GRAF has achieved another milestone as its energy management system is certified in accordance with DIN ISO 50001. The certificate is valid for three years and is subject to an annual review.
For over 50 years GRAF has been manufacturing solutions for rainwater harvesting, storage and infiltration. GRAF products save up to 160 million litres of drinking water every day. The European market leader in rainwater harvesting is also committed to the sustainable production of environmental products.
As part of the energy management system, GRAF keeps detailed records of energy consumption at its Teningen site as well as defining key energy figures for each machine and energy efficiency targets for each product. “The energy management system reflects our commitment to energy efficiency and continuous improvement with a view to ensuring the sustainable development of the company,” says managing director Otto Peter Graf.
The family-owned business has been looking for ways to make GRAF products as sustainable as possible for many years. These efforts start during the development phase, explains Graf, because high-quality products have a long lifetime, reduce resource consumption and therefore minimise environmental impact. GRAF offers a guarantee of up to 25 years on its durable products. To further reduce energy consumption, peak loads are actively managed, all operating processes are defined in detail, continuous improvements are implemented, and internal audits are carried out four times a year.
To further reduce GRAF’s environmental footprint, 70% of the plastic it uses is recycled. Thanks to years of intensive research, state-of-the-art production systems and its own raw materials compounding system, GRAF is able to process an unusually high proportion of recycled materials without any adverse impact on quality. The GRAF production process is therefore extremely low-impact in environmental terms.
The company has also reduced power consumption in the injection moulding process by up to 85% and uses the heat given off by the production process to heat the production and logistics building with the help of a heat recovery system.
