Environmental Award

Winner: Product company KRACHT in Germany

In recognition of: Designing and implementing an Energy Optimization System (EOS)

About the project: Operating an energy-intensive production environment, the product company faced a clear challenge: how to continue growing operations while energy availability and costs posed increasing constraints. Instead of treating this as a limitation, the team transformed it into an opportunity – designing the comprehensive Energy Optimization System (EOS), integrating multiple energy sources, technologies, and recovery systems into one optimized setup. The project team was rethinking the existing energy system at the site, significantly reducing and optimizing energy consumption using our own products, and increasing the share of renewable energy. The result is a smarter, more resilient energy system that not only reduces environmental impact but also strengthens operational efficiency and independence.

Winner: The site Airpower's power purchase agreement (PPA) project.

In recognition of: Securing long-term renewable electricity from an offshore wind farm in Belgium.

About the project: A PPA is a long-term contract between a company and an energy provider to buy electricity. PPA’s are a key tool for financing and developing new renewable energy projects and thereby contributing to increase the share of renewables in the electricity grid. The winning project is the Group’s first long-term corporate PPA and it highlights the importance of collaboration and innovation. It is a great example of effective solutions in reducing CO₂ emissions while achieving both environmental and financial gains.

Winners: The Motor Vehicle Industry Division, MVI, and General Industry Division, GI, within the Industrial Technique Business Area.

In recognition of: The successful rollout of the innovative sales process Strategic Partnership Selling for Sustainability, which aims to reduce CO₂ emissions in the use phase of the products and service.

About the project: The sales process relies on a concept where a customer’s unique impact plan is proactively created, one production station after another. The impact plan clearly shows how to reduce the customer’s CO₂ emissions and waste by implementing Atlas Copco products and services. The quantification of the benefits is done using a CO₂ calculator, which applies parameters from the Group’s Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) tool.

The award has been given annually since 2012. Previously, the award year has referred to the achievement year. However, as of 2024, the announcement year is used as the award year, which seemingly makes 2023 a gap year.

Winner: Technology and Innovation team at the Power and Flow division within Power Technique Business Area.

In recognition of: Their outstanding performance in enabling the preservation of the environment for the future, by developing a carbon footprint simulation tool for the business area.

About the project: Through dedicated teamwork, the Technology and Innovation team has developed a carbon footprint simulation tool for the business area, based on the Group’s Product Carbon Footprint calculator (PCF tool). The team's tool can be used in engineering to simulate a product’s carbon footprint, as well as by salespeople to size the most energy efficient machine, with the lowest carbon footprint for the requested application.

Winner: Compressor Technique Service division’s lubricant team

In recognition of: For their outstanding performance in preserving the environment for the future by reducing the environmental impact from oils used to lubricate the screw elements.

About the project: The award is established to inspire the organization to create business value while reducing the environmental impact. Through dedicated teamwork, the Compressor Technique Service division’s lubricant team managed to reduce the environmental impact from oils used to lubricate the screw elements. The lubricant team is an interdisciplinary team of marketing, purchasing and engineering professionals, who collaborates closely with suppliers. The team applied a cradle-to-grave perspective to reduce the environmental impact, and came to the conclusion that using synthetic oils instead of mineral oils reduced the CO2 footprint from the oils and compressors significantly.

Winner: The Industrial Vacuum division within the Vacuum Technique Business Area

In recognition of: Their outstanding performance in preserving the environment for the future and finding new ways that support the sustainable logistics strategy.

About the project: Leybold, a leading vacuum producer based in Cologne, Germany, sends heavy pumps weighing more than 150 kilograms, plus semi-finished parts such as components and rotors, to Tianjin, China, for local production and distribution.

The ‘Lighthouse project’ began in mid-2019, when 20 full container loads were sent by rail nearly 8,000 kilometers from Germany to China. Leybold now sends cargo in three train containers per week to DC Shanghai and PC Tianjin. The strategy to switch to rail is driven by environmental and cost optimization needs, but it is also based on a strong focus on customer requirements. By using alternative and reliable transport modes like rail, the division has been able to maintain supply and customer support also in the challenging time of a global pandemic.

The benefits of train transports are clear. On this particular route, rail freight is 75% less costly than air freight, while the train emits 90% less carbon emissions. Compared to ocean freight, the train is 50% quicker as the distance by rail is 8,000 kilometers compared to more than 23,000 kilometers by ocean.

Additionally, the sea transport strategy for Europe to North America which aims to shift transport from air to sea, has been rolled out. The result is that sea transport has grown from 42% of shipments made in 2017 to 78% in 2020. Leybold now sends cargo in eight containers per month to its distribution center in North America.