In this article we introduce you to our Environmental Officer Hanna Eckstein. She works on projects to reduce our CO2 emissions and conserve resources. In the interview, she provides insights into her work and talks about challenges and barriers in reducing CO2 emissions.

How long have you been working at Marabu and how were your first months at the company?
I have been working at Marabu since March 2022. The first few months were very intense because my predecessor, who retired, handed over a lot of issues to me in a short period of time. It was interesting to see what she had achieved during her time at Marabu. For example thanks to energy efficiency measures, we used 41 percent less electricity per kilogram of ink produced in 2020 than in 2005. Of course, that motivates me to keep going.

What does your daily work look like?
My day-to-day work is very project-oriented. For example, I'm currently preparing a planned district heating connection for our production site in Tamm or working with product management to find solutions to make our packaging more resource-efficient. Of course, there are also regular tasks such as monitoring and recording energy consumption or waste flows. And annual tasks like preparing the carbon footprint, reporting to customers or sustainability rating portals like Ecovadis. I also keep an eye on the extensive and constantly changing environmental legislation.

Can you provide specific examples of how Marabu plans to further reduce its CO2 consumption?
The previously mentioned connection to the district heating network offers enormous savings potential. We currently heat our production site in Tamm with gas. By connecting to the district heating network, we will not only become less dependent on gas in the future, but will also significantly reduce our CO2 emissions. The planned switch to more recycled material in our packaging will also reduce our CO2 emissions. Our vehicle fleet has been gradually converted to electric vehicles for years, and we have already been able to save emissions here as well. Every project, no matter how small, brings us a little closer to our goal.

Are there also areas where CO2 reduction is not possible or difficult to achieve?
Of course, especially in the raw materials sector, it is not easy for a chemical company to change formulations without retaining important color properties or the quality that ensures for example shelf life. Here we are dependent on our suppliers. This is also reflected in our carbon footprint. Currently, more than 90% of our emissions come from Scope 3, and of these, again, more than 50% come from production and consumables. Here we are hoping for suitable innovations from the chemical industry and are following them very closely.

And what do you do when you're not working for Marabu?
I spend most of my time with my friends. When the weather is nice, I like to go out to the lake. In winter I also like to go skiing in the mountains. Since I've been an aunt several times, I also spend a lot of time with my family. I also like to cook and try to travel the world as often as possible.

Thank you very much for the interview!

For more information on Marabu's commitment to sustainability, please refer to the Marabu Environmental Report 2022:  https://www.marabu.de/qualitaet-umwelt/umweltbericht.html