Sustainably environmentally aware: DAKO environmental management certified

Successful audit for environmental management

After a successful audit, DAKO GmbH received certification according to DIN EN ISO 14001 (environmental management systems) in August 2022. The certificate confirms that we actively address the challenges of environmental protection and pursue the goal of keeping adverse effects as low as possible. DAKO thus shows that the idea of sustainability is firmly anchored in the corporate philosophy.

The international standard ISO 14001 states the background: “To meet the needs of the present generation – without compromising the opportunities of future generations – a balance between the environment, society and the economy is essential.” It says that by implementing environmental management systems in companies, a contribution is made to the ecological pillar of sustainability.

Ecological awareness in both product world and corporate processes

We see our universal sustainability commitment as a social responsibility. Our product world reflects this approach already, as our products enable transport and logistics companies to work more economically, efficiently and thus also more resource-saving. DAKO has also actively engaged in research activities on alternative drives and sustainable logistics concepts for many years, which was recently rewarded by winning the renowned European Transport Award for Sustainability for the project “SMART MULTI-USE LOGISTIK”. The research results contribute directly to DAKO products, which combine user requirements and economic efficiency with sustainability goals.

The certification of the environmental management in the company itself now underlines that DAKO not only places value on environmental awareness in its products but also takes responsibility for ecological action at its own site. For example, the energy management of the company building, completed in 2017, was designed according to aspects of consumption reduction. The building’s heating system uses the waste heat from the servers, which are unavoidable due to the large amounts of data that an IT provider has to store.

Saving resources and involving employees

Part of environmental management is to get a regular overview of consumption, e.g. through measurements, and to optimise it. The card racks (high-performance card readers for thousands of company cards) needed to manage customer data have already been replaced by devices with lower power consumption. Similar optimisation potentials also lie in the selection of service providers. Here, DAKO relies on local partners wherever possible, on the one hand, to keep delivery distances short but also to sustainably strengthen the region. Service providers who act in a CO2-friendly way are preferred, as is the selection of printing materials, even if this is more price-intensive.

Raising awareness among our employees is another aspect of our environmental management. For this purpose, we have a concept for dealing with waste and avoiding waste of paper and other working materials. Many processes, such as payroll accounting, are entirely digital, also contributing to waste reduction. As support for environmentally conscious action, DAKO has also installed three charging points for electric cars, which employees and guests can use for up to six vehicles at a time.

In addition to the certificate for environmental management, DAKO has already repeatedly received ISO certification for its quality management, which underlines our high quality standards.