LAPP

LAPP India setting standards for sustainability

India has changed rapidly in recent years. With a population of around 1.42 billion, the country is the second most populous state in the world and during 2023 is expected to overtake China, which is currently in first place. The current G20 presidency wishes to use India to focus on the issues of climate and environmental protection and to promote a sustainable lifestyle. The award that LAPP India has received therefore delights us all the more, for at the fifth “VDMA India Manufacturing Excellence Awards 2022”, the national subsidiary was honoured with the “Manufacturing Excellence Award for Energy Efficiency and Conservation”.

This prestigious prize from the German Mechanical and Plant Engineering Association (VDMA) honours VDMA members who have established energy efficiency measures and sustainable production processes. Each year, the jury is made up of industry representatives, scientists, managing directors and experts in the field of sustainability. The members of the jury recognised the outstanding achievements of the Indian LAPP company in the field of energy efficiency and energy saving in production.

LAPP India has acted as a pioneer in the field of sustainability within the Lapp Group for several years now. Veena Shankar knows why: “Particularly in India, a country with such an enormous population, sustainability is incredibly important for coexistence.” As Assistant General Manager Quality Assurance, she plays a key role in the initiatives, projects and sustainable orientation of her national subsidiary. “In the industrial sector, it is our corporate responsibility to prioritise sustainability and preserve mother earth.”

Sustainability firmly anchored in the LAPP DNA

With Strategy 2027, the Lapp Group has set ambitious targets and made the topic of sustainability an essential component of all considerations in the various divisions of the company. “We believe that as a company, we need to set a good example. And we are doing. Business success is always linked to responsibility for our living environment,” explains Matthias Lapp, CEO of Lapp Holding SE. LAPP is faced with the challenge of having to meet numerous new legal sustainability requirements in the future. This includes, for example, detailed sustainability reporting, for which new software for data collection and evaluation is introduced. At the same time, project teams are working at various points in the company to deal with issues such as material efficiency, recycling, sustainable purchasing of copper (green copper) or calculation of the carbon footprint of our products. “At LAPP, environmentally friendly management and responsible use of all natural resources are of paramount importance. Our global vision is to leave a healthy planet to succeeding generations,” concludes Maria Dobritzsch, Sustainability Manager.

LAPP India is a pioneer in sustainability

At LAPP India, these approaches are already well advanced: the Asian subsidiary has had sustainable production processes in place for many years. The production sites in Bengaluru and Bhopal are constantly working on saving energy and expanding the use of renewable energies. Photovoltaic systems are installed in both plants, meaning that over 87% of electricity consumption in Bengaluru and 50% in Bhopal comes from green energy. With the growing population, it is foreseeable that the demand for electricity in India will continue to increase in the coming years. As a result, the extraction of renewable energy will also become increasingly important.

Alongside clean and green energy, our Indian colleagues have also installed a sewage treatment plant. With its help, water can be treated. The treated water is then used for gardening. Up to 250,000 l of water can then be saved every month. “Wherever possible, we reuse raw materials. For example, we recycle wooden and plywood coils. We are also reducing our paper consumption with digitalisation initiatives,” says Veena Shankar. Constant monitoring also helps the LAPP India team to track energy or water consumption and to derive measures if necessary.

In order to address the issue of sustainability in an organisation at all, it is particularly important to bring all employees on board at all levels. “We therefore train our colleagues regularly in environmental management in line with the ISO 14001 standard, as well as on the topic of sustainability in general, in order to draw attention to the topic and encourage all colleagues to think innovatively. Everyone should be part of our sustainable journey,” said Shankar. “For the team, the prize was particularly special because, for the first time, our efforts were appreciated by such a large number of people,” Veena Shankar reports delightedly. LAPP India will continue to work on promoting sustainable thinking in all areas of the company.