Eurofins, one of the most highly committed green companies
Two of our projects are among the finalists in the Greengage 2023 competition. Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft. independent laboratory (as legal successor of Wessling Hungary Kft.) is in the lead not only in environmental, health and food safety tests but also pays particular attention to the causes of social responsibility, sustainability and the circular economy. With our campaigns “One less garbage dump” and “Energy from watermelon rinds?” we were among Hungary’s most prestigious large companies.
Gábor Szunyogh, head of marketing, Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft. taking over Greengage diplomas. Orsolya Katzer, Zoltán Palotai, Richárd Gellér and Péter Juhász played key roles on the part of Eurofins in the development of the finalist projects.
The objective of the GREENGAGE competition – the second in a row – is to finds and uphold successful companies manufacturing innovative products, selling services or support the market with their developments and processes in Hungary in a sustainable way, with a special focus, in an “eco-aware” and environment preserving way. The projects that contributed to greening the economy between 2019 and 2022 were awaited in for categories by professional jury panel members, prepared with professional evaluation criteria.
Eurofins: One less garbage dump!!
At the Eurofins Knowledge Centre (Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft.), where more than 300 employees perform hundreds of thousands of laboratory tests each year, a huge amount of waste is generated in spite of selective collection and the staff members’ environmentally friendly attitude. The main objective of the “One less garbage dump” project is to reduce municipal waste by at least fifty percent through even more intensive selection.
The waste so “salvaged” (mostly paper and plastic) is excellent for recycling, or as a fuel (which is technically referred to as RDF – Refuse Derived Fuel), so this part of the waste will certainly not end up on a landfill. To this end, waste management officer Orsolya Katzer, we attached even more straightforward stickers on the waste containers and our colleagues were encouraged – by sharing relevant information through in-house campaigns – to select waste as effectively as possible through their own decisions, thereby contributing to the promotion of circular economy.
As a result of the “One less garbage dump” project we managed to fill as many as 126 containers between 01 June and 31 December 2022. A container being 1.1 m3, this means that our colleagues collected and converted into RDF, that is, waste from which energy can be generated, a total of 138.6 m3 municipal waste. Just to illustrate the amount: nearly 13 cubic metres of waste is removed each week from a condominium of 180 apartments, so it is safe to say that we saved nearly three months’ municipal waste output of a large block of flats from ending up on a landfill.
Energy from watermelon rinds?
Waste is regarded not as garbage in a circular economy but as value, as a secondary raw material. Waste that cannot be recycled needs not be landfilled; after adequate preselection it is highly suitable for use as a source of energy. SRF (solid recovered fuel) is perhaps one of the best examples for turning waste into valuable input for the generation of energy – thermal energy, even from watermelon rinds. The composition of SRF however, varies seasonally just like the menu of a good restaurant; the raw materials used by the chef to put the menu together does matter. Recycling also comes with a risk however, therefore products from recycled materials and those used as fuel, need to be regularly tested.
This is carried out by the Environmental Division of our independent laboratory, Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft. During its educational-communication campaign scheduled for, and conducted in, the spring of 2022, the Eurofins Knowledge Centre demonstrated what SRF is, how recycling takes place and whatever happens in the depths of the laboratory to make sure that the result is a product that is safe environmentally as well, contributing to the implementation of circular economy, which is also supported by the European Union.
On our website dedicated to communicating our social responsibility we created a separate menu item under which we collected all important and useful data and information on the subject; on our scientific website we posted an awareness raising article, we produced a video showing the process (which we have, unfortunately, had to remove from the platforms as a consequence of a change in ownership in the meantime). We presented our posts in a targeted way on our social media pages and conducted active media communication to reach out to as many people as possible, and we drew attention to SRF in a number of presentations and at multiple professional forums. As a result, we managed to deliver our message to at least 200 thousand people!
The Eurofins Knowledge Centre wishes to promote circular economy not only through tests and the dissemination of information but, as a steadily growing company, it has also introduced innovative and progressive actions and measures such as the appointment of a waste management officer (see our other entry), the exclusive use of green electricity, the introduction of electronic reports – through which we have contributed to the protection of our environment and to sustainability in a quantifiable way.
This is why we are very proud of having reached the final round in the company of the best entries in this year’s Greengage competition after winning our category in last.