Flensburg e. V. and supports the pact's activities. As a building cooperative, we naturally also rely on energy-efficient architecture departments and building materials for new buildings, refurbishment and modernisation measures in our portfolio. One example of this is the thermal insulation composite systems.
But we also think in a climate and environmentally friendly way in many other areas of our own company. True to the motto: Every good idea counts!
Since 2011, not only has an e-car been part of SBV's company fleet - we have also built an e-fuelling station in front of the headquarters on Willi-Sander-Platz. Employees who prefer travelling on two wheels rather than four get additional motivation on an e-bike in Flensburg's "hilly landscape". There are now nine e-cars and three e-bikes available.
Since 2009, SBV has been purchasing CO2-neutral green electricity from certified Norwegian hydropower from Flensburger Stadtwerke. SBV not only uses this green electricity to power its central building, but also lifts and stairwell, basement and outdoor lighting in the rental buildings.
In 2013, SBV was one of the first companies in the country to switch to an environmentally friendly IT system. Together with the service provider cbf-it, the workstations of all employees were set up in such a way that energy consumption could be reduced by up to 50 per cent.
Anyone can save energy and thus protect the environment. But not everyone knows how. That's why we inform our members about how and where they can save electricity.
Since September 2014, only energy-saving and long-lasting LED lamps have been used in the corridors and at workstations in the SBV administration building to ensure that everything is not only seen in the right light, but also in environmentally friendly light.
Solar thermal and photovoltaic systems offer opportunities to utilise the sun's energy. SBV is already utilising these environmentally friendly and sustainable options. For example, a photovoltaic system has been installed in the administration building and in Timm-Kröger-Weg. A solar thermal system for the vividomo, our student housing complex, completes the picture.
In 2011, the SBV made environmental protection "edible". We planted 40 old fruit trees on a meadow measuring over 3,000 square metres in Alt-Fruerlundholz, built a shelter and information hut and opened two "insect hotels". Since 2013, there have also been permanent residents alongside the "hotel guests" - in a beehive with around 40,000 bees that do a great job pollinating the apple blossoms.
Once a year, we invite children to activity days in this meadow. Not only can they discover how delicious home-made apple juice is, but they also learn what a functioning ecosystem does for our environment.
In addition, the SBV invested 15,000 euros in its annual tree planting campaign for the eighth time in autumn 2021 - this time with a planting on Norderstraße. The current partner is TBZ Flensburg. In the meantime, the SBV's plantings around Flensburg and in the city area ensure that an additional 150 tonnes of CO2 are bound annually.
The fact that our measures - from insulating our buildings to tips on saving energy and protecting the environment by planting trees - are paying off is not only evident from our own consumption figures or feedback from our members. Our efforts have also been recognised by third parties as "worthy of an award": in 2012, SBV received the Environmental Award of the Economy. This prize has been awarded annually since 1984 by the Studien- und Fördergesellschaft der Schleswig-Holsteinischen Wirtschaft e. V. to companies that are committed to conserving resources and protecting the environment in their operational processes.
Biowaste: climate protection through fermentation
Every year, around 4,600 tonnes of biowaste are produced by Flensburg households, which was previously only composted. Since January 2015, the Technical Operations Centre (TBZ) has been fermenting the collected biowaste from the city area and composting the remaining residues.
The contract to recycle the organic waste has been awarded to Remondis. In their plant, the biowaste delivered is first fermented in the absence of air. The resulting gas is used to generate energy, thus saving fossil fuels. The remaining fermentation residue is composted and utilised in horticulture or agriculture.
TheCO2 reduction from fermentation with downstream composting amounts to more than 400 tonnes per year. The TBZ is thus making a further important contribution to achieving the Flensburg Climate Pact target ofCO2 neutrality by 2050.
With the fermentation process, the TBZ is following the recommendations of the Schleswig-Holstein waste management plan.
TBZ reducesCO2 consumption of its vehicle fleet
Since the end of November 2011, the Technical Operations Centre (TBZ) of the City of Flensburg has been using a so-called "telematics system" from Masternaut to reduce theCO2 emissionsof its company vehicles. The aim is not only to reduce fuel consumption but also to optimise the driving behaviour of vehicle drivers.
Using an on-board computer, each driver can call up the engine speed, acceleration, braking effect and idling times, among other things, and adapt their driving style accordingly in order to reduce fuel consumption. There will also be a financial incentive for this: In future, 25% of the costs saved will be credited to the driver. A win-win situation for everyone: companies, employees and local climate protection!
Boiler 12 project: on the way to aCO2-neutral power plant
As part of the Kessel 12 project, Stadtwerke Flensburg is making its plants fit for climate protection by 2016. A new gas and steam turbine plant (CCGT) is at the centre of the conversion work. Stadtwerke Flensburg currently produces heat and electricity in six boilers in the central combined heat and power plant using environmentally friendly cogeneration. Two older coal-fired boilers will be replaced by this new, modern CCGT plant, "Boiler 12", by 2016. This will benefit the environment: by using natural gas instead of coal, 40% lessCO2 will be emitted with the same generation capacity - an important milestone on the way to aCO2-neutral Flensburg. Natural gas has the lowestCO2 emissions per unit of energy of all fossil fuels.
Gas turbines are also a perfect match for renewable energies. They can be ramped up and down in a matter of seconds. If there is no wind and the sun is not shining, they can react quickly and supply the missing energy.
Another sub-project is the automation of boiler 5 and conversion from heavy oil to more environmentally friendly natural gas and light oil operation.
Thermography campaign by Stadtwerke Flensburg
The elimination of energy weaknesses in buildings makes an important contribution toreducing CO2 emissions. Stadtwerke Flensburg offers thermographic inspections for all houses and commercial properties in Flensburg and the surrounding area. The aim of the campaign is to identify thermal deficits, detect thermal bridges and investigate the causes of mould growth. Participants receive at least six infrared images of the respective building, including a written evaluation and tips on how to rectify weak points.
Travelling through Flensburg with hybrid buses
The purchase of two hybrid buses by Aktiv Bus GmbH marks the beginning of a new era in local public transport in Flensburg. The Volvo 7900H buses, which are expected to be in service from February 2015, have an electric motor in addition to the usual diesel engine. This will enable the buses to travel to stops silently and with zero emissions. In purely electric mode, emissions of carbon dioxide, soot particles and other pollutants are practically zero and even in diesel-powered driving mode, the hybrid articulated bus produces significantly fewer particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions thanks to the new 5-litre Euro 6 engine. The purchase of the new 18-metre-long buses, which offer space for 154 passengers, represents a significant milestone in the process of achievingCO2 neutrality by 2050.
Excursion with lots of information: On Thursday, 4 June 2015, a Climate Pact excursion took place at Aktiv-Bus GmbH. Klaus Schrader, Managing Director of Klimapakt Flensburg e.V., warmly welcomed all participants and emphasised the importance of climate protection in public transport and the networking of buses, trains and car sharing. Paul Hemkentokrax, Managing Director of Aktiv-Bus GmbH, then gave the participants a deeper insight into the history and current status of the company. The most important milestones in the development of local transport in Flensburg were presented. The technical development of the systems, which is also constantly progressing due to the high demands of passengers, is at the top of the list of priorities. The results of this development include the "bus radar" for smartphones and the "electronic real-time timetable" at the central bus station. The commitment to local climate protection is outstanding: this primarily includes the promotion of environmentally friendly driving behaviour by bus drivers through the use of state-of-the-art architecture departments such as the "EcoProfiler". This is used to calculate and analyse drivers' individual energy consumption. The programme contains, for example, data on absolute consumption and idling times, which have been drastically reduced in recent months. By driving with foresight, the driver contributes to reducing CO? emissions and is also rewarded financially for doing so. Finally, the participants were given a detailed insight into the operation of the new hybrid buses, which were then taken for a quiet test drive through Flensburg. (Source: www.klimapakt-flensburg.de)
Chemical flocculation of waste water from the coating plants
As part of the ISO 50001 energy management system, energy efficiency projects are one of the core elements of Mitsubishi HiTec Paper's corporate policy. At the speciality paper manufacturer's Flensburg mill, a new measure has now significantly reduced electricity consumption and therefore alsoCO2 emissions. The introduction of chemical flocculation of the waste water from the coating systems prior to indirect discharge led to a reduction in specific electricity consumption from 8.5 to 1.3 kWh/cbm.
The annual saving of 239,000 kWh is roughly equivalent to the electricity consumption of 70 average German households. This enabled the speciality paper manufacturer to reduce its specificCO2 emissionsby 84% (basis: German electricity mix 2012). With this successful climate protection measure, Mitsubishi HiTec Paper also became a new member of the "Business for Climate" initiative.
Electromobility: own power plant charges company car
With the purchase of the electrically powered VWe-up! as a company car, Mitsubishi HiTec Paper has taken a further step towards climate protection. The car battery is charged with electricity from the company's own power plant. This means that in future, shorter business trips can be made in a climate-friendly way.
