Arvato Group | Gütersloh, 01/27/2022

Arvato SCS Installs Photovoltaic Systems On Hall Roofs In Gütersloh

As it has done at numerous other sites, Arvato Supply Chain Solutions is now extensively equipping its buildings in Gütersloh with solar modules as well. Photovoltaic systems with a total output of 3.35 million kilowatt-hours per year are currently being built here. This may even bump the city of Gütersloh up to first place in Germany’s “Wattbewerb” solar ranking.

Around the world, Bertelsmann companies are currently working to make their processes more climate friendly. Bertelsmann’s goal as a Group is to be climate neutral by 2030. In this connection, Arvato Supply Chain Solutions is switching its sites in a number of countries to green electricity or equipping its buildings with photovoltaic systems to generate “green” electricity in-house – as in the U.S. state of Wisconsin  and in Gennep, the Netherlands.  “For us as an international provider of supply chain services, the topic of sustainability along the logistics chain is becoming increasingly important. This alone would be reason enough for the measures we are now implementing worldwide,” explains Andreas Barth, Managing Director Tech and responsible for CR strategy at Arvato Supply Chain Solutions. It is why, for example, large-scale photovoltaic systems are now being installed on the roofs of several Arvato buildings at the company’s headquarters in Gütersloh as well. Their total output, 3.35 million kilowatt-hours per year, is equivalent to the energy requirements of about a thousand households. This increase in solar power generation may even move the city of Gütersloh up to first place in Germany’s “Wattbewerb” ranking.

As Stephan Schierke, Managing Director of VVA and Arvato Supply Chain Solutions, notes: “Building or facilities management and energy are among the most important factors” when it comes to reducing climate-damaging emissions. Accordingly, the company is taking vigorous action, especially in the company buildings on the highway: After testing the load-bearing capacity of the hall roofs, the roofs of seven halls are now being fitted with solar modules with a total area of 20,000 square meters. Around €2.9 million have been budgeted for this, including the costs for the inverters and a transformer. According to Arvato, the electricity produced by the installed photovoltaic modules will lead to savings of around 1,450 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

First place for Gütersloh in the “Wattbewerb” solar rankings?

Arvato Supply Chain Solutions has already installed photovoltaic systems at several other sites, including Marienfeld in the Gütersloh district, Landsberg, Düren, Plewiska (Poland) and Parla near Madrid (Spain) and, as mentioned above, Gennep (Netherlands). The company reports that additional facilities are planned in places including Hong Kong, Istanbul, Birmingham, Enzersdorf (Austria), Dorsten and Strykow (Poland), and another installation in Plewiska. For the city of Gütersloh, the immense additional amount of electricity that will soon be generated on its territory brings with it a special kind of competitive advantage: In the “Wattbewerb” (watts up competition) launched by Fossil Free Karlsruhe, Parents for Future Germany, Fridays for Future Germany, and Scientists for Future Germany on February 21, 2021, Gütersloh could move up from its current third place in the ranking of major German cities to first place. The competition ends as soon as the first major city has doubled its installed photovoltaic capacity per inhabitant; the winner is the city that has achieved the greatest increase in capacity per inhabitant during this period. So the prospects are good for both Gütersloh and climate protection – not least thanks to Arvato.