KHS has made it its aim to reduce its movement of people and goods and thus cut down on greenhouse gas and toxic emissions to avoid pollution harmful to both humans and the environment. Here, it is extremely important that the traffic of goods within the sections of the supply chain we hold sway over is perfectly planned and coordinated. Huge potential in this field lies in the optimization of air freight, for example; timely planning enables high emissions to be reduced and economic efficiency to be improved. Another important measure that cuts down on emissions is to combine various shipments to avoid empty runs. Thanks to intensive networking with our haulage carriers, we have been able to specifically improve capacity utilization. For KHS, regular checks of the logistics partners we use to see whether they comply with our sustainability targets or not is a necessary requirement for cooperation. 

The digitalization of all of our internal and external processes is steadily helping to achieve the greatest possible efficiency. Furthermore, the use of new IT tools and systems prevents unnecessary documentation on paper. For example, our shipping/logistics unit calculates individual projects, especially those with a larger volume, with the help of an approved carbon calculator and in doing so optimizes the means of transportation selected right from the outset.  

Like us, the select freight forwarders we work with also attach great importance to cutting down on emissions and in some cases already have their carbon emission reduction achievements audited. No complete and dedicated data on traffic and transport carriers in logistics is yet available for the reporting period. In the future a systematic data collection process will provide precise and verifiable information here. 

We ship our products in reusable packaging made of long-lasting materials; wooden pallets are used for the transportation of machines and sustainable materials for the housing and secondary packaging. Here, KHS constructively consolidates all of the materials for the project while conserving resources. On certain shipping routes and in agreement with our customers KHS tailors the use of packaging materials to the transportation requirements. In individual cases this can result in doing without any packaging material whatsoever. 

Vehicle fleet, business trips and employee commuter traffic  

KHS GmbH’s own vehicle fleet is managed by our headquarters in Dortmund and consists of approximately 300 vehicles. In the future the fleet is to be converted to alternative, more environmentally-friendly drive concepts, such as electric or hydrogen-powered cars with all of the necessary infrastructure. In 2022 six charging stations were installed at KHS GmbH headquarters in Dortmund. More charging stations are to be erected in 2023 at our other German KHS sites. KHS also works closely with the Salzgitter Group when planning charging concepts. 

For business trips our employees will make increasing use of ecofriendly forms of transport in the future. At the moment KHS personnel travel for business purposes in their own cars, leased vehicles or those in our fleet or by rail or plane. By collecting extended data on our business traffic, we are gathering information on future savings potential. The constant implementation and use of video conference systems is a further means of generally reducing the amount of business travel at KHS. Moreover, through local production and the decentral structure of our global KHS service network we ensure that first and foremost our customers can rely on receiving local support. This not only means huge cuts in travel emissions but also saves time and money.