smartbuildingmag.com
25
’22
Written on Modified on
KEBA News
Last year’s launch of the KeContact P30 GREEN EDITION, the first carbon-neutral wallbox, marked a big step for us at KEBA Energy Automation toward sustainability – and more milestones are on the horizon.
Overwhelming Response
Our KeContact P30 GREEN EDITION launched in April 2021 as a test run for private customers and was initially sold only in the GSA region. It’s all the more surprising that this first climate-neutral wallbox became a top seller: “Though as a company in the field of charging infrastructure, we always look ahead with great optimism,” said Christoph Knogler, CEO of KEBA Energy Automation, “we hadn’t expected all this wonderful feedback.”
Starting point: honest analysis, optimisation and compensation
How does one manufacture a climate-neutral charging station? One starts by determining the product’s carbon footprint. “We collected data on how many CO₂ equivalents are emitted during the production of a wallbox,” Knogler explains. Based on this analysis, we made some successful changes: Today, our plant in Linz produces wallboxes only with green energy and mainly uses components from Europe, which cuts transportation and thus avoids emissions from the outset. Moreover, we overhauled our packaging, thus cutting additional carbon emissions. And yet, some remain. These are offset by investing in certified climate protection programmes. All of these measures add up to a product that is 100 % climate-neutral.
Only green charging stations from now on
The GREEN EDITION wallbox represented a big step for us – but it was only the first. “Our goal is only to distribute KEBA charging stations that are climate-neutral by the end of 2022,” Christoph Knogler states, asserting that sustainability is not a mere fad at KEBA Energy Automation. Just how committed we are to this plan is shown by the preliminary results: As of April 2022, only carbon-neutral wallboxes are available from KEBA in the entire GSA region.
An entirely climate-neutral business area by 2025
Even the progressive product range adjustment is but a milestone in our overall journey. After the products’ carbon footprint, we are set tu calculate that of the entire business area “Energy Automation” before the end of the year: “We’re putting ourselves to the test by having our company’s carbon footprint calculated,” says Knogler. “Our goal is to become fully climate-neutral by 2025. It’s an ambitious goal, but one we simply cannot ignore.” What this highlights is that sustainability is becoming our standard – in our product range as well as in our entire business area.
