Mr Neureuther, how does RAL promote sustainability in its own organisation?
Before we moved into our new building in 2017, it was absolutely clear to us: we consider sustainable solutions as early as the construction stage. Where possible, we have used quality-assured products and services. Even today, we use Blue Angel-certified products wherever possible, for example in the case of printer paper. The building is heated and cooled in an environmentally friendly way using geothermal energy via 20 boreholes, each 200 meters deep. Additionally, we use so-called concrete core activation, that is, floor and ceiling slabs that function as heating surfaces by means of corresponding pipes. Anyone who has ever passed by the RAL building will have noticed the distinctive coloured sun sails. They can be adjusted to the position of the sun and prevent the building from heating up too much in summer. SageGlass® also darkens the window panes so that no curtains are needed. On the green roof we make use of the sun: our photovoltaic system covers about 60 percent of our daily electricity needs, depending on the position of the sun. We obtain the rest as regional green electricity from the Stadtwerke Bonn. For even more sustainable electricity production, the photovoltaic system was even recently expanded so that we could increase its yield from 14 to 90 kilowatt peaks. In addition, there are three small wind turbines on the roof, each with a peak of 1 kilowatt. The ventilation works with heat recovery, with a heat exchanger transferring the heat from the outgoing air to the cool fresh air. And we also considered the environment when it came to the façade and floor coverings and used shell limestone from Franconia. But sometimes it’s the little things in everyday life that help us to protect the environment. For example, we only use cold water to wash our hands.
That means that the RAL Building is doing well in terms of sustainability. Does this continue in other areas?
Yes, absolutely - that applies to our outdoor spaces, for example. A good example: the design of the garden in front of the RAL building. Here we have opted for biodiverse, near-natural solutions and native plants. The area is irrigated with rainwater that falls on the building and is then collected in a cistern. The infiltration trenches ensure that all rainwater also drains away into the ground of the site. And then we also run several bug hotels and even our own beehive, which provides shelter for bees. Of course, we have also thought about electric cars and provide eight charging stations. For business trips, we rely on local and long-distance public transport and avoid domestic flights and car journeys as far as possible.
And what about social issues and sustainable corporate governance? How is RAL positioned here?
We don’t lose sight of these aspects either. By meeting the requirements of the Blue Angel and the RAL Quality Marks, we’re already making an important contribution here.
But we’re also making a difference internally at RAL: We subsidise job tickets and job bikes and offer a wide range of events for employees. Everyone looks forward to our Christmas parties, team outings, barbecues and so on.
What’s RAL planning to make its own organisation even more sustainable in the future?
We don’t want to rest on what we’re already doing in terms of sustainability. Our next goal is therefore climate neutrality by our 100th anniversary in 2025. We have commissioned a specialist agency to calculate our carbon footprint. We would like to use the result to work with the agency to develop solution scenarios which enable RAL to achieve a neutral CO2 balance.
We’re also working on changing the heating solution for our colour measurement laboratory, which currently still uses gas. Here, it is particularly important that constant conditions - and thus temperatures - prevail in order to achieve a reliable measurement accuracy.
