Whole side and empty red container box at cargo freight ship

Beyond the boundaries of possibility

Sustainability

“We shall either find a way, or make one.” Hannibal, a great military commander in the ancient world, might have had a brutal approach to achieving his goals, but this saying attributed to him still rings true today in logistics and is indicative of the professionalism and creativity that go into reaching goals.

True trailblazers like the specialists at tesa moe mountains to ensure that around 7.000 different adhesive solutions get precisely where they need to be all over the world. Balancing availability, service quality and cost efficiency while also incorporating sustainability is a mission in itself. tesa has come up with a master plan for this.

The aim and intention is to manufacture, provide and ship products as quickly and punctually as possible. Air freight in particular is generally considered a relevant originator of climate-damaging CO₂. How can we depart from well-trodden paths without losing sight of customer satisfaction? Ultimately, dates and deadlines are dictated by what goes on elsewhere: a large smartphone producer in China may order wafer-thin adhesive film today, ideally for delivery yesterday, while automakers require a wire harness bundling and protection solution in North America, and a home improvement store in Bavaria needs more painter’s tape. Off go the packages...

Balancing environmental compatibility and cost effectiveness and coping with the current energy crisis often requires us to think smart and outside the box. tesa has set itself ambitious sustainability targets for its logistics operations. These fall under the “Reduction of emissions” strategic action area in the sustainability strategy. A roadmap has been laid out with initial plans, and the means, routes and modes of transport are being scrutinized.

In general, tesa’s ‘local for local’ concept will increasingly result in shorter supply chains.

Michele Hinze

Corporate Logistics

As is the case for other companies, logistics emissions contribute to tesa’s overall Scope 3 footprint as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) Protocol. The declared objective is to reduce these by 20 percent in absolute terms by 2030, compared to the 2018 baseline. One of the first projects for this in the transport category at global level involves optimum capacity utilization of the containers used in overseas shipping. The pallets in these containers are now being stacked higher and higher, which has already resulted in a promising decrease in the number of container loads booked in 2022. “It’s about smart planning,” says Michele Hinze, Corporate Logistics. “How can we better predict when we will have to move which products in our global network? We might also leave a container where it is or order it for later. Having an overview of all the requirements is crucial.” Like in many other areas of planning, digitalization will make the difference here. And tesa has already started with this.

tesa’s Europe logistics region also wants to cover further ground on the road to sustainable success. The tools for this include order consolidation and optimized delivery cycles. This would then render unnecessary some of the approx. 94 million ton kilometers registered annually (tkm = kilometers covered multiplied by the quantity of goods transported in tons).

A reduction in air freight would be welcome, but, “many electronics customers in the Chinese market impose demanding shipping deadlines and are rather spontaneous with their orders – unfortunately, this means we sometimes have no choice but to ship the ordered products by air,” says logistics expert Michele Hinze. “However, we are confident that we can develop models that will take account of sustainability and customer satisfaction in this and other transport areas.”

This includes tesa optimizing its production and storage facilities worldwide, as it did in China in 2022. Another plant is also currently being built in Vietnam. “In general, tesa’s ‘local for local’ concept will increasingly result in shorter supply chains – for example, in Asia. If tesa’s production remains close to all of its local markets, then we will be able to gradually cut our transport distances and thereby reduce emissions,” says Hinze.

To put it in similar terms to Hannibal: We will either find a way, or pave one ourselves.

Find out more about tesa’s sustainability strategy

We do: Reduce emissions

Tackling the global climate crisis and accelerating positive change are central elements of our committment. Our mission to reduce global emissions includes upstream and downstream processes as well as our own production. Green energy is a key pillar of our commitment. Since 2020, we have sourced 100 percent of our purchased electricity from renewable energy sources. In addition to reducing fossil-based energy consumption, increasing energy efficiency also plays an important role. To achieve this goal, we are implementing technologies that are particularly efficient in conserving resources and energy.

Beyond the boundaries of possibility

The fine art of logistics lies in improvization

Find out more about tesa’s sustainability strategy

All sustainability action areas