Sustainability report
The company and sustainability – our understanding and our values

To us, environmental protection means reconciling an optimal working environment, high-quality technical equipment and the best conditions for our employees with economical, mindful and responsible use of resources.

This includes a variety of different aspects, including an energyefficient IT infrastructure (with optimised server utilisation, ideal device architecture, without outdated computers, monitors and peripheral devices) – and hosting our volumes of gigabyte data volumes in a data centre that obtains electricity from verifiably CO2-neutral production. Furthermore, there are low-consumption and long-lasting lighting systems in the offices, reduced electricity consumption and plenty of other little things. All of these things add up.

We also make general checks on how we conduct ourselves with regard to sustainable procurement and mobility.

Bits for Trees is our initiative to make a contribution to ecological sustainability: since 2022, we have been linking our software licence units to environmental and climate protection: for each individual licence unit, we acquire a square metre of primeval beech forest in Germany’s Eifel. Primeval forests are the rainforests of Europe, and they are in a sorry state. We can actively contribute to protecting these ancient forests via Wohlleben’s Forest Academy. Here, bits, bytes and trees and emitted and bound CO2 can be directly linked, and this means that we are (also) turning the primeval forest project into a benefit for our customers. We are combining our business model and each individual core business process with sustainable environmental protection. For 50 years, each of our customers will therefore be protecting a piece of natural world heritage and automatically contributing to improving the carbon footprint. With every single new customer, the sponsorship of Germany’s largest and unique primeval beech forest project grows.

https://www.wohllebens-waldakademie.de/urwaldprojekt

The idea behind green coding is to think about sustainability and programming together from the very outset and to create sustainable code. As part of eco design, software should also be sustainably developed in this respect. Thanks to improved product design, we try to reduce environmental impact to a minimum throughout the entire life cycle from the outset.

The aim is to create a code which requires as few processor instructions and as little storage space as possible in order to reduce energy consumption and the subsequent long-term follow-up costs, in particular thanks to lower energy consumption – quite apart from reducing emissions.

Green coded software is lean, simple, efficient and therefore not least also quick. These days, we need to keep the entire value chain in mind. Only the right combination of software, hardware, AI and data communication makes the comprehensive vision of sustainable energy limitation tangible.

We are committed to this mindset and our development has always been familiar with the principles of lean programming and the laws of the lean, green code. Of course, our software solutions are intended to contribute to a climate-friendly use of technology, in a moderate, controlled, appropriate, economical and high-quality way.

We strive to create high-performance software which consequently has to be designed, developed and executed in a green way. And ideally, emission-free code is generated. We unequivocally endorse green coding initiatives and green coding communities which are currently growing.

For us as a company, sustainable responsibility also means social interaction and the human element. Living by our regional roots is important to us and the Bavarian law of live and let live is standard practice for us. We foster an environment of informal interaction, tolerant and open exchange, which is intercultural, heterogenous and diverse and in which we also embrace our regional roots. And that’s why our company canteen features long benches where everyone can sit together, fruit from the local region, water from Adelholzener, milk from Berchtesgadener Land as well as tables at the Oktoberfest.

We always prioritise looking for service providers in our immediate vicinity; they are always personally selected and checked for reliable quality – whether they are providing printed materials, promotional giveaways, trade fair displays or services. Our credo is to keep distances short, even if we might be able to get what we need somewhere else – at a cheaper price. We maintain and value personal contact – digital or otherwise. It’s a people’s business and social contact is the first step toward social responsibility.

Staying power and reliability are greatly valued – the industry may be fast-paced with plenty of comings and goings, but within the company, a core team has been ensuring continuity and stable coexistence for 20 years or more now – that’s what makes a group of employees into a team.

For us, sustainable governance means working in line with our environmental and social objectives and growing together within our frame of reference – in a long-term and profitable way. Compliance with laws is a self-evident condition.

And we are always being asked questions about the success of a stable high level of employment, an external economic balance and constantly guaranteed price stability.

As a responsible employer, we have an employee-oriented human resources policy: we offer all of the usual flexible working time models and we respect requests to work from home, parental and parttime arrangements. Anything unusual can be arranged following a confidential direct conversation. Here, we search for and find solutions, including in the case of family crises or serious illness. That’s why we are an owner-operated business with long-term working conditions and trusting cooperation. And there is a responsibility for each individual and the big picture. But may we talk about this publicly?

A few final words on the topic of our serious local commitment. Our long-standing Christmas fundraising campaign is an expression of this commitment – each year, we support initiatives and actions of local organisations for direct help and people in need – there is always so much to do. Let’s tackle it!