Interview with Dr. Nadine Sterley
GEA’s Chief Sustainability Officer talks about the process behind Add Better, the importance of robust sustainability data, and next steps for Add Better.
Nadine Sterley: GEA has set a number of ambitious climate and sustainability targets and providing customers with resource-efficient Add Better solutions will be a big part of realizing these targets. Most of GEA’s greenhouse gas emissions are indirect ‘Scope 3’ emissions, which result from the use of our machines and solutions by customers. So, making these products more efficient is the most effective way for us to reduce our overall emissions. The same goes for other environmental targets.
NS: Although ISO 14021 does not require our Add Better label to be validated by an organization like TÜV, we went the extra mile on this for a number of reasons. It underscores our aim to set an industry standard with Add Better; this isn’t your run-of-the-mill green label. So, we set out to develop a very robust process of data collection, calculation and documentation that could be applied to a range of GEA solutions moving forward. Especially with regard to data and documentation, the collaboration with TÜV helped make the Add Better process even more thorough and robust. This is where we want to be, because robust, transparent data is going to be foundational to effective collaboration with customers and other partners moving forward.
NS: Our first three Add Better solutions are just the beginning. This is a long-term initiative and we plan tosignificantly grow the Add Better portfolio. As a next step, several additional solutions from across the business are currently in the validation phase and will be joining the Add Better family this year – all delivering significant energy and/or water savings in the food, dairy and beverage industries. Moreover, our development process is based on ”Design for Sustainability” and ensures that resource efficiency is prioritized from the very beginning of product development at GEA. This will become more and more visible in the GEA portfolio in the future.
Nadine Sterley
Chief Sustainability Officer, GEA
The Chief Executive Officer of GEA explains how the company’s new Add Better label can strengthen partnerships and accelerate progress towards sustainability targets.
TÜV Rheinland’s Susanne Jorre and Norbert Heidelmann talk about the importance of credible green labels, the benefits of external validation, and what distinguishes GEA’s Add Better label from other Type II ecolabels.
Add Better: