SustainabilityWeek@KNAUER

The European Sustainable Development Week (ESDW for short) is a Europe-wide initiative with the goal of promoting and making visible activities, projects and events related to sustainability and sustainable development goals. KNAUER is organizing the Sustainability Week for the fourth time in a row. This year it takes place at KNAUER from 27.09. to 01.10.2021 and offers an interesting program for all employees:  

KickOff was a so-called added value breakfast at KNAUER on Monday, 27.09.2021 at 10:00 a.m. with an address by the management as well as an impressive online lecture by marine biologist and expert on environmental issues Dr. Thomas Henningsen from Orca – climate: MAKING THINGS HAPPEN. NOW. The title was "Oceans, Forests, Climate – How the World is Changing!".
The expert also informed the employees about the possibilities of changing electricity providers and what is important when choosing green electricity. The Knauer company itself has been using 100% green electricity for more than 10 years and has a photovoltaic system on its roof. On the website www.knauer.net/sustainable there is a video gallery with short films in which employees talk about how important ‚Sustainability‘ is at Knauer and what is done for it in the different areas.

On Wednesday, there was delicious fruit cake for everyone on the occasion of the birthday of the company founder Roswitha Knauer. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, three great two-hour workshops were held, in which new ideas and approaches around the topic of sustainability were developed in groups. The special thing: The results could be submitted as group improvement proposals and good ideas were awarded prizes. Everyone could register, whether employees, trainees or apprentices … every idea, every thought and every contribution is welcome!

On Friday, 01.10.2021 from 09:30 to 10:00, a technical lecture by Dr. Kristin Folmert with the topic: Green HPLC (High Pressure Liquid Chromatography) informed about how laboratories can also work more sustainably. In another presentation, HR Manager Vanessa Gnäbner provided information about business bikes and BVG tickets, which are financially supported by Knauer. Already 30 % of the employees use these offers to get to work without a car.

On Friday, company Knauer also turned 59 and this was celebrated together with everyone at the "Wiesn" in the garden from 12:30 pm. Food was served in Oktoberfest style, in line with the sustainability week, of course vegetarian. The lunches at Knauer are vegetarian and freshly cooked regionally every week and thus climate-friendly. There were also gifts for all employees from the founding couple. Alexandra Knauer and Carsten Losch, the managing directors, were pleased to be able to distribute 160 jars of honey from the two bee colonies in the beautiful eco-company garden to everyone.

Managing Director Carsten Losch: "Next year, there will be a nice anniversary celebration of 60 years of Knauer with us in Berlin in the summer and also a sustainability week again. We want to get better and better in terms of sustainability."

The family-owned company KNAUER Wissenschaftliche Geräte GmbH develops high-tech laboratory instruments for research, routine analysis and production. Liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems are used to analyze liquid samples for constituents and impurities and determine their quantity. The measuring principle, which separates a sample into its components, is used in larger chromatography systems, e.g. for the purification of proteins, active ingredients or other valuable substances. For the construction of laboratory systems, the company supplies metering pumps, switching valves and detectors for high-pressure applications. Systems for the production of lipid nanoparticles have opened up a new business segment for KNAUER and in 2020 generated an increase in sales of around 40 percent compared to the previous year. Promotion of science and corporate responsibility for employees, society and the environment enjoy high priority.

More about KNAUER at www.knauer.net