Sustain­ability

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

Logo Leaders for Climate Action
Siegel Positerr
Ecovadis Bronze
Logo Charta der Vielfalt
Siegel CO2-neutrale Website
Siegel Time for Climate Action
Urwald mit einer stilisierten Glühbirne

Planet

Our path to net zero – and beyond

Fußabdruck aus Blättern

elaboratum footprint

Our carbon footprint for 2021

The first full year since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic and the associated positive impact on our emission levels was awaited with particular excitement. We used the time to continue working on our footprint – with success. Despite a signif­icant increase in the size of our team, we were able to keep the figure stable or even reduce it slightly.

The reasons were signif­icant energy savings, fewer trips and the further profes­sion­al­ization of our remote working skills. On the other hand, there were increased heating values (mainly due to additional locations) and emissions caused by the procurement of devices. Overall, we remain a low-emission company that actually overcom­pen­sates for its emissions. As in previous years, we offset 10% more than our own emissions: For 2021, this is 22.5 t CO2.

Zug fährt durch Bahnhof

Smart travel

Trains over planes policy

We aim to reduce our environ­mental footprint and actively contribute to achieving climate targets. That’s why we have intro­duced the “train over plane” policy. We ask our employees to switch to trains whenever possible when traveling within Europe. Excep­tions are only permitted in cases of extreme time pressure or if the desti­nation is not acces­sible by public transport. In addition, we would like to encourage our employees to make greater use of rail travel in their private lives as well, so that together we can have a positive impact on the environment.

Positerra Logo

CO2 compen­sation

Culti­vating humus regionally: with Positerra

Effective, sustainable and regional. positerra brings together two strong players to achieve this: Farmers and companies. We work together to cultivate humus in the fields which is one of the most effective ways of capturing green­house gases from the atmos­phere and reabsorbing emissions. After all, if we want to protect the climate sustainably, we must not only slow down the further release of CO2, but also reabsorb emissions that have already been released. Only if we act together climate-positively can the Earth’s natural climate gas balance, the “net zero,” be achieved and climate change halted.

More about Positerra

Digital­ization

Paper-free, but digitalize consciously

Working digitally offers numerous advan­tages and also helps to save paper and thus conserve resources. However, we should not forget that digital­ization also has ecological conse­quences. The increasing use of energy and resources for the production of technology, as well as the disposal of electronic waste, are just a few examples.

It is therefore important that we consciously address the ecological conse­quences of digital­ization and develop strategies to minimize them. This is why we pay attention to energy-efficient devices, extend the service life of electronic equipment, and rely on energy-efficient and green electricity-powered data centers for cloud use.

People

Focus on people and society

Auszeichnung Great Place to Work 2023

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)!

Buntstifte in vielen Farben mit Smileys, stellvertretend für Diversity

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.

Bausteine mit Schriftzügen: Ethics,Respect, Honesty, Integrity

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.

Logo Charta der Vielfalt unterzeichnet

Commitment

Diversity Charter 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 integrated

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?

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

Just 1% fewer returns can mean 20 – 30% more profitability. From a sustain­ability perspective, this is at least as valuable: every avoided return saves signif­icant emissions and resources.
With our expertise in e‑commerce and sustain­ability, we are the right partner when it comes to elimi­nating the annoying issue of unnec­essary returns.

User Experience: green claims and UX – how do they fit together?

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

We don’t like to talk about ourselves. But our customers do.

Christian Sothmann

“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
Ralf Blumenthal

“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
Andreas Büning

“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

Network & Partner

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.
Sebastian Henke

Sebastian Henke

Senior Consultant Sustain­ability

sebastian.​henke@​elaboratum.​de