Sustainability Update Q4 24 / Q1 25

In our latest Sustainability Update, we provide a brief overview of the progress made in Q4/24 and Q1/25 as well as our sustainability plans for the coming months.

September 2024 – Participation in World Cleanup Day 2024

As part of our efforts to protect the environment and engage with the community, we once again took part in World Cleanup Day last year. WCUD is a worldwide campaign that takes place every year on the third Saturday in September. The aim of this initiative is to mobilise people to collect litter in their local area and raise awareness of the problem of environmental pollution. The day promotes a collective commitment to a clean environment and raises awareness of sustainable practices.

October 2024 – Achievement of EMAS validation

We are proud to have received EMAS-Validierung for our German site in October 2024.  EMAS stands for “Eco-Management and Audit Scheme” – an environmental management system developed by the European Union that helps companies to improve their environmental performance. 

What is EMAS? 

• EMAS is a voluntary instrument of the EU.
• The requirements of the environmental management system go beyond those of the ISO 14001 standard.
• Companies that are EMAS-certified are committed to a high environmental standard.
• As part of EMAS, annual progress is documented in an environmental statement.

What does EMAS certification mean for us?

With EMAS validation, we are committed

• to setting our own environmental targets. 
• to checking these regularly. 
• to reporting transparently on our progress. 

This process not only helps us to record our environmental impact but also promotes a culture of continuous improvement within our company. Further details and information can be found in our Umwelterklärung.

Autumn 2024 – Finalisation of the EMAS objectives  

As part of EMAS, we have carefully analysed and identified our environmental aspects in order to drive forward targeted improvements. To this end, specific goals were defined together with the management team, which are divided into short, medium and long-term categories and are to be implemented within the next three years. We have already successfully realised some of the short-term goals, while others are currently in the initial phase.

The objectives, including a precise description of measures and a defined schedule, are set out in our EMAS Umwelterklärung. In principle, we are pursuing the following goals for 2025 to 2027:

• Replace returnable bottles with drinking water dispensers including reusable bottles for all office workstations
• Reduce harmful environmental impact by switching to eco-friendly cleaning agents (100%)
• Development of a sustainability strategy for Adam Hall GmbH
• Reduce paper consumption in the logistics sector by 10% compared to the previous year (2023) through digitalisation
• Obtain an overview of CO₂ emissions in the transport chain and identify potential CO₂ savings
• Analysis/study of the current material usage of our products for potential optimisation and carbon footprint offsetting based on representative product groups
• Reduce the environmental aspects of our products and conserve resources by evaluating and improving repairability/serviceability in the development process of new products through the introduction of guidelines, including a repair index

Since November 2024 – Establishment of the environmental management system

The basis for our environmental management system created by the EMAS validation fulfils the requirements of the international standard ISO 14001:2015 and the European EMAS Regulation. It is a dynamic system that takes account of company developments and is adapted in the event of changes. We have defined roles and responsibilities and created communication channels to promote open dialogue on environmental issues. Our environmental policy forms the basis for measures such as the optimisation of operational processes, promotion of sustainable business travel, and the training of our employees.

February 2025 – Completion of the double materiality assessment  (sustainability reporting)

In February 2025, we completed the materiality assessment that we undertook to identify the most important sustainability issues for us. This analysis helps us to align our strategies and goals even more clearly and to communicate transparently with our stakeholders.

Spring 2025 – Submission of the DNK

We are currently finalising a voluntary sustainability report in accordance with the German Sustainability Code (DNK) for 2023. This report will disclose the economic, environmental and social aspects of our corporate actions and prepare us for future mandatory sustainability reporting. By preparing and publishing this report, we are creating transparency about our goals, strategies and progress in the area of sustainability and ensuring comparability for stakeholders.

Outlook & next steps

Over the coming months, we will continue to focus on working towards the sustainability targets we have defined as part of EMAS. In addition, the work of the Core Green and Team Green sustainability teams will be intensified in order to continue working actively on becoming a more sustainable company following the final months of preparation for EMAS validation.

#AdamHallGroup #SustainabilityUpdate #Sustainability #EventTechnology #EMAS

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Further information:
emas.de
emas.de/emas-teilnehmer
emas-register.de
adamhall.com/nachhaltigkeit
adamhall.com/emas