The intelligent use of energy is increasingly coming to the fore in the public debate. ERGO relied on combined heat and power technology early on: the first thermal power station already went into operation in Düsseldorf in 1998. Today, thermal power stations at the locations in Cologne and Düsseldorf ensure the efficient use of energy. The waste heat is used for heating buildings in winter and for cooling them in summer.
Up-to-date air-conditioning technology and building insulation reduce the energy consumption at the large German locations. The new building in Düsseldorf which has been put up in 2011 has been constructed according to the latest energy standards. The office tower at Victoriaplatz in Düsseldorf which was erected at the end of the nineties already featured a building technology which was exemplary in terms of ecology and economy, and won the Intec FM Award for its innovative energy management in 1999. For example, the building control system detects windows when windows are opened and reduces the temperature accordingly. Heating and electricity in the individual offices are automatically switched off if employees clock out with their personnel card when leaving the building. ERGO continues to invest in modernising its administration buildings. Currently, the air-conditioning technology at the location in Hamburg is being modernised following similar activities in Cologne.
Moreover, ERGO relies on renewable energy for its energy supply. At all of the major German locations, electricity supply has been made carbon-neutral. Furthermore, our company welivit, a subsidiary of ERGO Direkt, is developing and realising solar projects across Europe. They include the launching of specific solar funds and the conceptional and practical implementation of individual solar collectors and solar projects. Solar collectors on the roofs of buildings in Düsseldorf and Nuremberg are a further indicator for the Group's commitment to solar energy.
With respect to IT, ERGO ensures a low energy consumption by regularly updating hardware. Since less server capacity is required for smaller data volumes and the energy consumption thus decreases, the employees are called upon to delete any data which is not required. Furthermore, ERGO raises awareness of its staff to environmental protection with various initiatives for environmentally conscious behaviour and the economical use of resources.