MFL: What were the reactions like? Leibrandt: The reactions have clearly shown that the CO2 advantage of EPAL Euro pallets has not yet been consciously recognized. Many people were totally surprised by the scale of the CO2 benefit that our licensees permanently generate. Numerous people have thanked us for bringing these figures to the public's attention and have announced that they will optimize the CO2 balance in their logistics systems on the basis of these figures.

MFL: Do you want to explore the topic further? Leibrandt: We will definitely keep the CO2 economy clock running. And we want to add another display in the future. We are also in negotiations with providers who can supply our licensees with green electricity in the future.

MFL: How do you define GPAL's ecological self-image? What is it based on? Leibrandt: The ecological self-image is based on the raw material of our EPAL load carriers. Wood is indisputably the most ecological raw material there is. In the course of its life, a tree has absorbed as much CO2 as it emits when the wood is burned. Wood is therefore CO2-neutral in itself. However, as only part of the wood that grows in the world is burned, wood helps to offset the CO2 emissions of other emitters. From an ecological point of view, this is the reason why we rely on wooden load carriers. We want to promote the idea of the CO2-neutral industrial tool - which EPAL Euro pallets are.

EPAL AND GPAL

The European Pallet Association e.V. (EPAL) is the umbrella organization for licensed manufacturers and repairers of EPAL pallets and pallet cages. Since August 1, 2013, EPAL has been producing and repairing Euro pallets with the EPAL logo on four corner blocks under exclusive license. EPAL is responsible for consistent quality worldwide. EPAL is represented in over 30 countries by 15 national committees, which have committed themselves to implementing the EPAL objectives. Gütegemeinschaft Paletten e.V. is the German National Committee of EPAL.

MFL: Where do you save CO2? Do you have your own CO2 savings clock?

Leibrandt: We don't have our own CO2-saving vehicle. That would also be very complex. The CO2 savings clock we are discussing today is based on the average production rate of our licensees. There are few regular tasks in our association. Personally, I am on the road very often and usually for several days at a time in order to reduce my travel. If I have an appointment in Munich on Monday afternoon and one in Regensburg on Wednesday morning, I don't drive home in the meantime. That's not so nice for my family, but I think that everyone needs to think about what is happening to the environment and therefore also to our children. Of course, we also use green electricity in our office and even try to save it as much as possible. My employees work from home so that they are only in the office on days when their presence is required. This also saves on travel. Of course, we have also stopped printing e-mails many years ago.

The questions were asked by Martin Schrüfer

www.widb.de/save-the-world