20 years ago, BMK introduced the environmental management system (EMS). It has always been important for BMK to operate sustainably.
To systematically protect the environment and comply with legal requirements, BMK added an environmental management section to its existing quality management system in 2003. Environmental protection is intertwined with the quality management system at BMK and used jointly to meet standard requirements. “This integrated approach is rated very highly by our auditors,” emphasizes Robert Uecker, Head of QM at BMK.
Environmental protection was already a major issue in the electronics industry 20 years ago. EU environmental ministers adopted a directive on electrical and electronic equipment waste (WEEE) and on the restriction of using certain hazardous substances (RoHS) in such equipment. The EMS provides a foundation, especially for medium-sized companies, to systematically identify and implement the rising new legislation, nationally and across the EU, as well as a framework to continuously improve their environmental performance. Since the beginning, BMK has always considered and integrated environmental protection/sustainability, in addition to supporting its customers by carrying out efficient and resource-saving manufacturing services, "BMK, founded almost 30 years ago in Augsburg, pays attention to energy-efficient standards and avoids using hazardous substances at all its sites. For us, it is essential to protect the environment, the home of our employees," adds Uecker. "BMK operates as a holistic team. The awareness throughout the workforce has solidified over the 20 years. We have improved the process landscape and put attention to the environment on a broad basis. For example, we have established an interdisciplinary BMK environmental team through which various ideas are discussed and implemented. Environmental performance at BMK is a team effort, in which everyone puts their heart and soul into," Uecker reports happily. As a result, environmental protection and sustainability have become established themes in the use of recycled materials throughout the company wherever possible, as well as in project work. BMK's junior staff is also getting involved. For example, BMK trainees have developed a fully automated, compact indoor greenhouse (SBIO) for everyone, which won the Paul Award from the FED trade association. Furthermore, BMK trainees qualified as IHK energy and resource scouts.
The logical next step after the introduction of the EMS, based on ISO 14001 certification, in 2003 is the EMAS registration of BMK- for the first time in 2021.
Dr Bärbel Götz, Managing Director at BMK, confirms, "We want to live up to our responsibility towards the environment for present and future generations and to increase our company’s environmental performance by constantly improving our processes.”