Sustainability
Photovoltaics, electromobility & sustainable management as part of the company philosophy
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. Further measures and activities that complement our commitment can be found below.
"Ever since we first built our own premises here in Jena back in 2011, we’ve managed to operate without gas or oil. In the meantime, we’ve added two more sites – and again, they don’t use any gas or oil. Our sustainable strategy already includes in-house solar systems, our own charging stations, over 20 e-cars and more than 50 company bicycles."
Alexander Zschäbitz, CEO asphericon GmbH
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 Jeřmanice 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
The new building at the Jena site, which was completed in September 2023, is also part of asphericon’s sustainable strategy. The first sustainable timber construction in the optics industry has been created here.
Covering 1200 square meters, a wood-hybrid construction combines sustainability with a pleasant indoor climate. The building was inserted over a year and a half of construction between the existing administrative building and the production hall as a long, narrow structure and connected to both buildings through passageways. The wooden facade is not only visible from the outside; inside the offices and hallways, wooden walls create a pleasant working atmosphere.
The office building is primarily heated using waste heat from production, including compressed air generation in combination with a heat pump. Excess energy from the company’s own photovoltaic system is also supplied to the heating system through a buffer. Room heating is achieved through a highly efficient underfloor heating system at low temperatures. Thanks to extensive thermal insulation planning, the building has achieved the ‘Efficiency House 40 EE’ level.
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
ATalking 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.
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.
