To date, the international rating agency EcoVadis has rated 100,000 companies in over 175 countries and from more than 200 industries. The four key areas of environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement are closely scrutinized each year. The Upper Austrian family company Fronius was able to once again improve compared to the previous year—winning its first gold medal this time round, and placing Fronius in the top 5 percent of the most sustainable companies in the industry.
“We embody sustainability; you can sense it every day in our actions and our common commitment. Every contribution, no matter how small, lays a crucial foundation—for generations to come and for a future that we want to be proud of. Not only does the award from EcoVadis represent a huge step in the right direction, but it also serves as positive inspiration. We want to be even better, and so the journey goes on,” says Katrin Helmberger, Head of Corporate Sustainability.
Fronius phases out gas at production sites
In one of the biggest examples of a future-oriented sustainability strategy, the start of the year saw Fronius complete the phasing out of gas usage at all of its production sites in Austria, which have since been operating entirely free of fossil fuels. By investing in this gas phase-out, the company will be saving over 2.9 GWh of natural gas compared to the previous year at the Sattledt, Thalheim, Pettenbach, and Steinhaus sites alone. This equates to the gas consumption of roughly 73 homes, or 773 tons of CO2 equivalent. Furthermore, the photovoltaic systems installed on the roofs currently already deliver an independent output of 4 MWp, while the purchased electricity is 100% certified green electricity.