In October 2022, Stump-Franki Spezialtiefbau GmbH, a subsidiary of PORR, successfully received certification for the first time in accordance with ISO 50001:2018 by Quality Austria for all its branches and offices. ISO 50001 is a global standard that helps companies set up systematic energy management.
“By achieving this certification, we’ve reached two milestones,” says Christian Rinke, Technical Director of Stump-Franki. “We have incorporated the vital issue of energy efficiency into our integrated management system, and at the same time contributed to PORR’s group-wide climate strategy.” His fellow manager Jochen Kraft is equally enthusiastic: “It was an ambitious goal, given that we have hundreds of locations in Europe and over 20,000 employees. All our operating units have had to obtain the needed data and put the principles into practice. So we would like to expressly thank our Energy team for their dedication and superb preparation.”
Consumption data from three pilot construction sites revealed potential savings
In the run-up to the certification, a cross-disciplinary Energy team was assembled from employees from the areas of Site Management, Accounting, Equipment Pool Management and Quality Management. Their first task was to determine energy consumption and compile transparent data.
The analysis did not throw up any major surprises. At around 75%, construction sites account for the largest share of energy consumption. Digital electricity meters were installed on three pilot construction sites to identify opportunities for saving energy and to support the introduction of energy efficiency measures.
Daily consumption figures were automatically calculated and compared with the daily output. Diesel consumption was also included in the analysis.
Winning people over through positivity
“It is vital that we don’t start acting like a control body in relation to our staff,” says Michael Lampe, who is in charge of energy management at Stump-Franki. “We discuss all of our findings as a team and draw up proposals together. We can raise awareness about saving energy and improving sustainability by talking to each other about solutions.” Member of the Energy team Frank Liedtke adds that “Energy management isn’t a one-off event, but an ongoing process aimed at continuous improvement. That’s why we also exchange ideas with our specialist civil engineering colleagues at PORR who work in other markets. We check, evaluate and – if appropriate – implement every idea and measure that comes up.”
After the measurements from the pilot construction sites had been analysed, the Energy team put together a checklist for the construction sites. It focuses on the energy-intensive equipment pool and on avoiding unnecessary idling. Electrical heating and air conditioning in the site containers should be run at the lowest possible level, and must be turned off in the evenings and over the weekend. Construction site lighting should also be switched to LED lighting during the darker months.
Group-wide climate strategy formulates schedule and goals for active climate protection
Monitoring and reducing energy consumption is just the beginning. The PORR Climate Strategy published in June 2022 states that “PORR is committed to active environmental and climate protection and invested in research and development.” Due to the unavoidably high use of energy on construction sites, PORR believes it has a responsibility to actively engage in the fight against climate change. By 2030, the aim is to reduce its specific primary energy requirement by 35% and specific greenhouse gas emissions by 55% based on the 2020 figures. The share of renewable energy should be increased to at least 40% of use in 2014, and construction processes decarbonised by 21%.
Stump-Franki is also keen to contribute to achieving these group-wide goals. For instance, it is currently conducting tests with photovoltaic systems on construction containers. In future, this type of solution could be used to generate electricity for screens, printers, heating, cooling, refrigerators and coffee machines in construction site offices. “We are constantly striving to develop and optimise our construction solutions. We can only shape our environment sustainably by thinking holistically,” says Rinke.
