Increase your productivity by resource efficiency
Resource efficiency requires integrating a wide range of factors, but, depending on the industry, material and energy efficiency are still the commonly predominant issues. According to research by the Fraunhofer Institute, an average reduction of 14 percent in energy and 6 percent in materials used could be realized in manufacturing industries.
We can help you identify potential savings and achieve greater resource efficiency in your business. A resource efficiency analysis will not only determine how many resources are used in a process, but also the associated costs and emissions.
Would you like to discuss how to improve your resource efficiency?
Your advantage starts with a resource efficiency analysis
With more resource efficient production you can:
- strengthen your company's sustainability
- increase profit
- create job security
- improve your corporate image
Get started with a resource efficiency analysis now and let the facts guide you toward the right decisions.
Resource efficiency analysis: many gains at low cost.
- better product design
- smarter production processes
- decreased costs
- material, energy, and process cost identification
- detailed knowledge of each process
- visualization of resource demand
- evaluation of the impact on the entire system following efficiency improvements
How we support your quest for resource efficiency
Take advantage of our vast resource efficiency know-how and experience gained through finding production solutions for many business sectors, among them the chemical industry
Our goal is to help you develop the necessary know-how so you, too, can improve resource efficiency. We offer integrated support from workshops and training to consulting services and customized software modules – all tailored to your individual needs. Why not reach your goals more easily and much faster?
Sustainability workshop to identify potential savings
In a workshop at your place of business, we will jointly analyze the effects of resource efficiency within your operation and what role material and energy efficiency can play in realizing your potential savings.
Our expertise on resource efficiency is your gain
- Integrated approach: take a closer look at your entire production process including material flow analysis and material flow cost analysis, energy management, flow simulations, and heat recovery.
- Best practice examples: find out from our consultants about the latest technologies that are just right for your industry.
Systematic process analysis: create a solid data base for future decision-making. - Data integration: integrate your available data into a systems model for easier evaluation of your efficiency potential.
- Training: Whether in-house, at our Hamburg offices, or online - learn all about the methodology of process modeling, resource efficiency analysis, and MCFA as well as their practical applications using Umberto Efficiency+ software. More about training options
Would you like to learn more about our consulting services on energy and resource efficiency?
Further information about resource efficiency
Continued worldwide population growth is resulting in a global increase in demand for products and thus for resources. In order to leave behind a livable planet for future generations despite these demands, the sustainable use of resources is imperative because it will bring both short- and long-term relief to many ecological, economic, and social pressures. By using a broad range of methods and approaches to achieve resource efficiency, potential savings can quickly be identified and successfully realized.
Ifu Hamburg GmbH aims to be a trailblazer and supporter of resource efficiency. In order to reach this goal, we are continuously looking for new, innovative ideas and partners. We can now utilize many techniques to successfully integrate resource efficiency with new and existing economic processes. The following approaches, presented by VDI, showcase two of them:
Good advice saves resources
Perfect material recycling for aluminum
In an effort to decrease the environmental impacts due to aluminum mining and production, Germany‘s Federal Environmental Agency (Umweltbundesamt) is subsidizing several research projects, among them aluminum recycling.
Hydro Aluminium Recycling Deutschland GmbH has devised a process in which an innovative shredding machine combined with a downstream sorting system is able to correctly separate aluminum pieces of different alloys. This allows the recycling process to produce the same high-quality aluminum as the primary resource provides.
Through our involvement in a wide variety of projects we have gained broad experience in the metal industry. Our well-versed technical experts and their know-how can help you identify potential savings and then derive suitable measures for energy and material efficiency.
(Video source: VDI Zentrum Ressourceneffizienz)
Incease your resource efficiency with ifu Hamburg
What is resource efficiency?
The Federal Ministry for the Environment defines resource efficiency as a way to “achieve more with less”. In other words, creating an increased benefit in the form of products or services while keeping the input of natural resources as low as possible. In 2012, the federal government passed the Resource Efficiency Program (ProgRess) that effectively promotes a policy of increasing resource efficiency. The program's explicit goal is to use less raw material and energy, and to reduce negative environmental impacts, thereby creating a more sustainable future.
Resource efficiency integrates a wide range of aspects including, for example, material and energy efficiency. Especially in terms of energy efficiency, Germany is now focusing on energy management based on the DIN EN ISO 5001 standard. This is in part due to the fact that its achievement qualifies businesses to receive an exemption from the renewable energy surcharge.
Resource efficiency in a business
Increasing resource efficiency is one of the goals within a broader sustainability strategy. Saving resources required for production increases competitiveness and also helps to protect the climate. This principle is also being advanced at the political level through a series of environmental innovation programs designed to support small and medium-sized businesses in their efforts to conserve resources.
Our strategy for greater resource efficiency
For 20 years, ifu Hamburg has been concerned with resource efficiency. Our primary focus is on an integrated approach that takes many different factors into account, such as costs, materials, energy flows. Our consulting team uses recognized methods such as material flow modeling, material and energy flow analysis and material flow cost analysis. As a starting point, the amount of material and energy flows consumed during the production process is analysed. The resulting data then provides the basis for determining potential savings as well as options for process optimization. The overall objective always is to save resources, decrease costs, and protect the climate. And once you have successfully implemented your resource efficiency measures, you, too, can “achieve more with less”.