Siegen/Dortmund. As part of a programme run by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, RWTH Aachen University and TU Dortmund University, Erich Utsch AG was officially presented with the "Climate Resilient Company" certificate by Mr Markus Menn (Climate Protection and Mobility Department of the district of Siegen- Wittgenstein) on 30 May 2022 in Dortmund.  

Floods, storms, heat waves - extreme weather events are increasing in Germany as a result of climate change and endanger not only human lives but also economic livelihoods, for example when production facilities fail due to storm damage or supply chains are permanently disrupted.    

 "What used to be described as an exceptional phenomenon and a once-in-a-century event has now taken on a disturbingly continuous character," says Dominic Höffgen, CEO of Erich Utsch AG. For modern and responsible corporate management, the question is therefore crucial: How do you deal strategically with such extremes and how can you minimise their impact on your own business operations in order to become climate resilient?

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia offers a way to achieve this within the framework of the Climate Adaptation Act and the offer it makes to companies to be certified as a "climate-safe company" within the framework of an evaluation process. Erich Utsch AG has successfully gone through this process in recent months under the leadership of the "ClimateSafe" project team (consisting of Thomas Grüger and Gerhard Blecher).

"With the certification as a climate-safe company, we want to send a signal to our customers and partners that we take climate risks seriously and want to prepare ourselves as best we can for all eventualities, as far as this is technically feasible and humanly possible," says Grüger. Ultimately, this is also about the hard-earned reputation as a reliable supplier and service provider, an important asset for UTSCH's strong market position at home and abroad.  

According to Gerhard Blecher, the company does not want to rest on its newly acquired certification, on the contrary: "The concept of a climate-safe company requires constant adaptation and review of the measures taken, also and especially with a view to current and potential hazardous situations - here, we are prepared to permanently assume responsibility for ourselves and others".  

In the picture: Ceremonial presentation of the certificates to the participating companies in Dortmund. For UTSCH in the front of the picture: Far left Gerhard Blecher, far right Thomas Grüger.