Return of Experience: KraussMaffei, world leader in the mechanical engineering industry, is using ROSE

• KraussMaffei will be collaborating with ROSE for the next five years to professionalize sustainability management and the associated data collection.
• The focus has first been set on company carbon footprint (CCF) calculations (scope 1,2,3) and product carbon footprint (PCF) while working on the CSRD compliance.
• KraussMaffei's involvement in clients' value chains, coupled with their international operations and complex supply chains, presents significant challenges: scattered data from various countries production sites, information systems, and personnel must be consolidated into a unified and usable format for reporting.

A few words about KraussMaffei: 

KraussMaffei is among the world’s leading manufacturers of machinery and systems for the production and processing of plastics and rubber covering all areas of injection molding machinery, extrusion technology, reaction process machinery and additive manufacturing. Its broad range of products and services allow KraussMaffei to serve customers in many sectors including the automotive, packaging, medical and construction industries, as well as manufacturers of electrical and electronic products and household appliances.

Founded 1838 in Munich, the company today has 4,700 employees and more than 30 subsidiaries as well as about 570 commercial and service partners worldwide. Yes, when you hear the name KraussMaffei, you can sense its rich history, spanning three centuries. 

Navigating a unique global context 

“Operating on an international scale in the industrial sector presents sustainability challenges. The KraussMaffei Group consists of 16 production sites across Europe, Asia and the US. This global footprint adds complexity, as data collection processes and quality vary from one location to another. However, being international and having multiple sites also has its advantages: Any effective change in energy efficiency, or general practices in one of them can lead to the decision of rolling out the innovation across the entire group, multiplying its impact.” says Dr. Alexandra Coffey, Global Sustainability Manager.

“Nine months ago we started implementing ROSE and while we are still solving some rather complex issues together the weekly collaboration has been remarkably uncomplicated. We very much appreciate their team for their flexibility in solving spontaneous problems and for insisting on deadlines and milestones to keep our project on track.” 

A focus on the carbon footprint

KraussMaffei is utilizing ROSE software to measure its carbon footprint (across Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions). Let's delve into the main challenges associated with this task.

Methodologically, the GHG Protocol was followed, meticulously identifying all data sources that must be retrieved. Data is scattered across different countries, production sites, information systems, and personnel. Collecting and standardizing this data is no small feat. A simple example is the variation in numerical formatting across countries:

• US: 100,000
• France: 100 000
• Germany: 100.000

This minor difference can lead to significant errors, and there are countless other data complexities to consider, such as currencies, units of measurement (m³, kWh, liters…), diversity of data format (raw numbers vs narrative). The software must be robust enough to standardize this data into a consistent format.

Here are a few more examples of what matters in that kind of project:

➡️ Data disaggregation‍

Being able to disaggregate the collected data and interact with the results provides insights that both the head of sustainability and the heads of operations can effectively use to make decisions based on their sustainability impact. 

➡️ People empowerment

Although a sustainability manager will ultimately centralize and coordinate the tasks related to carbon footprint measurement, they cannot handle global data entry alone. Therefore, it's essential to train staff at each production site to upload their data into the software accurately. 

➡️ Access rights Management

An essential part of the project was ensuring the right people had appropriate access to specific data points, ensuring secure and relevant data management.

➡️ Product carbon footprint

‍As a machine manufacturer selling to other companies, KraussMaffei is always part of someone else’s value chain. Thus, product carbon footprint matters specifically: KraussMaffei’s customers need the information to perform their own calculations and improve their sustainability. 

A CSRD ongoing project, on schedule 

The work on double materiality has been rounded up and has helped identify impacts that are not obvious at first. For example, as any manufacturer, KraussMaffei has to account for raw material transportation, waste production and energy usage. But on the other hand, machines that produce  plastics for the aviation or automotive industries help reduce the weight of vehicles by replacing metal parts, assisting these industries in emitting less, thus clearly contributing a positive impact.

Today, KraussMaffei and ROSE are entering a phase of preparing the data systems to collect data in an auditable manner, in line with the disclosure requirements of the CSRD. The project is on schedule, ensuring that the data collection system will be fully operational no later than January 1, 2025.

‍A quote from Dr. Alexandra Coffey, KraussMaffei Head of Marketing &  Communication & Global Sustainability Manager