Success story: Sustainable logistics – Logistics goes sustainable in A³

Goods are handled and prepared for transport at logistics sites. Transport operators, companies and service providers are networked there. But that's not all. Logistics parks and logistics companies are also driving sustainable development in the Augsburg economic region.

This is what it's all about:

Sustainability and ecological management are becoming increasingly important in the logistics industry. Operators of logistics facilities have long been focusing on sustainable design and corresponding content in their planning.

Forward-looking land use concepts

The 112-hectare GVZ – Güterverkehrszentrum Region Augsburg (Augsburg Region Freight Transport Centre) is the result of successful inter-municipal cooperation. Back in 1997, the cities of Augsburg, Gersthofen and Neusäß joined forces to form a planning association. Today, the GVZ is a logistics area that is almost fully marketed. Sustainable development over the next few years is a key objective of the committees. The right mix of companies and the advantages of focusing on contract logistics are already paying off today.

Conserving resources

The Acht 300 industrial park in the district of Aichach-Friedberg was also designed early on as an inter-municipal industrial park. Today, nearly 30 companies – including major logistics firms – are represented on the 26-hectare industrial site. Cross-border cooperation has conserved resources and land and promoted new business settlements. Online retailer Amazon is now also investing heavily in expanding its logistics centre in Graben. The logistics property was awarded DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council) certification in gold back in 2014. The expansion of new operating space has been planned to be highly functional in terms of resource conservation. Transport robots are also to be used in the expanded halls and storage areas in future. Lidl and DHL have also set up operations at this location, as has a logistics centre for BMW in Kleinaitingen.

Logistics must conserve resources per se! Hardly any other industry needs to keep an eye on capacity utilisation, bundling and route optimisation to the same extent as this one. This reduces traffic and traffic-related emissions. In the Augsburg Region GVZ, the potential for shifting from road to rail is over 100,000 truck journeys per year. The Augsburg Localbahn is still used for regional distribution, and a container terminal is planned for the GVZ in the future.

How sustainable logistics is making the future better:

Conserving resources reduces traffic and traffic-related emissions
Logistics companies and logistics parks take responsibility for future generations with clear mission statements

Pioneer in sustainability

A company's economic sector and ecological actions can reinforce each other. The DPD parcel sorting centre in Acht 300 led the way with an e-mobility concept for electric vehicles and a commitment to completely climate-neutral parcel transport. From Aichach, customers are offered added value with environmentally relevant products, thereby expanding competitive advantages. DB Schenker, among others, opted for sustainable construction for resource-saving logistics at the Augsburg Region GVZ. The DGNB Silver certificate attests to the ecological, technical and functional quality of the property, which meets future standards for green warehousing.

Companies such as DHL and Mercedes-Benz are also certified with the DGNB sustainability label at the GVZ. Mercedes-Benz is built according to the low-energy concept and has a combined heat and power plant. In autumn 2020, Auto Reichhardt broke ground for a mobility centre at the GVZ – as an addition to the Logistics South and Central locations in Augsburg-Haunstetten.

"Economic power for the region is the core idea that we consistently pursue with our mix of businesses. Auto Reichhardt is one of the Augsburg-based companies that are literally getting the economy moving. We are delighted to welcome a new tenant in the service segment that offers everything we value highly at the GVZ, from e-mobility to sustainable commitment," says Ralf Schmidtmann, Managing Director of GVZ-Entwicklungsmaßnahmen GmbH, the development company for the cities of Augsburg, Gersthofen and Neusäß. Others, such as DB Schenker, DHL and Hellmann, were already ranked among the service providers that operate in a particularly sustainable manner according to selected criteria in a 2011 study by the Fraunhofer Working Group for Supply Chain Services SCS.

Special feature of logistics companies:

Sustainable construction of properties certified with the DGNB sustainability label

Focused on the common good

Back in 2012, a study by Deutsche GVZ-Gesellschaft mbH ranked the GVZ 16th among the top 20 in Germany in the field of green logistics. Out of a sense of responsibility for future generations, the GVZ developed clear guidelines in collaboration with specialist nature conservation authorities. The theme of ‘green GVZ’ has thus been part of the brand's core from the very beginning. With 29 hectares of public green space, many environmental protection projects are being promoted. Examples include orchard meadows, insect hotels and collaborations with migratory shepherds.

The environmentally conscious planning is also evident in the transport and logistics areas. Here, the planners focused on the natural water balance. On vacant plots of land, uncontaminated surface water seeps away, increasing the rate of groundwater recharge. Together with the fire water tanks and the recirculation systems for used water, they form the basic framework for resource-efficient water management at the GVZ.

picture gallery – Impressions

Three tips to follow:

Promote environmental protection projects
Ensure resource-efficient planning, for example through sustainable construction methods or infiltration basins on open spaces
Achieve more together – exploit opportunities for inter-municipal cooperation

Further links:

Webseite GVZ Region Augsburg (German)

www.gvz-augsburg.de

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