In order to ensure that intelligent building technology from Gira always arrives safely, promptly, and on time to our customers, the right logistics partner is essential. When selecting these partners, Gira also places high importance on sustainability. To assist this procedure, the company has developed a comprehensive sheet of criteria that is used to evaluate and select partners. It is also used to carry out regular assessments of the collaboration.
The two key issues here are resource efficiency and climate protection. After all, the transport and logistics sector is responsible for around 23% of global CO₂ emissions. According to a study conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), 35% of this alone is caused by goods and freight transport, meaning that this sector has a special degree of responsibility in the fight against climate change.
As an environmentally responsible customer, Gira also wants to make a contribution. "Since 2009, we have only used suppliers who demonstrably practise Green Logistics. We request presentation of the relevant certificates every year," says Andreas Dürwald, Head of Manufacturing and Logistics. For sending letters, Gira therefore uses the GoGreen service offered by the Deutsche Post. To counteract the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from shipment, pro-rata investments are made in climate protection projects that aim to reduce the negative environmental impact. Nevertheless, as a manufacturing and exporting company, transport via heavy goods vehicles plays a considerably larger role for Gira. This area presents enormous challenges in the attempt to achieve mobility which is as low-emission and efficient as possible.
For this, a variety of key aspects must be considered and respected. This includes the use of vehicles with state-of-the-art technology and thus the procurement of low-emission lorries, in addition to IT-optimised route planning in order to avoid unnecessary distances. Another advantage is presented by the use of multi-compartment vehicles for the more variable and therefore considerably more efficient utilisation of the fleet. "In light of growing demand, all large logistics companies now have a Green Logistics certificate. At Gira, we also regularly request the appropriate documentation, which we closely inspect and compare. By selecting not just the cheapest, but also the most responsible partners, we believe we are making a decisive contribution to environmental and climate protection," states Dürwald.
