Wacker Neuson is Building a Sustainable Future: a tale of Pioneering Efforts in the Construction Industry

Since 1 January 2023, Wacker Neuson has offered the option for customers to rent – or even buy – construction machinery with a contribution to climate protection. In conjunction with myclimate, the construction machinery manufacturer now calculates the carbon footprint of various machines and assumes responsibility for the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. The production and use of construction machinery generate unavoidable carbon emissions, but those are balanced out by the emissions avoided thanks to myclimate’s high-quality, certified climate protection projects. This marks a significant first step in the carbon-intensive construction industry.

Sustainability is high on the agenda at Wacker Neuson. In many cases, the option of renting construction machinery makes sense, both in terms of cost-effectiveness and from an environmental standpoint. The long-established company also calculates the CO₂ emissions over the life cycle of various construction machines. Wacker Neuson is continuously striving to implement mitigation measures as part of its own business activities, including the use of biodiesel and the electrification of construction machinery. Together with myclimate, it assumes responsibility for the unavoidable part of its emissions.

Construction: a resource-heavy industry

The construction sector is a heavy producer of emissions. In countries like Switzerland, the construction industry accounts for a high proportion of emissions, while globally, the construction industry is responsible for up to 38 % of greenhouse gas emissions. This is due in particular to its resource-intensiveness and the production of raw materials, especially concrete. This makes it all the more important for construction companies like Wacker Neuson to take greater responsibility.

How Wacker Neuson is taking responsibility

To calculate the CO₂ emissions, myclimate worked with Wacker Neuson to determine the carbon footprints of 13 machines and appliances. The calculations for these machines serve as a reference for other products and equipment by the company. All climate-impacting emissions are analysed and calculated for the entire life cycle of the machinery. This includes the extraction of raw materials, production processes and transport routes, operation of the machines and the subsequent disposal or recycling of components.  

myclimate recommended various options for Wacker Neuson to reduce its CO2 emissions on the basis of these calculations. Wacker Neuson is now endeavouring to implement these recommendations step by step so that it can continue to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

The construction machinery manufacturer also assumes responsibility for CO2 emissions that are currently unavoidable. It finances myclimate climate protection projects which prevent or reduce emissions by the same amount as its unavoidable ones. In concrete terms, this means that the unavoidable CO₂ emissions that have arisen over the life cycle of various Wacker Neuson construction machines are saved elsewhere.

The company supports the following myclimate climate protection projects:

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