A global initiative of businesses committed to renewable energy
In the Fifth Medium-term EHS Management Policy for FY2021-2025, which started this fiscal year, the Daiichi Sankyo group of companies (Daiichi Sankyo Group) has set an environmental target of increasing the proportion of renewable energy to at least 30% by FY2025. In July 2021 the group also joined RE100, a global initiative of businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. Efforts to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy such as solar power are being made not only in Japan but also at our sites outside of Japan.
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100% renewable electricity in factories in Germany
Among our Daiichi Sankyo group companies outside Japan, three have already started purchasing 100% renewable electricity for the power they use: Daiichi Sankyo Europe's head office in Munich, Germany and its Pfaffenhofen Plant near Munich; and the Alphaville Plant in Brazil.
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Solar panels at the Pfaffenhofen Plant outside of Munich.
Enough for 150 households or an electric car to go 3 mil. km
The Pfaffenhofen Plant installed a 640-kWp solar photovoltaics power generation facility within the plant's site in 2021. These solar panels will supply enough energy per year to run about 150 households for a year or charge an electric vehicle to run 3 million kilometers. The PV system is currently awaiting official certification and is expected to start operation in late 2021. Annually, it will meet 7% of the plant's electricity consumption, save 230 tons of CO2 emissions, and reduce electricity cost by more than 100,000 EUR.
To generate even more renewable energy on site, the options for installing further rooftop PV systems in the Pfaffenhofen plant are currently being analyzed. The plant has already been purchasing 100% renewable energy for several years. Now, with the on-site production of solar electricity, the next chapter begins in the Pfaffenhofen plant’s endeavors towards a carbon-neutral future.
Andreas Apel, who led the solar energy plant project, shared some of the trials and tribulations of the project in our interview:
Apel: Integrating the new solar PV power plant into our business operations required contributions from many different departments such as Engineering, IT, Finance & Tax, Plant Services, Procurement, and Legal. Coordinating these contributions to fulfill all legal requirements and ensure timely project execution was a complex task. We are grateful for the great cooperation of all colleagues involved in this project.
Apel says that the community around the plant was positive about the introduction of solar power.
Apel: In Germany, many people agree that humankind must move towards renewable energies. To let our colleagues participate in this exciting journey, we produced a time-lapse video of the construction process, which received a lot of positive comments.
Making use of biomass
In addition to electricity, the Pfaffenhofen Plant has also switched to renewable energy sources for heat. The plant requires about 6 GW of heat per year, which is supplied by a biomass heat and power plant. As a result, approximately 2,000 tons of annual CO2 emissions have been cut.
The plant also uses steam in its production processes. A feasibility study has started with a view to using wood pellets to produce steam in the future.
Martin Schröder, EHS specialist at the Pfaffenhofen Plant who is responsible for several environmental initiatives at the site, says that the goal is to produce steam out of renewable energy sources to further reduce the carbon footprint of the whole plant. It would be excellent if the whole energy supply of the Pfaffenhofen Plant could be ensured with renewable energies.
Charging stations to encourage switch to EVs
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An expansion of the employee parking lot is planned,
and we are considering installing 100 charging stations there as well.
Daiichi Sankyo Europe is also working on several projects to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. To charge plug-in hybrid or battery electric company cars, eight charging stations have already been available at the Pfaffenhofen plant since 2017, and ten more will be installed in autumn 2021. In addition to that, 12 charging stations were installed at the visitor parking lot in the Pfaffenhofen plant in August 2021. For the new employee parking lots which are planned to be built in 2024, the Pfaffenhofen plant is considering the installation of around 100 additional charging stations. In the Munich headquarter, 30 charging stations have been available since 2020, and 20 more will be installed in 2022.
With a current total of more than 70 charging stations Daiichi Sankyo Europe is a front runner in Germany. This was only possible due to the support and commitment of both the City of Munich, the City of Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm and the local energy company Stadtwerke Pfaffenhofen.
Apel, who leads these projects at the Pfaffenhofen plant, explains their objective:
Apel: When charging stations are readily available, people who previously hesitated to switch to EVs will be encouraged to make the transition. With the large number of charging stations now available our plant, we make it easier for our colleagues, suppliers and service contractors to switch to EVs. Furthermore, we even decided to open the charging stations for public access – a move that has been very positively appreciated by the local community. Every day, we see citizens of the Pfaffenhofen region charge their cars at the Daiichi Sankyo Pfaffenhofen plant charging stations. Our charging stations provide 100% renewable electricity, and a portion of the electricity bill that the users pay is invested in building more renewable energy plants in our region.
Ethical approach to addressing global issues
To conclude, we asked Andreas Apel and Martin Schröder about their personal thoughts on their work:
Apel: I am glad that Daiichi Sankyo takes a highly ethical stance and is strongly committed to improving people's lives and the environment. I feel proud to be working on these issues in my job, and I personally believe that we can change the environment for the better through the adoption of renewable energy.
Schröder: Daiichi Sankyo's commitment to addressing important environmental issues that have been affecting us all for a long time resonates with me. I feel lucky that I am part of this organization and can actively contribute to improve our environmental impacts. I look forward to seeing the changes we create in collaboration with our colleagues all over the world.
Daiichi Sankyo will continue focusing the wisdom and expertise of the whole Daiichi Sankyo Group on taking further actions that put the concept of environmentally conscious corporate management for a zero-carbon future into practice.
Further actions for sustainability at the Pfaffenhofen plant
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Since 2019 the Pfaffenhofen Plant has been creating several areas of biodiversity within the site. In partnership with community organizations about 1,000 m² of areas for insects, bees and other organisms have been built. For the future, the plan is to gradually expand the biotopes to put into practice Daiichi Sankyo’s responsibility for our environment.
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The work council's sustainability group has set up a mailbox for suggestions from employees for environment-related improvements. Some of the ideas found in the box have since been implemented, including reducing paper use and eliminating plastic from the staff cafeteria.
Picture info:
(From left) Matthias Kühn,
Head of Pfaffenhofen plant, DSE, Thomas Herker, Mayor of the city of Pfaffenhofen, Martin Hesse, Head of Corporate Division, DSE, Stefan Eisenmann, Managing Director,
Stadtwerke Pfaffenhofen a. d. Ilm at the inauguration of the new charging stations in September 2021.
copyright: Florian Schaipp/ GFS Film - on behalf of Stadtwerke utilities company Pfaffenhofen a. d. Ilm