The first meeting of the Bavarian paper and packaging industry's energy efficiency and climate protection network took place at our company on 20 June 2023. The imperative B-CLEEN is an acronym for Bavarian Climate and Energy Efficiency Nsthork and at the same time testifies to the six participating companies' determination to make their production even cleaner and more environmentally friendly as part of the network's work.

Over the next two years, the participating companies will work together with the support of energy experts from Energie Consulting GmbH (ECG) examine and optimise their processes. A central component of the network work is that the meetings take place on a rolling basis in the companies and are combined with a tour of the production and energy technology systems so that the participants can gain an impression of the solutions realised in each case on site and learn from each other. The network is organised by the Association of the Bavarian Paper, Cardboard and Plastics Processing Industry (VBPV) of the association community BayPaper.

The meeting was hosted by Hertel & Co. GmbH in Bayreuth, a family-run manufacturer of customised packaging solutions and displays. Hertel & Co. relies on heat recovery, heat pump technology and photovoltaics for its energy supply. "When building our company headquarters, we consistently focussed on energy efficiency and sustainability right from the start, so that we can do without fossil fuels," explained Managing Director Andreas Hertel during the tour of the company. "Nevertheless, we don't want to rest on our laurels and want to identify further potential in our production."

The other participants are the companies Conzella Verlagsbuchbinderei Urban Meister GmbH & Co. KG, DREI V GmbH, Emil Schwaderer Kartonagen, Paragon Germany GmbH and Smurfit Kappa GmbH Wellpappenwerk Neuburg. The network is still accepting further participants.