Sustainability
We build digital bridges to a future worth living.
The big questions of our time are decided at the intersection of digitization and sustainability. We don’t just take sustainability very seriously internally – we also help our customers seize the opportunities of digital sustainability and actively shape the transformation
Our commitment and aspiration in terms of sustainability
News
Updates on digital sustainability
Sustainability rating
elaboratum improves to top 5% in EcoVadis rating
Unser Engagement zahlt sich aus: Im aktuellen EcoVadis Nachhaltigkeitsrating sind wir vom Silberstatus im Vorjahr vorgerückt und haben die Gold-Medaille erreicht. elaboratum zählt damit jetzt zu den Top 5% der bewerteten Unternehmen in Deutschland.
Policies for the Planet
Part 1 of our study series on sustainable insurance products
In unserer dreiteiligen Studienreihe „Policen für den Planeten“ beleuchten wir das wichtigste Thema unserer Zeit im Kontext der Versicherungsbranche. Wir analysieren den Markt und die Kundenperspektive, betrachten den Vertrieb und seine Beratungspraxis und leiten konkrete Empfehlungen ab.
Erfahren Sie mehr hier.
For returns prevention
Winner of the GAABS Award 2023
elaboratum’s innovative approach to avoiding returns has won the Global Association of Applied Behavioral Scientists (GAABS) award (overall winner). The high-ranking jury panel found that behavioral economic approaches were used in an outstanding way to solve an ecologically urgent problem. elaboratum won the award in the final against teams from Saudi Arabia, Spain, South Africa and the UK.
Study
The Psychology of Returns
Retouren haben einen massiven Einfluss auf die CO2-Bilanz der gesamten Branche, kosten E‑Commerce-Unternehmen Geld und Kund*innen Zeit. Keine Frage also, dass eine Retourensenkung im Interesse aller Beteiligten liegt. Doch wie können Online-Händler ihre Kund*innen dazu bewegen, so einzukaufen, dass weniger Retouren anfallen? elaboratum hat gemeinsam mit behamics und der Universität St. Gallen das weltweit größte Feldexperiment mit mehr als 100.000 Online-Shoppern durchgeführt.
Planet
Our path to net zero
Verified by TÜV Süd
Our carbon footprint for 2023
We are pleased to share our verified CO2 footprint — an important step on our path to environmental responsibility. Our carbon footprint (in accordance with IS014064 and the GHG Protocol) has again been audited and officially confirmed by TÜV Süd Industrie Service for the year 2023! This shows that we are serious and that there is no room for greenwashing. Once again, we have not only taken into account Scope 1 and 2 (heat, energy and electricity at the sites), but also our biggest impact drivers in Scope 3 (business travel, commuting, home working, waste and purchased goods). Our total emissions amounted to 31.47t CO2e in the 2023 financial year and were reduced by 19% compared to the previous year.
You can find the comprehensive greenhouse gas report here. The verification declaration from TÜV Süd Industrie Service can be downloaded here. (both in German)
Smart travel
Trains over Planes Policy
We want to reduce our ecological footprint and actively contribute to achieving climate targets. That is why we have introduced the “train not flight” policy. We ask our employees to switch to rail whenever possible when traveling within Europe. Exceptions are only permitted in cases of extreme time pressure or if the destination cannot be reached by public transport. We would also like to encourage our employees to use the train more in their private lives in order to have a positive impact on the environment.
UN Global Compact
Publication of the second progress report for 2024
Als Mitglied des UN Global Compact bekennen wir uns auch 2024 zu den Prinzipien nachhaltigen und verantwortungsvollen Wirtschaftens. Unser Ziel ist es, kontinuierlich Fortschritte in den Bereichen Menschenrechte, Arbeitsnormen, Umweltschutz und Korruptionsbekämpfung zu erzielen.
Mit unserem zweiten Fortschrittsbericht legen wir transparent dar, welche Maßnahmen wir ergriffen haben, welche Ergebnisse erzielt wurden und an welchen Herausforderungen wir weiterhin arbeiten.
Hier gelangen Sie zum vollständigen Bericht.
Our Contribution
Supporting climate protection projects with myclimate
Unser Fokus liegt darauf, unsere Emissionen konsequent zu reduzieren. Dennoch gibt es aktuell noch unvermeidbare Emissionen, in deren vollständiger Höhe wir seit 2020 Beiträge zu Klimaschutzprojekten leisten. Für die durch den TÜV Süd Industrie Service verifizierten Emissionen des Jahres 2023 haben wir freiwillig einen Beitrag zum Klimaschutz über unseren Partner myclimate geleistet. Hier finden Sie die Bestätigung.
Mit diesen Beiträgen werden Klimaschutzprojekte in Afrika, Asien und Lateinamerika unterstützt. Diese Projekte erfüllen höchste internationale Standards wie den Gold Standard, Plan Vivo und VCS und tragen aktiv zu den UN-Zielen für nachhaltige Entwicklung (SDGs) bei. Neben der Reduktion von Treibhausgasen leisten die Projekte damit einen wertvollen Beitrag zur sozialen, ökologischen und wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung in den jeweiligen Regionen.
People
Focus on people and society
Award
Top-Company and Great Place to Work
People are the main focus at elaboratum: sometimes they are our customers, sometimes they are the customers of our customers, but always our employees as well! That’s why we do everything we can to create a positive working environment in which everyone can develop according to their strengths. Every year, this is also recognized by third parties: In 2023, we were once again awarded three top rankings in the “Great Place To Work” competition: 3rd place in the “Kleiner Mittelstand” (small and medium-sized businesses) category, 2nd place in the “Consulting” category and 2nd place in “Bayerns beste Arbeitgeber” (Bavaria’s best employers)!
equaloratum
The path to more diversity
As a company that often operates in industries that are male-dominated and that has an all-male partner board, we are aware of the responsibility and challenge of promoting diversity every day. Our internal equaloratum team organizes trainings, reviews and optimizes processes, informs and raises awareness. Even though we are making continuous progress, we are not yet where we want to be.
Code of Conduct
A clear ethical framework
Our code of conduct defines elaboratum’s ethical and moral principles and is binding for all employees. It ensures that we act in accordance with legal requirements as well as our own values and standards and provides our team with clear guidelines on how to act in various situations. We live an open corporate culture anyway, but in exceptional situations it proves useful if all employees follow the same code.
You can find our code of conduct here (in German).
Commitment
Diversity Charta signed
Charta der Vielfalt e.V. is the largest employer initiative to promote diversity in companies in Germany. At its heart is the “Charta der Vielfalt” (Diversity Charter), which was established to recognize and include diversity in work culture. elaboratum has signed this charter expressly endorses the values formulated in it, as have more than 4,900 other companies.
Projects
This is how we help our customers achieve greater sustainability.
- Strategy: sustainability and digitization strategically integrate
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With many years of expertise in sustainability and digitalization, we know how to combine both topics for the benefit of our customers. Sustainability is essential for long-term success, and digitalization offers the opportunity to make sustainability more effective and conserve resources. Experts widely agree that the upcoming sustainability transformation will be bigger than the digital transformation. We understand both worlds and help you find your very own strategic positioning.
- Product development: How do you design sustainable digital products?
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In our big behavioral design unit, we have developed products that inspire and win hearts. We now apply this knowledge in the design of sustainable products. This allows us to effectively close the gap between customers’ good intentions and good decisions. Customer insights, market research, agile methods and in-depth sustainability expertise are also used.
- Returns audit: 58 points that influence your returns
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Just 1% fewer returns can mean 20 – 30% more profitability. From a sustainability perspective, this is at least as valuable: every return avoided saves significant emissions and resources. With our expertise in e‑commerce and sustainability, we are the right partner when it comes to putting an end to the annoying issue of unnecessary returns.
- User Experience: green claims and UX – how do they fit together?
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Green claims (i.e., sustainability promises), such as the attribute “sustainable” itself, must henceforth be substantiated and proven — this is stipulated by EU regulations. As a result, there is a risk of new asterisk texts, footnotes and information overload. A detrimental effect on UX is very likely. We find ways to set up your online marketing and communication strategies so that customer needs and compliance are in harmony.
References (in German)
We don’t like to talk about ourselves.
But our customers do.
“When expanding our business model, elaboratum identified precisely those points that are crucial to strengthening the customer relationship even during the change process.”
Christian Sothmann
Co-Founder, flip
“Textbook green product design approach. We have now found the way to give our energy efficiency product significantly more edge and appeal.”
Dr. Ralf Blumenthal
Head of Siemens Grid Software Middle East, Siemens Energy
“Thanks to green nudging, we were able to significantly increase not only the conversion rate but also the adherence to deadlines, thus avoiding many unnecessary shield transports.”
Andreas Büning
Head of Digital and Innovation, Carglass
Together we’ll find out how sustainability can become an opportunity for you, too.
Network & Partners
Strong alone, unbeatable together!
Sustainability and the path to a livable future is not a task that can be tackled alone. That is why we are delighted to have committed and enthusiastic partners at our side. They are key drivers and an important regulator for the development of our approaches to greater sustainability in the digital space.
With our expertise in people & behavior, we build digital bridges to a livable future. We use this expertise to help companies improve their impact. Feel free to contact us.
