Weidmuller, an electronic equipment and electrical connectivity company based in Temold, Germany, is also a founding member of the new “Estainium” ecological network, whose role is to determine the carbon footprint of the supply chain and ensure that this data is disclosed in a secure manner.

Climate change, caused by the destruction of the Earth’s atmosphere by excessive emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, has become a major challenge of our time. The carbon footprint has become a measure of such impact, designed to help companies determine how much harmful greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide) they emit during production. However, the actual accounting of corporate carbon footprint has the following problems: carbon footprint is not measured in a standardized way, and the calculation does not take into account all links in the supply chain. With the help of Estainium, a collaborative eco-network across companies, Weidmuller hopes to improve the accuracy of carbon footprint accounting. In addition to Weidmuller, Estainium has 14 other founding members, including international players such as Siemens, Japanese IT services provider NTT Data and German chemical and pharmaceutical company Merck, as well as industry giants such as TUV Sud (the German Association of Technology Supervisors).

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The Estainium Association supports large-scale trading of the carbon footprint of actual products, including emissions generated by suppliers and their subcontractors. “In fact, the vast majority of the carbon footprint is generated in the supply chain, and only a fraction of it can be measured using traditional methods.” Volker Bibelhausen, spokesman for Weidmuller’s board of directors and chief Technology officer, explains. To date, carbon footprints have usually been determined using average values. “Only with a clear understanding of where emissions are generated can our industry achieve carbon neutrality. Estainium helps us achieve transparency in our supply chain, allowing us to work in an open ecosystem with the power to harness data. This ecological network is open not only to our customers and partners, but also to our competitors. This is our company’s contribution to creating a better future.” “Bibelhausen said.

“The whole project will only be successful if other members besides Siemens and WeidMuller are involved in Estainium,” emphasizes Dr. Eberhard Niggemann, member of the Board of Directors and Director of Public Affairs at Estainium. He believes that this ecological network will develop rapidly. “A lot of companies have shown a lot of interest. By the end of the year, Estainium expects to have more than 50 participating members, with more to come.”

While Estainium’s initial focus is on the carbon footprint of carbon dioxide, the association may expand into other businesses in the long term. Volker Bibelhausen added: “In the future, Estainium could also be involved in areas such as water and energy consumption, or product recyclability computing.”