Hamm: certification according to standard ISO 14001 for its environmental management system

Hamm AG was certified according to ISO 2020 14001 at the end of November 2020.

After a comprehensive environmental management system was built, Hamm AG was certified according to ISO 2020 14001 at the end of November 2020. This will help the company continue to improve its environmental performance in the future, reduce emissions even further and save resources.

Hamm AG has been working on building an environmental management system since 2018. Two positions, among others, were created as part of this – an environmental management representative and an energy representative. "Protecting the environment is vital for us. This applies both to our operations as a manufacturing company, and to our products. It goes without saying that we therefore comply with the statutory regulations. We have also identified further potential for improvement through our environmental management system in order to reduce our use of resources and energy consumption, and to limit our impact on the environment," explains Hamm director Dr Stefan Klumpp regarding the roller manufacturer's environmental policy. 

This has been a part of the Hamm philosophy for many years. As a result, the administration building has been heated and cooled via a geothermal energy system, that is to say, using renewable energy from the soil, since 2013. This allows Hamm to reduce CO2 production by 60 tonnes every year. CO2 emissions have also been drastically reduced in many areas in production. One example is the trainee project, which systematically identifies and eliminates losses in the compressed air system. Another project was the development of a special low-solvent, one-layer paint for the drums in cooperation with the paint suppliers. This helped reduce emissions from solvents and similar substances (VOC=Volatile Organic Compounds) by around 10%.

With its ISO 14001 certification, Hamm is highlighting the seriousness of this commitment. What's more, increasing numbers of customers prefer to collaborate with manufacturers that can provide an environmental management system, as this increases their competitiveness. Hamm AG is meeting exactly this requirement by committing themselves to continually improving their environmental performance.

In preparing for the ISO 14001 certification, all of Hamm's operational processes with regards to resources, emissions and energy consumption were analysed initially. With its environmental management system, the roller manufacturer will continuously optimise its environmental performance, that is to say, its contribution to improving environmental protection. With this in mind, ISO 14001 stipulates that concrete goals must be set. "In this regard, we will optimise heating in the production halls to enable us to reduce gas consumption, for example. There is also potential when it comes to waste – we plan to reduce the amount of waste per machine by 20% by 2023. There are a variety of measures necessary to achieve this; our logistics, purchasing and production planning teams will be putting these in place step by step," says plant manager Dirk Pressgott, who is responsible for environmental management. Another advantage here – energy-saving measures usually lead to cost savings in the long term.

Companies that are certified according to ISO 14001 must also create and maintain a legal register. This combines statutory and other regulations on such environmental topics as waste disposal, solvents, air quality, noise and water pollution control. "The register allows us to have an overview of all regulations and to check compliance," explains environmental management representative Marcus Rahm.

The measures relating to ISO 14001 certification also include regular staff training on avoiding waste. The disposer must also demonstrate their competency. Marcus Rahm explains that, "since the beginning of 2019, we check or audit all companies that dispose of our waste, paint residue, oil and other substances requiring careful handling. This shows we take seriously our responsibility for maintaining a clean environment, including beyond the limits of our plant."

ISO 14001 is an internationally applied standard for environmental management systems. Companies with ISO 14001 certification must set goals to reduce emissions, save resources and minimise risks. Once the goals have been formulated, measures are developed to achieve them. Companies must also ensure that they comply with statutory and other regulations. A legal register is created for this purpose. Another pillar of environmental management is the continual improvement of environmental performance. To this end, procedures, regulations and environmental guidelines in companies are continually checked and regularly updated.