About asphericon

Sustainable manufacturing has been an important part of asphericon’s corporate philosophy for many years. For example, we only use electricity from certified renewable resources and are a pioneer in the provision of public charging points for electric vehicles. And our dedication to sustainability includes many other measures and activities:

Green energy: When we moved into our own headquarters in 2011, we stopped using oil and gas, and have only used renewable energy sources ever since. In addition, we use waste heat from our production to heat our premises – an approach adopted at our Czech plant in Liberec when it was built in 2019.

Photovoltaics: Since 2011, we’ve generated about 75 MWh of electricity annually on our own PV system. We partly use it to power the company’s electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles: Our fleet of electric cars and hybrids currently consists of 35 vehicles and is continuing to grow. The cars can be charged on one of the many special e-parking spaces at asphericon’s headquarters on Stockholmer Strasse. In addition, working together with Jena’s public utility company, the city’s second rapid charging station was opened outside asphericon’s head office in 2019. Two electric vehicles can be fully charged simultaneously with green electricity supplied by the utility, normally within just half an hour, depending on the vehicle model.

Water treatment: We recycle the ‘wastewater’ from our polishing machines so that it can be reused. Every week, we treat about 1,400 litres of solvent used in cleaning equipment as well as 150,000 litres of process wastewater for discharge. By the way, in recent years we’ve also significantly reduced our use of solvents.

Sustainable construction: asphericon’s sustainable strategy includes the new building currently under construction at our Jena site. It’s the first sustainable wooden building in the optics industry and will be completed in spring 2023. With a floorspace of 1,200 square metres, the new building will combine sustainability with a pleasant indoor climate thanks to the use of a timber hybrid construction method.

Company bicycles: Employees benefit from not only (electric) company cars, but also company bicycles. Since 2020, it’s been possible to lease bikes through asphericon. Demand is rising, and our fleet currently includes 44 company bikes.

STADTRADELN: Talking of cycling, since 2018, asphericon has taken part in the annual cycling event STADTRADELN in Jena, and has managed to encourage more and more employees to get pedalling. Being the main sponsor of this fantastic event, we support the switch from cars to bikes and love cycling for the climate!

NAThüringen: Since 2018, we’ve been a partner of NAThüringen, a sustainability agreement in the surrounding region of Thuringia that integrates economic, ecological and social aspects. A certificate is awarded for demonstrable, special and voluntary endeavours in the areas of eco-friendliness and energy efficiency. asphericon’s membership has already been extended multiple times for its work championing photovoltaics and green electricity.

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Business travel: Whenever possible, we replace business trips with virtual meetings. We have 360° views of our manufacturing facilities which make the production environment at asphericon transparent. Whenever business trips are unavoidable, we make increasing use of carpooling, electric vehicles, and rail travel.