Interseroh included in KlimaExpo.NRW climate protection initiative

Cologne. The Cologne-based environmental services provider Interseroh has successfully qualified for the KlimaExpo.NRW. Including Interseroh in its state-wide climate protection initiative, the government of the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) praised the efforts of the company surrounding the circular economy and climate protection. “At Interseroh, protecting the climate is practised at every level: from its employees, to its business activities, to the way in which it addresses its customers. Interseroh’s comprehensive and carefully considered approach won us over and is a good example of how protecting our climate can be achieved at both the internal and external levels,” highlighted Dr Heinrich Dornbusch, Managing Director of KlimaExpo.NRW, at the presentation of the official certificate yesterday afternoon in Cologne. As an initiative of the government of the federal state of NRW, in the form of 1,000 steps, the KlimaExpo.NRW will showcase positive examples of climate protection in and from North Rhine Westphalia until the year 2022. Interseroh is the 301st step.

“As a member of the KlimaExpo.NRW we are part of a movement which is continuously expanding and we’re setting the pace when it comes to the protection of our climate,” explained Markus Müller-Drexel, Managing Director of INTERSEROH Dienstleistungs GmbH. “Together, we can defend the idea of a resource- and climate-friendly approach to our economy on a more convincing basis. In a core industrial region such as North Rhine Westphalia in particular, this gives us the opportunity to encourage technological innovations, increase our competitiveness and create new jobs."

The environmental services provider, which is part of the international recycling specialist and raw materials provider ALBA Group, has aligned its entire business model to sustainability. Together with its customers from trade and industry, Interseroh implements innovative solutions for bringing materials, products and packaging into the recycling loop. In 2016, the recycling activities within the corporate group alone enabled the prevention of some 4.3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions from a city the size of Wuppertal, which has a population of roughly 350,000 and is home to approximately 430 industrial businesses. This was determined in a scientific study by the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT.

In addition to this, over the course of several years of research, Interseroh has developed a process which enables the production of high-quality plastic granulates from used plastics, and which, among other sources, comes from the collection of waste packaging in the Yellow Bin and the Yellow Bag. In this respect, an increasing number of manufacturers are already using the patented upcycling plastic Procyclen as a full-value replacement for crude oil based new materials – e.g. for the production of reusable shipping boxes, marker pens and plastic bottles. Compared with the use of primary materials, its use results in a 30 up to 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Interseroh reveals the amount of by which the greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced once a year in an individual certificate for its customers.

Interseroh has also set the course for protecting the climate at the in-house level. The company calculates its carbon footprint every year, and in 2016, succeeded in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by almost 4 percent in comparison with the previous year. By 2025, this value is set to fall further, with the Interseroh locations responsible for just half the volume of greenhouse gas emissions as today.

About the KlimaExpo.NRW:

The KlimaExpo.NRW is a state-wide initiative by the government of the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia. The state government founded the KlimaExpo.NRW to make the energy transition, climate protection and the necessary adaptation to the consequences of climate change into an advancing force for the sustainable economic and social development. The objective of the state company is to present successful projects in innovative formats to a wide-ranging audience, also at the international level, and to initiate an additional commitment for protecting the climate. The KlimaExpo.NRW aims to present the technological and business potential of North Rhine Westphalia in this area. It is both an exhibition and an ideas lab for the location of NRW, not only at one location and on one day, but throughout the federal state and until 2022. Since 2017, in the scope of its interim presentation, the KlimaExpo.NRW has also been a participatory exhibition for every citizen in North Rhine Westphalia. This project is supported by the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRD).

For further information, visit www.klimaexpo.nrw.

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