Green electricity - alesco uses green electricity for its film production

Since 1 January 2010, our production facilities are running exclusively on green electricity from hydro-electric sources. All alesco's consumer films are thus now produced using green electricity – making them even more environmentally friendly. alesco’s administrative unit has also been using this innovative and ecological source of energy since the beginning of the year. The company has been extruding, tailoring and printing its biofilms exclusively with green electricity since 2008.

The switch to green, hydro-electric power has led to an improvement in the company’s overall CO2 balance. By utilising green energy, the CO2 emissions caused by our use of electricity at the Langerwehe plant will fall by more than 90 percent. In other words, the company will release 10.5 million kilograms less CO2 every year. In terms of overall emissions resulting from the company’s activities in Langerwehe, this equates to a reduction of more than 17 percent, and the corresponding figure for the entire company is ten percent.

The reason for the emissions not being reduced to zero by the use of hydro-electric power (which involves no CO2 emissions in its production) is that there are still some indirect emissions included in the equation. “These relate, for example, to the construction of the power station, as well as to maintenance work and the transportation of electricity to alesco,” explains Katharina Völker-Lehmkuhl, Head of the Scientific Department of ClimatePartner Germany. This corporate consultancy independently calculates CO2 emissions for alesco. “Just ignoring such values would not give a credible and serious calculation,” adds Völker-Lehmkuhl.

The energy supplier Naturenergie AG is pleased to have alesco as a new customer, especially as environmentally-friendly green electricity fits so well with the company’s philosophy. Achim Geigle, Managing Director of the energy supplier, comments: “green electricity is an excellent choice for any company wishing to act in a sustainable way and, in cases such as this, where the use of green electricity from hydro-electric power fits so well with the overall corporate philosophy, the positive effects are multiplied.“