– Company and Culture
Optimizing sustainability is a topic close to her heart
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- Vera Hermes
– ABSTRACT
IKOR has established its own sustainability management system under the leadership of Ulrike Wullenweber, Head of Sustainability at IKOR. Together with management and colleagues, she determined the status quo, identified areas for action, developed key performance indicators and implemented a whole package of measures culminating in IKOR’s certification. This allows the technology consultancy to accurately measure its sustainable actions - and keep improving.
– Fast Lane
In this article you will learn:
Ulrike Wullenweber, Head of the "Mission Sustainability" team, has been working at IKOR for more than 20 years and has played a key role in shaping the Hamburg site. As IKOR’s marketing leader for many years and later, as Head of Internal Organization, she delved into topics such as HR management, public procurement law and also, in her capacity as an Executive Board member, into data protection legislation. Ulrike's specialty is identifying future topics, getting to the bottom of them and bringing them into the company in such a way that IKORians can quickly benefit. Since 2023, she has been working on a topic that is very close to her heart: Sustainability.
"From a legal perspective alone, more and more companies are obligated to establish a sustainability management system. There is an increasingly strict regulatory framework in which the economy must respond," says Ulrike.
Sustainable, but the right way: "Not a paper tiger"
For this rather sober reason alone, it made sense for IKOR to create a staff position for sustainability management. "But it's also a subject close to my heart," Ulrike confesses. "Fortunately, our management has a great personal interest in tackling the issue of sustainability, and not just because of the regulatory requirements, but to make a fundamental difference at IKOR and in the community."
The aim of IKOR's "Mission Sustainability" is to establish sustainability as a value throughout the company. "We don't want it to be just a paper tiger. We also want to live it," says Ulrike.
Every decision made at IKOR is made with sustainability in mind. This applies to the choice of electricity provider or the purchase of hardware as well as the organization of IKOR events, the treatment of employees or the company’s strategic investments.
Sustainability must be measurable, comprehensible and tangible for everyone
Greenwashing is a horror for Ulrike. She is a doer and wants to implement measures and ensure that the topic is taken seriously throughout the company. In short, our efforts to achieve greater sustainability are measurable, comprehensible and tangible for everyone. This practical approach inevitably introduces company changes. These are clearly visible, for example, in IKOR's new travel policy: more rail travel and fewer flights should ensure that IKOR further reduces its CO2 emissions.
Today, new colleagues are informed about IKOR's commitment to sustainability during their onboarding. Ulrike welcomes anyone who has the time and inclination to get involved in the topic and contribute new initiatives. Many colleagues join the sustainability team sporadically when day-to-day business allows.
In addition to an e-learning format, Ulrike developed a complete sustainability wiki for IKOR employees. The wiki contains general data, facts, statistics, explanations of terms, further sources and practical tips on the topic. It also provides up-to-date information on the projects and processes IKOR is currently working on to make its day-to-day operations even more sustainable. Right at the top of the agenda: further energy efficiency measures, waste avoidance and even better use of old appliances. The sustainability expert is also keen to encourage social commitment: she has researched the opportunities for voluntary activities at each location. All activities are listed in the ESG Report which is available in German to anyone interested under the Sustainability navigation point (in English) on ikor.one.
Sustainability certificates are okay, effective optimization is even better
As part of the X1F Group, IKOR is also committed to a code of conduct that obligates suppliers and service providers to comply with social, ecological and ethical standards. In addition, a comprehensive supplier assessment is now also being carried out in accordance with the German Supply Chain Duties Act (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz); binding purchasing guidelines are in the works.
Because customers are also increasingly asking whether and what exactly IKOR is doing in terms of sustainability, Ulrike and the management team decided to have the quality of IKOR's sustainability management system certified by the independent organization EcoVadis.
This kind of certification is time-consuming. "I've been involved with IKOR for so long that I know where to find which figures; that made it easier to collate the various data," shared Ulrike. For some points, it was clear from the outset that IKOR is exemplary: questions about whether there is employee freedom of assembly or if child labor is used at IKOR are easily answered with a truthful "yes" and "no." Figures on staff turnover or the proportion of women in management positions are also transparent.
IKOR receives the EcoVadis certification twice in a row
Ulrike worked with the service provider Climate Partner, which specializes in the carbon foot-printing of companies, to determine IKOR's ecological footprint in a valid manner.
The results of all these activities are impressive: EcoVadis awarded IKOR the bronze medal in 2022 and 2023. This is a very good result for an IT company. In the industry, only 30 percent of those who are certified receive this award.
"I'm not interested in showing off certificates. It's important to me that we effectively take care of the points that we can still improve," Ulrike clarifies. For her, one thing is certain: sustainability will always be part of IKOR's future.
She herself is retiring at the end of June. What will she do then? "An honorary position where I can put my organizational skills to good use." Wherever Ulrike Wullenweber gets involved: The people there can look forward to a hands-on driver.
