Prizes & awards
For the sustainable concept of practiced environmental protection, the company Kanne has been awarded various prizes and awards.
B.A.U.M. Environmental Award
Under the acronym B.A.U.M., the German Environmental Management Association, combines economical, ecological and social questions, i. e. the principles of sustainability, with great success and in a future-oriented way since 1984. Today, B.A.U.M. - with its more than 500 dedicated members - is the European business community's largest environmental initiative. Aside from many well-known companies, B.A.U.M. is supported by a great number of associations and institutions who act in the capacity of sustaining members.
Kanne has been a B.A.U.M. member since 1989.
Vision of corporate sustainability
B.A.U.M.’s aim is to sensitise companies, communities and organisations to the importance of pro-active environmental protection and the vision of a sustainable management, and to support them in implementing these visions in an ecologically effective, economically sensible and socially equitable way.
Information and contact network
To reach its goals, B.A.U.M. as an information and contact network endeavours intensively to promote an active and practice-oriented exchange of information and experiences and to build and foster manifold national and international contacts in the areas of business, science, politics and media. B.A.U.M. holds advisory positions in various bodies to represent effectively the interests of its members and to give impulses for a successful sustainability strategy.
(Source: www.baumev.de)
Caritas Commandery Enterprise Award for "successful corporate sustainability"
The Kanne bakery was given the Enterprise Award bestowed by the Caritas Commandery in 2014 as a distinction for devising a "ground-breaking energy concept for a highly energy-intensive industry".
Producing our own alternative energy
At our company we have been exploiting renewable wind energy since 1998 already and have been using nearly 1.2 M kWh of solar energy that we have been producing ourselves at our local facility since 2009. After partially converting the oil firing of the ovens to electric power (allowing us to save 110,000 litres in heating oil), we switched the remaining oil furnaces to natural gas in 2014.
Lowering energy consumption
As they constantly cool and heat their products, bakeries require thousands of litres of hot water. We keep our energy consumption at a minimum by applying systematic cooling and baking management.
This includes:
- Heat recovery in the baking lines (one third of losses recovered)
- Establishment of a time control system (60,000 kWh saved)
- Uncovering of "energy hogs" with the help of energy consultants working for the City of Lünen.
To complete the picture: Investments in environmental protection, a responsible handling of food that is not consumed and of overproduction, purchasing from local suppliers if at all possible and a branch expansion policy that focuses on a limited radius to keep delivery routes as short as possible and to bring about organic growth instead of maximised profits.
Other characteristics that set the Kanne bakery apart:
By conviction, our workforce enjoys standard wage compensation, adequate workers' representation, no labour leasing, and appreciation for everybody, including individuals with a migrant background, and is supported by a few temporary workers. Trainees whose grades are slipping but who show the necessary motivation are supported by our trainee advisers.
Our entrepreneurial success is tangible: it shows not only in the energy savings we have managed to achieve but also in the popularity we enjoy among the next generation! And that in an industry that is infamous for its shortage in skilled labour.
All said, our energy concept is setting a precedent for all companies that consume a lot of energy.
(Source: www.kommende-dortmund.de)
