Reduced to a simple picture: Switching to sustainable corporate management is like setting a new course. "The very decision has something about pushing a button. You either do it or you don't," says Gerd Röttger, Managing Director of inTime Express Logistik GmbH. "We decided to do it." The process kicked off three years ago and involved an extensive needs analysis at the beginning. "Not doing it was out of the question for us," says Gerd Röttger. "For one thing, we have to face the fact that we can only reduce emissions with regard to climate targets if all dialogue groups in industry, trade and society take responsibility. And the best way to do that is yesterday," explains the Managing Director. The whole thing should happen primarily out of self-responsibility and not because the customers define it in their requirements as a criterion in the business relationship. "On the other hand, it also means proceeding in a planned manner so as not to overstrain the economic stability of the company. In addition, we want to live up to the social responsibility for our workforce," explains Gerd Röttger. The employees must be part of a sustainable change, because they implement the decisive changes in their daily work and these must also be expressed in their attitude. This means an increased need to train employees in the responsible use of resources. Therefore, the logistics service provider has examined all areas of its own company, but also looked at the concerns of the partners in the inTime holding company. In addition to inTime Express Logistik and the TLT Group from Markgröningen, the Spanish Servicios Ader and the Munich-based start-up LiBCycle belong to this logistics group. The four parties form the Supply Chain Europe of the South African Super Group.

Focus on ecological approaches

At the core of the sustainable approach are comprehensive ecological goals, concrete benchmarks and their internal auditing. "No one could take the decision for a path towards more environmental awareness for our services away from us," says Gerd Röttger. "But it also makes it easier for us to work with our existing customers and new partners in the future, because they themselves implement sustainable concepts. And they also demand that from us. From this constellation we will see even more innovation and develop more ideas in the future," the inTime boss is convinced. Transparency is an important key concept here. inTime creates this through its own quality management, environmental management and energy management systems. For this purpose, inTime is certified according to ISO 9001 (2015), 14001 and 50001. In addition, the company has received a green electricity certificate for all seven German locations as early as 2021. By purchasing green electricity, 250 tonnes of CO2 could thus be saved compared to procurement from the conventional German electricity mix. The next step is the construction of two photovoltaic systems on buildings at the company headquarters in Isernhagen. These will each generate 99 KW in peak and, in the future, will also supply a charging infrastructure for e-vehicles at the site. "Our vehicle fleet is also a major adjusting screw. We are continuously investing in new, modern, economical vehicles with appropriate assistance systems. Of course, the topic of e-trucks also plays a major role here. We also train our drivers in economical driving," says Gerd Röttger. By implementing a new fleet software, the company can create reports on energy consumption based on telematics data from the vehicles and corresponding fuel receipts.

Sustainability is a global issue

inTime is not only developing an ongoing sustainability strategy for its work in Germany and Europe. Through its participation in the global initiative Justdiggit, the company participates in a worldwide campaign of many dialogue groups to counter climate change. Justdiggit focuses on greening dried-up plains, restoring dead trees and creating water management systems in regions in Africa. In this way, the association wants to actively contribute to a cooling of the world's climate. Furthermore, the activists sensitise the local people to create their own livelihood again through renaturation. The whole movement is supported by worldwide sponsors. "With Supply Chain Europe, we are part of the South African Super Group. It is strongly involved in sustainability concepts on the home continent," says Gerd Röttger. "Therefore, we transfer our data to our parent company in monthly reports to provide transparent information about our efforts."