After a year of intensive work, the time had come: at the SASE in Iserlohn, nine committed companies and institutions were presented with awards for their outstanding achievements as part of the Ökoprofit resource efficiency project in the Märkischer Kreis district. Not only have they succeeded in drastically cutting their energy costs and significantly reducing their CO2 emissions, they have also benefited economically from their measures. Ökoprofit has thus proven once again that climate protection and business success are by no means mutually exclusive - on the contrary, they reinforce each other.

As part of the project, the nine participants, Berufskolleg des Märkischen Kreises in Iserlohn, Diakonie Mark Ruhr Pflege und Wohnen gGmbH Altenheim Hermann von der Becke (Hemer), Diakonie Mark-Ruhr Pflege und Wohnen gGmbH Diakoniezentrum Oestrich (Iserlohn), Diakonie Mark Ruhr Teilhabe und Wohnen gGmbH (Iserlohn), Emil Turck GmbH & Cie. KG (Lüdenscheid), Fagus-GreCon Greten GmbH & Co. KG (Lüdenscheid), Lahme GmbH & Co. KG (Kierspe), Metoba Metalloberflächenbearbeitung GmbH (Lüdenscheid) and Wilh. Kämper GmbH u. Co KG (Lüdenscheid) took part in eight workshops. They were accompanied by Ecoprofit expert Dr. Stefan Große-Allermann from B.A.U.M. Consult GmbH and received valuable support. The result: they were not only able to improve their environmental footprint, but also benefited economically.

ÖKOPROFIT (Ecological Project for Integrated Environmental Technology) aims to help companies increase their resource efficiency and reduce operating costs. Since its introduction in the Märkischer Kreis, the project has established itself as a successful model. In the fifth round of Ökoprofit, the participants have implemented a total of 64 measures, resulting in annual savings of around 260,503 euros. At the same time, the companies were able to reduce their energy consumption by 842,676 kilowatt hours, which corresponds to a saving of 445 tons of CO2.

"Staying in the black with green ideas"

Marco Voge, District Administrator of the Märkischer Kreis, praised the companies for their commitment: "They have shown that economy and ecology are not mutually exclusive. Their measures make a valuable contribution to the environment, climate protection, greater sustainability and future generations." He also highlighted Petra Schaller, the long-standing climate protection officer, who has played a key role in the project and will soon be retiring.

Oliver Krischer, Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport of North Rhine-Westphalia, was also impressed by the results of the participating companies. "Ökoprofit impressively demonstrates how economic success can be combined with sustainable action. Writing black figures with green ideas - this is exactly what the participants are doing here in an exemplary manner," he said at the award ceremony. Krischer added that in addition to the financial benefits, the measures implemented also contribute to improving the working environment.

When presenting the project results, Ökoprofit consultant Stefan Große-Allermann emphasized that more and more companies are not only pursuing monetary goals, but are also aware of their responsibility for the environment and society. "Today, sustainability means more than just saving money - it is an essential part of corporate responsibility," he explained. Große-Allermann sees it as his task to encourage companies to seize new opportunities and dispel fears of new technologies.

Award-winning companies and institutions

The certificates were presented by Minister Oliver Krischer and District Administrator Marco Voge. The successes of the individual companies were presented.

The success of the fifth round of ÖKOPROFIT in the Märkischer Kreis clearly shows that resource-conserving action not only relieves the environment, but also makes economic sense. The positive effects of the project go far beyond the savings achieved. Ökoprofit has been offered in the Märkischer Kreis district since 2016 as a joint project between the Gesellschaft zur Wirtschafts- und Strukturförderung im Märkischen Kreis mbH (GWS), the Märkischer Kreis district and selected municipalities. To date, 79 companies and institutions from the Märkischer Kreis have taken part.

Lahme GmbH & Co KG, a leading manufacturer of high-precision plastic injection-moulded articles, especially for the automotive, gas and food industries, has already implemented extensive measures, including the purchase of new compressors, energy-efficient injection moulding machines, temperature control units and the conversion to LED lighting, thus saving a total of 214,300 kWh of electricity and 77.2 tons of CO2 per year.