Content - Environmental protection
Environmental protection at SERTO
How does SERTO protect the environment? What possibilities does a company have to make a daily contribution to public welfare? Strategic decisions ensure a long-term commitment for the benefit of all.
Not only do our products and services decide how our natural resources are used and how our environment is impacted, but also the choice of our business partners and materials. Even our internal logistics affect our contribution toward protecting the environment.
Pro clima - SERTO invests in the future
Since summer 2008 SERTO has been dispatching products for delivery within Europe directly from Aadorf. Approximately 35,000 packages with an average weight of six kilos are sent every year. Lorries come to Aadorf daily to pick up shipments. The packages find their way via various distribution centres to their final destination: on the customer‘s doorstep. Routes on which exhaust is produced and the environment is polluted.
These emissions cannot be avoided entirely. But we can do something to reduce emissions in other places. This is the basic concept of CO2 compensation. With "pro clima" the Swiss Postal Service offers the possibility of climate-neutral shipping.
For each package and delivery zone, the Postal Service adds a small surcharge. These surcharges are dedicated to climate protection projects, such as wind farms or solar installations. SERTO will be participating in the "pro clima" project as of January 2010 and paying a contribution to climate protection projects on each transport unit. Our invoices for these shipments will feature the "pro clima" label.
District heating with wood chips
Over ten years ago GRESSEL Ltd, which became SERTO Ltd through an MBO in 2007, decided to do away with its oil heater and invest in connecting to a local district heating network. The operator, KIFA, located on a neighbouring property, produces wooden pallets, system and modular constructions, wall systems and packaging from local timber resources. Any leftover wood scraps and waste, from SERTO Ltd as well, is fed into the district heating plant. All the KIGA properties, the town hall and the retirement home in Aadorf as well as GRESSEL/SERTO Ltd are connected to this energy source. All the thermal heat and hot water is generated with CO2-neutral district heat from wood scraps. The heat output is 2.1 megawatts/hour, which means annually ca. 450,000 litres of fuel oil are saved. A significant contribution toward reducing CO2 emissions and protecting the environment.
Solar energy system on the roof
On the roof of SERTO’s production building, a photovoltaic system was built in two phases in 2000 and 2007 by the Solar Cooperative Aadorf. The investment for the complete system amounted to CHF 100,000 (ca. EUR 70,000). The system theoretically supplies a peak output of 11 kilowatts and produces ca. 10,000 kWh solar power a year. This energy is fed into the local power supply system.
Energy-saving lamps in offices
In the offices of SERTO Ltd in Aadorf energy-saving lamps that adapt their brightness to the actual lighting conditions are used. In addition, they are equipped with movement sensors which switch the lamps off when there is no movement at the desks. So we only consume energy when we need it; when we leave the office, the lamps turn off.
Half-fare card
SERTO Ltd pays the cost of a half-fare card for every employee. With this ticket, passengers pay only half the regular price on nearly all public transportation routes in Switzerland (train, post bus, bus services, urban transport, ship). A good incentive to leave your car at home in the garage and take the bus or train to work.
Bicycles
What can we do for the environment? SERTO employees in Aadorf work in two separate buildings, which are both in the same town, but about 2 km apart. From an ecological point of view, driving between the two buildings does not make much sense, which is why bicycles were purchased. So now we bike to our colleagues in the other building, naturally with helmets.