(St. Gallen\/Munich) After a multi-stage application process between September 2022 and April 2023, the jury of the Eco Performance Award, chaired by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang St\u00f6lzle, Director of the Institute for Supply Chain Management at the University of St. Gallen, selected three winners from six finalists. In addition to the three awarded companies Gr\u00fcnfuchs, Kummen Kerzers, and Seifert Logistics Group, the Graz-based start-up s2 data & algorithms (Start-Up), B\u00e4chle Logistics from Villingen-Schwenningen (SME), and TransGgourmet Deutschland (Large Company) were nominated as finalists, all presenting excellent concepts for greater sustainability in road freight transport. The festive award ceremony took place on the evening of May 8, 2023, accompanied by a dinner event at the Hotel Prinzregent in Munich. On the opening day of transport logistic, the winning concepts were pitched at the Transporeon booth during a press event.<\/p>\n
Gr\u00fcnfuchs Logistik \u2013 sustainable, local, and smart parcel delivery on the last mile<\/strong><\/p>\n The G\u00f6ttingen start-up Gr\u00fcnfuchs Logistik has taken on the challenge of handling parcel deliveries on the last mile in a fully sustainable manner while supporting local retailers in competition with large e-commerce platforms. Gr\u00fcnfuchs impresses with its innovation “made in G\u00f6ttingen” through its high penetration rate in G\u00f6ttingen \u2013 over 140 retailers are already connected to the platform and process parcel deliveries through the network. Before the EPA jury, Gr\u00fcnfuchs was able to prevail against the Graz start-up s2 data & algorithms and its software solution “Masterscheduler”.<\/p>\n The climate-neutral delivery of goods and services through the use of electric cargo bikes and intelligent route management, with fully digitized and automated processes, convinced the jury. A success factor is the so-called “microhub”, a particularly space-efficient, automated sorting facility that allows for sorting large volumes of parcels in a small space with very few staff \u2013 ideal for urban logistics. While the company is already well established in G\u00f6ttingen, the concept is set to be expanded to other German cities this year. Unlike other concepts for urban logistics, Gr\u00fcnfuchs is very advanced in its implementation. The local anchoring in the G\u00f6ttingen region also helps. The approach under the motto “local2local” offers the potential to contribute to sustainable, local, and smart parcel delivery through locally anchored Gr\u00fcnfuchs companies in other German cities as well.<\/p>\n Krummen Kerzers \u2013 Swiss e-truck pioneer with commercial world record journey across Europe<\/strong><\/p>\n The Swiss logistics service provider Krummen Kerzers, focusing on national and international temperature-controlled transport of food and pharmaceutical products, was able to prevail in the category of small and medium-sized enterprises against B\u00e4chle Logistics from Villingen-Schwenningen. The Swiss convinced the jury with their consistently pursued and implementation-oriented sustainability strategy for years. Krummen Kerzers is the only Swiss transport company that has committed to the 1.5\u00b0C target of the Science Based Targets Initiative. Specifically, this means a CO2e reduction of 46% by 2030 compared to 2019.<\/p>\n Krummen Kerzers particularly impressed the jury with the world record set for the longest commercial journey of an e-truck in January 2023, a pioneering achievement and a unique selling point in the industry. From Zurich to Valencia and back, 20 tons of organic oranges were transported to Switzerland over a distance of more than 3,000 km \u2013 compared to a journey with a diesel truck, around 3 tons of CO2 were saved. Although the journey still involved significant planning effort, uncertainties, and an additional day of travel time, it demonstrates one thing: It is possible! Or as the company would put it, “Doing is like wanting. Just more intense.” For the EPA jury, the company is thus a pioneer for the use of e-trucks in long-distance freight transport. And the transformation continues: In the coming months, Krummen Kerzers will put more e-trucks from the brands Volvo, Scania, and Designwerk into operation to have 18 fully electric tractors in its fleet by the end of this year.<\/p>\n Seifert Logistics Group \u2013 holistic sustainability strategy with foresight<\/strong><\/p>\n Based in Ulm, the Seifert Logistics Group, which won the Eco Performance Award in 2013, was able to convince the EPA jury 10 years later with its comprehensively designed sustainability strategy, which is an integral part of the corporate strategy. Comprehensive packages of measures have been developed for the three pillars of ecology, economy, and social issues, which align with the mission to “sustainably improve the backbone of society \u2013 logistics”.<\/p>\n The visible flagship of the ongoing transformation is the sustainably oriented construction of the new Ulm headquarters along the A8 in northern Ulm. In addition to technical innovations in warehouse logistics, such as the use of drones for inventory or intelligent lighting control systems, the Ulm headquarters offers the company the opportunity to rely on locally generated energy when transitioning its fleet to alternative drives through a photovoltaic system that can be expanded to up to 5.5 MWp. With the installation of the photovoltaic system, all 45 locations of Seifert Logistics can be fully supplied with electricity from their own production in the future. This year, Scope-2 emissions from electricity consumption are expected to decrease by 51%. Thanks to its own electricity production, the company is also working on implementing (green) hydrogen production to enable itself for the use of hydrogen trucks. Last year, Seifert committed to the 1.5\u00b0C target of the Science Based Targets Initiative and is currently in the validation process for recognition.<\/p>\n On the social transformation side, the jury was convinced by the comprehensive benefits offered to employees. The Seifert Logistics Group offers all employees at the headquarters, in addition to a modern office environment with ergonomic workstations in a spacious open-plan office, a company-owned, free-to-use gym with a variety of course offerings. Culinary offerings include a menu created in collaboration with nutritionists and subsidized in the company restaurant “Franzl”.<\/p>\n The jury is proud to have received a large number of high-quality applications for the Eco Performance Award again this year. The jury’s gaze is already directed towards the upcoming 2024 edition, when the Eco Performance Award will enter its 16th round. All further information regarding the application modalities for 2024 will be published promptly on the award’s website.Outlook for the Eco Performance Award 2024<\/h5>\n
\nThe application window for the Eco Performance Award 2024 will open in autumn 2023. A non-binding reservation of the date is already possible today at the following link on the homepage:
\nhttps:\/\/de.ecoperformanceaward.com\/event-details\/eco-performance-award-2024-1<\/a><\/p>\n