MAN Energy Solutions Publishes Corporate Responsibility Report 2019

MAN Energy Solutions has published its Corporate Responsibility Report 2019 under the title ‘Building a sustainable future’. In it, the company renews its commitment to a consistent focus on sustainable and low-emission solutions in the coming years, and provides an overview of the progress made.

"Even if all events are currently overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic, we must not forget a subject that will again surpass the corona crisis in relevance in the medium term: the protection of our climate," said Dr Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Energy Solutions. "As early as 2017, we at MAN Energy Solutions set ourselves the target of showing our customers the way to a climate-neutral future with sustainable solutions. The now-published report gives an indication of where we stand on this path."

Market leader for decentralised CHP power plants in Germany

This strategic realignment was primarily driven by the expansion of the company’s portfolio to include sustainable hybrid, storage and digital-service technologies. The company notched successes in 2019 including, among other achievements, being commissioned by municipal utilities in several German cities to build highly-efficient, combined heat and power (CHP) plants, thus becoming the market leader for decentralized CHP plants in Germany. The company was also able to position itself strongly in this segment at European level.

Driving forward the Maritime Energy Transition

Lauber added: "In 2019, we also showed how the Maritime Energy Transition can succeed: in this respect, the retrofit of the container ship, Wes Amelie, to low-emission fuels is now entering its next phase using green natural-gas as fuel. We firmly believe that synthetic, climate-neutral fuels from Power-to-X will lead the way to a decarbonized future within shipping.”

Furthermore, MAN is implementing another pioneering project for the Hapag Lloyd shipping line, namely the world's first retrofit of a large container vessel to dual-fuel operation. The company also emphasized its commitment to climate protection on the high seas by joining the ‘Getting to Zero Coalition’, a global alliance of more than 110 companies in the maritime sector with the aim of establishing emission-free-ship concepts by 2030.

Synthetic fuels for a climate-neutral future

The reporting year also marked MAN Energy Solutions’ entry into the hydrogen economy with its pro rata acquisition of the electrolysis technology company,
H-TEC SYSTEMS. Together with other European manufacturers, the company also committed itself to upgrading its gas turbines to climate-neutral operation on 100% hydrogen by 2030.

Climate protection at production sites

MAN Energy Solutions also made measurable progress with climate protection and energy efficiency measures at its production sites. Compared to the previous year, CO2 emissions were reduced by 26,000 tons and, as in the previous year, total energy consumption was again reduced. Accordingly, the share of renewable energy in electricity consumption rose to 19.2%, compared with 7.7% in the previous year. The company also invested a further 2.3 million Euro in environmental-protection measures at its production sites.

“By 2018, we had already achieved our original target of reducing CO₂ emissions by 25% from 2008 to 2020. As of 2019, we were even able to reduce emissions by 33%," said Lauber. New long-term targets will be drawn up in the course of 2020.

The CR Report was prepared in accordance with the standards of the UN Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) whose ten universally-recognized principles on human rights, labor standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption are guiding principles for MAN Energy Solutions. In addition, the Code of Conduct provides binding, internal guidelines on how the company meets its social responsibility.

The complete Corporate Responsibilty Report 2019 can be found here.