„In the past, we were pioneers and market leaders. We see our future role as facilitators“
We spoke to Stephan Mahnecke, Managing Director of Party.Rent Berlin, and Christian Eichenberger, CEO of Party.Rent, about why sustainability is particularly effective in a circular economy and about the pioneering role the company plays in this.
Everyone is talking about sustainability. Of course, everyone wants to save humanity. What does sustainability mean for a logistics company in the events business, though?
Stephan Mahnecke: Let me take transport as an example. We save up to 55 per cent on delivery vehicle trips and the associated emissions. How do we do it? We have developed our own transport vehicle system. This allows us to load positively and compact the volume on the vehicle. That means the goods are easy to stack thanks to their modularity, allowing us to make the best possible use of the space in the delivery vehicle. For example, we drive the 3.5 million kilometres that our delivery vehicles cover each year 55 percent more efficiently than companies that load conventionally. Transporting the same quantity of goods without our modifications would require driving 7.6 million kilometres. The extra kilometres cause additional emissions of 3.6 million kilograms of CO2. To express this visually: this corresponds to the amount of CO2 emitted by approx. 700 households per year. Or, one passenger vehicle could circle the earth 190 times. This is just one contribution to environmental protection, through our volume optimisation alone.
We also pay attention to the latest vehicle technology in order to reduce fuel consumption. We also purposefully have a wide range of vehicle sizes, so we can always use the right vehicle for the volume ordered by the customer. This avoids empty kilometres.
You developed a criteria catalogue for sustainability. Why?
Christian Eichenberger: It is important to us that our customers, partners and we internally have the same idea of sustainability and the circular economy. The catalogue of criteria provides clear definitions here. It also ensures that no area in which we can achieve sustainability is overlooked or forgotten. And – most importantly – the catalogue of criteria also helps us to measure how sustainable our actions and measures are.
Stephan Mahnecke: We laid the foundations for thinking about sustainability back in the 90s. Back then, we were a pioneer in the event industry with our equipment hire. We took responsibility at an early stage because we always designed our business model for multiple and circular use. Naturally, we want to continue our sustainable approach and keep it up to date. As previously mentioned, the criteria catalogue also is used for transparent documentation of our own performance.
How did it come about? How did you create the criteria catalogue?
Christian Eichenberger: Everyone has been talking about ESG targets for a few years: that is, ecology, social and good corporate governance. We added to these with three additional dimensions and this completed the catalogue for our company. To do this, we analysed the 17 goals for sustainable development, which were defined by the United Nations in 2015. We then identified our own opportunities to influence these global intentions. To make it easier for colleagues at the various locations to achieve the resolutions, at first we prioritised them. This allows us to achieve the goals in small steps without being overwhelmed by the sheer volume.
Stephan Mahnecke: Back in 2018, we developed a criteria catalogue specifically for the events industry in a Berlin network. At that time, there was no guidance for our industry. The resulting "Sustainable Meetings Berlin" label is now firmly anchored in the industry and recognised by the Global Reporting Initiative. This is an international organisation that develops guidelines and standards for sustainability reporting by companies and organisations. These guidelines provide a framework for transparent reporting of environmental, social and governance aspects. The Berlin Party.Rent operation has been certified based on this since 2018 and is assessed annually – with continuous improvement. The catalogue of criteria is adapted to our sector and aligned with the requirements of international frameworks. We have also added two dimensions that are important to us:
circular economy and our customers.
The circular economy has a huge potential to increase sustainability at our company. In order to increase our influence in the future, particularly in the circular economy, we need to find new solutions and broaden our perspective, together with our customers, our partners and suppliers.
Tell us about your own three target dimensions again.
Stephan Mahnecke: economic efficiency, social justice and good corporate governance have always been the foundation of our company and the pillars of sustainable business development.
In the future, our focus will also be on the circular economy and ecological footprint. We would also like to develop more sustainable solutions for our customers. Renting instead of buying - creating multiple benefits in cycles instead of always producing something new.
Christian Eichenberger: we can already triple the lifespan of our products compared to the classic purchasing model. This means that our customers can already save a total of 70 per cent in CO2 emissions compared to conventional purchasing or rental models. In this way, we want to ensure that we act in an even more sustainable manner and generate added value; much more than is currently the consensus among political players such as the UN.
