Sustainability | INFORM

Sustainability is a strategic corporate goal of INFORM. With the development of intelligent software solutions, INFORM supports not only operational and strategic business decisions for customers worldwide but also provides social and ecological benefits. Numerous internal company activities also promote a healthy working environment and sustainable corporate growth. All efforts are guided by political goals such as the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and pioneering reports like the Brundtland Report 1987.



 

» What has always driven us at INFORM has been creating real meaning, having fun at work, and being successful in the long term. We strive to be successful not only from an economic perspective, but also in terms of positive contributions to the economy, society, and the environment. «

Dr. Andreas Meyer, CEO at INFORM


Understanding

We believe that every change starts with ourselves. That is why we are supplementing the three-pillar model of sustainable development (planet, people, and profit) with a fourth pillar – the individual. To act sustainably in the long term, the goals and requirements of all four pillars must be reconciled.


Planet

Sustainable development is a process of change that leads to respecting the limits of the planet and allowing nature to regenerate.

People

Our society should be designed in a way that all people can live together properly today and in the future, and satisfy their needs.

Profit

A sustainable economic system enables companies to provide a positive contribution to society and the environment and be profitable at the same time.

Person

Every change starts with the individual and their intention to improve the world both for themselves and for future generations.


Climate Change

Climate Change Digital decision-making helps to use the precious time effectively

futureproof, sustainability, conservation, environmentalism, climate concepts, harmony and balance, extinction

Climate change is at the top of the agenda in many companies. Rising CO2 levels and new standards like GLEC accelerate climate-friendly activities. Many companies know their carbon footprint and have defined strategies to achieve operational climate neutrality. Pioneers even strive for “lifelong” climate neutrality. Many of them differentiate between three strands of action:

  • Reducing CO2 emissions
  • Avoidance of CO2 emissions
  • Removal of CO2 from the atmosphere.

Digitalization makes an essential contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Every non-driven mile saves CO2. Digital decision-making already enables, for instance, the calculation of climate-optimal truck routes or optimized in-plant transports. In airport logistics, for example, airlines use intelligent software to optimize their ground processes and thus save CO2 and paraffin. There is still a lot of potential improvements that can be enabled.

Circular economy

Circular economy Effectively avoid waste with digital decision-making expertise

circle, hands

The EU Green Deal identifies the circular economy as an important driver in achieving a sustainable economy and in the fight against climate change. It is about avoiding waste in industry and commerce, recycling waste, and extending product life cycles.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation identified three principles of the circular economy:

  • Regenerating nature
  • Designing-out waste and pollution
  • Keeping products and materials in use as long as possible.

Digital technologies are important tools for establishing a circular economy. Digital decision-making is already being used, for example, to reduce food waste through demand-stimulated production. In addition, large amounts of cardboard waste are avoided by intelligently keeping reusable containers in circulation. Machine running times can also be significantly extended through data-driven maintenance (predictive maintenance).

Trusted institutions

Trusted institutions Digital decision-making helps fight financial crime and build trust

Shot of a young businesswoman using a smartphone against a city background

Fighting illicit financial flows and fraud in the financial sector is anchored in Goal 16 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Money laundering and the associated financing of illegal arms and human trafficking must be confronted. Financial institutions are increasingly being held accountable for this. As trustworthy institutions, they must:

  • Implement reliable fraud prevention measures
  • Report money laundering and financial crime to government institutions
  • Prevent corruption and promote compliance (good governance).

Digital technologies based on fuzzy logic and artificial intelligence have been successfully reducing financial crime in banks and insurance companies for years. Machine learning methods can also detect changing behavior patterns and thus help prevent corruption, fraud, and money laundering. Fraud and financial crime prevention are gaining in importance due to the increasing digitalization of the financial sector.

Sustainability report

You can read about our commitment so far in our current sustainability report.

Digital decision-making for a sustainable world

How planning and optimization software leads to more sustainability in practice.

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Sustainability in action Sustainability at INFORM

On the INFORM Campus in Aachen, sustainability initiatives are oriented towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. From INFORM’s own beehive to regional initiatives for sustainable mobility, you will find many activities within the various sustainability focus points in the following overview.

SDG 3: “Ensure healthy lives for all people at all ages and promote their well-being.”

We have created an area in the company that promotes the health and general well-being of our employees at their workplace. The daily routine at work should not drain the employees’ strength. We strengthen the health of our employees with preventive measures such as a healthy snack offer, physiotherapeutic support, targeted sporting offers, and the support of the company doctor.

SDG 4: “Ensure inclusive, equal, and high-quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”

We support and encourage young people as a training company and are happy to provide internships and scholarships. Equally important to us is the further training of our employees and the close cooperation with the RWTH and the FH in Aachen.

In addition, we organize training courses for, and with, our customers. This offer is supplemented by our regular user conferences, where customers and experts exchange information about challenges and innovations.

SDG 5: “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”

Women make up about one-third of all employees at INFORM. We give girls an insight into IT professions on Girls’ Day and promote young women in the MINT area. We support the compatibility of family and career through flexible full- and part-time positions and our in-house kindergarten.

SDG 9: “Build resilient infrastructure, promote widespread and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.”

For more than 50 years, our core competence has been to help companies cope with the complexity and dynamics of their business and to operate more efficiently and conserve resources. We are in close exchange with universities and professional associations (e.g., OR-Gesellschaft, GATE, VDMA) and are constantly developing new methods, helping to optimize value creation processes and make them sustainable.
The management method “Agile Optimization” shows a way for decision-makers to find meaningful action alternatives in complex, highly dynamic situations based on data.

In Aachen, we are a founding member of the digitalHub. We are also involved in Regina e.V., the REGional Industry Club for Informatics in Aachen.

SDG 13: “Take urgent measures to combat climate change and its impacts.”

Since 2018, we have been offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions generated by our business air travel by supporting reforestation measures.

Since 2020, we have been using 100% green electricity in our own INFORM buildings. In 2021, we reduced the electricity consumption of our data center by more than 30% by means of a hot/cold aisle separation through enclosure as well as outdoor cooling.

We promote the use of bicycle transport and e-mobility for our employees and are committed to designing climate-friendly mobility in Aachen.

SDG 15: “Protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.”

We have created a special area for our INFORM beehives and bee field in our green spaces.

We also support reforestation and renaturation measures through cooperation with the organizations WorldVision, atmosfair, and the Aachen-Cape Town Partnership.

SDG 11: “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.”

As a company, we have had close ties with the region of Aachen for 50 years. We underline our partnership with the FH Aachen by offering the “INFORM Professorship,” an Endowment Professorship. We support a wide range of regional associations and initiatives, including the sustainability café of the Bürgerstiftung Lebensraum Aachen. We are actively involved in shaping sustainable regional mobility, e.g., by supporting the cycling decision and the initiative Pascalstrasse.


Contact

Dr. Dorothea Ernst

Dr. Dorothea Ernst
Sustainability Catalyst
Tel: +49(0) 2408-9456-0 sustainability@informinform-software.com

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