Our goal is to minimise our resource consumption and keep our environmental footprint as small as possible. That’s why we’re leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to save energy, avoid waste water and tap renewable energy sources. We offset greenhouse gases that we have so far been unable to avoid by, among other things, purchasing environmental certificates. COR’s site in Rheda-Wiedenbrück has been climate-neutral since 2020.
Energy
Mapping energy consumption
While the COR Haus showroom is heated with gas and our machine halls with wood offcuts, we need electricity for lighting and running our properties, machines and IT systems. Our electricity consumption decreased between 2022 and 2023, partly because our paintshop switched over to LED lighting. Our new material warehouse was also equipped with energy-saving LED lights right from the outset.
Reducing energy consumption
The COR Haus showroom is located inside an old 1930s bag factory that was fully renovated in 2008. Today, a photovoltaic system on its roof generates the majority of the electricity we use in-house. In 2020, all of the lighting inside the COR Haus was switched to LED light bulbs. Swapping around 800 light bulbs inside the COR Haus led to annual electricity savings of 242,880 kWh, translating into CO2 savings of 97,367 kg. Our wood department was also fitted with LED lighting in 2020. Generally speaking, the buildings at our headquarter are very diverse. Some parts of the site date back to 1954 and have been updated to reflect the latest energy efficiency standards over the years. Others, like the foam hall built in 2001, were constructed in accordance with current standards. Over recent years, we have gradually reinsulated all of our hall roofs. We launched the ‘Compressed Air Leaks’ project in 2022. Leaks in the compressed air system in our manufacturing facilities result in additional, unnecessary, energy consumption. All leaks were tracked down and sealed and we increased staff awareness of the problem. In future, if any leaks occur, they should be sealed again almost instantly.
Using clean energy
100% of the electricity we use comes from renewable energy sources. During the reporting period, we generated power from our own three photovoltaic systems on the roofs of the COR Haus, the factory and the warehouse. With the construction of the new warehouse, we will be putting a fourth PV system into operation with a capacity of just under 400 kWp. Time will tell how much of the electricity we generate will be used in day-to-day operations. Obviously, we want to use as much as possible ourselves.
The remaining electricity we consume is provided by the public utility company Stadtwerke Lemgo, which covers our needs with a residual mix from 100% renewable sources. In other words, COR’s site in Rheda-Wiedenbrück is powered entirely using the rays of the sun and the force of water. Some of this electricity powers the electric charging stations that we have installed for visitors and employees at the COR Haus showroom on Hauptstraße and at our main site on Nonenstraße.
The green climate-neutral gas used to heat the COR Haus showroom is sourced via Stadtwerke Lemgo in partnership with KlimaInvest Green Concepts GmbH. Carbon credits to offset natural gas deliveries to COR come from various projects both in Germany and abroad. TÜV reviews the cancellation process at our partner KlimaInvest. All carbon credits are cancelled in accordance with the standards set out by the Kyoto Protocol.
Energy generated by our photovoltaic systems
| Year commissioned | Installed capacity | Use | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2005 | 49 kWp | Fed into the grid |
| 2 | 2011 | 29 kWp | Fed into the grid |
| 3 | 2011 | 31 kWp | Used inhouse and fed into the grid |
| 4 | 2024 | 397 kWp | Used inhouse and fed into the grid |
While the COR Haus showroom uses a gas heating system, our factory is heated solely using the wood waste we produce – a renewable raw material. Our wood chip plant converts waste wood from our manufacturing process into energy. The offcuts are chipped and fed into the furnace. We only turn on our redundant oil-fired heating system to cover peak loads in the event of extreme weather conditions or technical malfunctions.
In 2023, our CO2 emissions from heating our factory using waste wood as fuel amounted to 19.6 t CO2e. By comparison, the average annual CO2 emissions for one person living in Germany is around 11 tonnes.
Emissions
Despite all of our best efforts, generating emissions from our operations and activities is unavoidable. We document all relevant sources, reduce emissions where possible and offset the rest. We managed to halve our CO2 emissions compared with 2019 simply by switching to green power with effect from 1 January 2020. We also use climate-neutral gas, which has already been offset with emissions certificates by our gas supplier.
Mapping CO2 emissions
In 2022, COR emitted approximately 666 t CO2e – on average the same amount that around 60 people living in Germany emit each year. In 2023, we were able to reduce our emissions to 525 t (–21% compared to the previous year) due to the slight decrease in sales, our efforts to reduce emissions and our increased commitment.
We recorded our carbon footprint using the Ecocockpit tool. Business travel and transportation were the biggest CO2e emitters by quite some margin. The fact that we have been able to substantially reduce our CO2e emissions is cause for celebration. Our greenhouse gas emissions are coming down whether they are compared with the number of employees, with our sales figures or with the number of seating units sold.
| CO2 site balance sheet / CO2 sources | 2022 footprint (in kg CO2e) | Bilanz footprint (in kg CO2e) |
|---|---|---|
| Scope 1 – direct emissions | 194,750 | 137,220 |
| Business travel using company vehicles | 107,161 | 91,242 |
| Transportation using company vehicles | 2,139 | 3,037 |
| Use of energy sources for internal combustion | 67,741 | 30,467 |
| • Natural gas | 42,107 | 0* |
| • Waste wood incineration | 17,444 | 19,413 |
| • Heating oil | 8,190 | 11,054 |
| Scope 2 – indirect emissions | 0 | 0 |
| Renewable energy from external sources | 0 | 0 |
| Scope 3 – indirect emissions | 471,250 | 388,130 |
| Business travel using external means of transport | 21,711 | 23,456 |
| Transportation using external service providers/vehicles | 198,193 | 132,941 |
| Wood, paper, cardboard | 66,032 | 55,687 |
| Waste | 15,368 | 24,651 |
| Water | 367 | 287 |
| Commuter travel | 126,797 | 115,478 |
| Total emissions | 605,450 | 477,589 |
| Total emissions including 10% safety margin | 665,995 | 525,348 |
*Natural gas is stated at 0 kg CO2e because the climate-neutral gas we purchase has already been offset.
526 tonnes CO2e were offset in 2023 via 317 tonnes of wind energy certificates and 209 tonnes via a climate forest project.
All of our site-specific greenhouse gas emissions from the reporting years were offset through climate offsetting and compensation projects.
In 2022 and 2023, we offset 209 t CO2e each year via Woodify. Woodify is a German company that works with forest owners to remove commercial timber land from the conventional forestry industry for decades and to ‘rewild’ it to a degree. As a result, the trees stay in place, the soil is not compacted through the use of heavy machinery, logging trails can grow over and soil structures can recover. This allows the unique ecosystem of the forest to develop naturally. This results in a ‘climate forest’ that removes more carbon from the atmosphere than it would have if it had continued to be managed. The forest owner is compensated for their non-use of the forest – by companies like ours, for example. Our contribution helps to protect an area of five hectares for a period of 30 years. We use 209 t of this annually for a period of five years in order to offset some of our carbon emissions.
In 2022, we also offset a further 500 t CO2e via wind energy certificates from South Africa. In the Longyan Mulilo de Aar 2 project, 96 wind turbines with a total output of 144 MW are due for construction in the Northern Cape. In a country that is otherwise largely dependent on coal-fired power stations, this project aims to save more than 4.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the entire period.
Other emissions
Process-related emissions
are mainly volatile hydrocarbons generated in our paintshop that contribute towards the formation of petrochemical ozone. For a long time, the quality of the water-based lacquers available was insufficient for our lacquering process so we had to keep using solvent-based lacquers. From 2024, we will be switching to water-based lacquers as per our sustainability strategy. Pipes capture exhaust air containing dust and solvents from the paint shop and upholstery areas and discharge it into the open air through chimneys.
Noise emissions
are predominantly generated in the machine room, although we only use machines and systems with elevated sound protection there now. Employees have to wear noise protection equipment (e.g. arplugs or ear defenders) if noise pollution is too high at or near their workplace and cannot be reduced by structural or building measures. The area in question is then designated as a noise protection area, making ear protection – which is provided to employees free of charge – mandatory.
Our buildings are shielded from a residential area to the south by an embankment to the railway line connecting Hanover with the Ruhr area. Any noise pollution is barely discernible to local residents. The premises are completely surrounded by industrial and commercial businesses to the north, east and west.
Waste water
COR doesn’t generate waste water during manufacturing, but almost exclusively from kitchens and bathrooms. Our highest water consumption comes from regularly topping up the fire extinguisher system, performing test runs on the sprinkler system and watering green spaces. Fresh water consumption stood at 1,693,000 litres (2022) and 1,254,000 litres (2023).
Waste
COR generates relatively little waste because of our commitment to conserving resources. We collect film, paper, metal, organic waste and batteries separately before sending them to certified local specialist waste management companies. Some of these materials are fed back into the loop. Leather offcuts (around 45% of the raw amount) are sold to processors that turn these pieces into belts, shoes and leather accessories. Offcuts from fabric cutting are also sold or donated. Overall, we want to ensure that resources are used to their fullest and waste is avoided.
| 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Film | 5,175 kg | 3,265 kg |
| Recovered paper | 58,080 kg | 59,940 kg |
| Waste destined for recovery | 40,830 kg | 67,020* kg |
| Sludge from paint and coatings | 1,540 kg | 1,598 kg |
| Aqueous sludge | 1,960 kg | 1,960 kg |
| Bottom ash | 1,295 kg | 1,586 kg |
| Total | 108,880 kg | 135,369 kg |
*A larger quantity of waste was produced in 2023 due to the dismantling of the old material storage hall and the construction of the new storage hall.
The COR leather collection covers three dozen different types – from coarse, genuine natural leathers to fine, almost delicate, muted leathers. As a natural material, it is very diverse. The covering for a two-seater Conseta sofa, for example, is made up of more than 40 different individual leather pieces, whose dimensions are calculated down to the illimetre by a CAD computer in accordance with the designer’s specifications. The templates are positioned to save as much space as possible using a piecing software around previously marked-out imperfections in the leather before being cut out by our waterjet leather cutter. The sides and shoulder area are looser, which means that the skin will stretch more during use than the higher-quality butt section. As a result, up to 50% of the raw product is deemed offcut and made into bags, shoes or leather accessories. In reality, therefore, one Conseta requires at least one-and-a-half times this area of leather.
