ams OSRAM – Paper bats plastic: new transport solution for LED reduces CO₂ emissions by 80 percent

EMR Analysis

More information on OSRAM Light AG: See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on ams-OSRAM Group: See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Aldo Kamper (Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer, ams-OSRAM + Chief Executive Officer, OSRAM Licht AG): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

 

More information on Sustainability and the Sustainability Report 2024 by ams-OSRAM: See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Martin Bachler (Head of Corporate Sustainability, ams-OSRAM): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

 

 

 

More information on Zumtobel: See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Alfred Felder (Chief Executive Officer, Zumtobel Group): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

 

More information on Sustainability and on the Sustainability Report 2024/25 by Zumtobel: See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Sebastian Gann (Group Sustainability Director, Zumtobel Group): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Bernhard Apsner (Senior Director, Global Technical Purchasing, Zumtobel Group): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

 

 

 

More information on Light+Building 2026 (​8-13 March 2026, Frankfurt, Germany): https://light-building.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/en.html + The world’s leading trade fair for lighting and building services technology.

Light + Building invites you to Frankfurt am Main from 8 to 13 March 2026. The motto of the international innovation show in 2026 is ‘Be Electrified – Electrifying Places. Illuminating Spaces.’, focussing on the two major core areas of lighting and building services technology.

More information on Wolfgang Marzin (President and Chief Executive Officer, Messe Frankfurt): https://www.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/en/company/management.html + https://www.linkedin.com/in/wolfgang-marzin-9138b8231/ 

More information on Johannes Möller (Group Show Director, Building Technologies Shows, Messe Frankfurt): https://light-building.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/en/profile/management.html + https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-m%C3%B6ller-7a48901b0/ 

 

 

 

More information on the United Nations: https://www.un.org/ + Peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet.

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. Currently made up of 193 Member States, the UN and its work are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.

The UN has evolved over the years to keep pace with a rapidly changing world.

But one thing has stayed the same: it remains the one place on Earth where all the world’s nations can gather together, discuss common problems, and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity.

The main parts of the UN structure are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat. All were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.

More information on António Guterres (Secretary-General, United Nations): https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/biography 

 

More information on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): 

• United Nations Global Compact (UNGC): https://www.unglobalcompact.org + The world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative: a call to companies to align strategies in operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti corruption, and take actions that advance societal goals.
• At the UN Global Compact, we aim to mobilize a global movement of sustainable companies and stakeholders to create the world we want. That’s our vision.
  • To make this happen, the UN Global Compact supports companies to:
    • Do business responsibly by aligning their strategies and operations with Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption; and
    • Take strategic actions to advance broader societal goals, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with an emphasis on collaboration and innovation.
• United Nations Global Compact 10 Principles:
  • Human Rights
    • Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
    • Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
  • Labour
    • Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
    • Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;
    • Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and
    • Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
  • Environment
    • Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
    • Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
    • Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
  • Anti-Corruption
    • Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
• The 17 SDGS (Sustainable Development Goals) by 2030:
  • Detailed explanation of each of the 17 SDGS: https://www.unglobalcompact.org/sdgs/17-global-goals

More information on Sanda Ojiambo (UN Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, UN Global Compact, United Nations): https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/profiles/sanda-ojiambo + https://unglobalcompact.org/about/governance/asg-ceo + https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandaojiambo/ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMR Additional Notes:

• LED:
  • LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. LED lighting products produce light up to 90% more efficiently than incandescent light bulbs. How do they work? An electrical current passes through a microchip, which illuminates the tiny light sources we call LEDs and the result is visible light.
  • A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons.
• LED vs. Halogen:
  • Halogen bulbs, while lasting longer than incandescent bulbs, only last up to 2,000 hours. In contrast, LED bulbs can last up to 25,000 hours, and LED tubes are rated for up to 50,000 hours. LED bulbs can use as much as 80% less energy than halogen bulbs.
  • There’s obviously a clear winner when it comes to LED vs halogen lighting. LED lights are more energy-efficient, have a longer lifespan, and offer more choices in color temperature. They do cost a little more, but their extremely long lifespan easily offsets the higher upfront cost.
• OLED:
  • An Organic Light-Emitting Diode is a solid-state device consisting of a thin, carbon-based semiconductor layer that emits light when electricity is applied by adjacent electrodes. In order for light to escape from the device, at least one of the electrodes must be transparent.
  • OLED devices (television screens, computer monitors, and portable systems such as smartphones …) use a organic material as a light emitting layer. Organic LEDs can produce high quality displays with high contrasts, high viewing angles and true blacks. Some say that OLEDs produce the world’s best display panels.
• microLED:
  • Compared to widespread LCD technology, microLED displays offer better contrast, response times, and energy efficiency. They are also capable of high speed modulation, and have been proposed for chip-to-chip interconnect applications.
  • MicroLED prototype displays have been shown to offer up to 10 times more brightness than the best OLED panel while being significantly more power efficient, making them an exciting new technology in the world of displays.

 

 

• Carbon Dioxide (CO2):
  • The primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil), solid waste, trees and other biological materials, and also as a result of certain chemical reactions (e.g., manufacture of cement). Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere (or “sequestered”) when it is absorbed by plants as part of the biological carbon cycle.
• Biogenic Carbon Dioxide (CO2):
  • Biogenic Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) are the same molecule. Scientists differentiate between biogenic carbon (that which is absorbed, stored and emitted by organic matter like soil, trees, plants and grasses) and non-biogenic carbon (that found in all other sources, most notably in fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas).
• CO2e (Carbon Dioxide Equivalent):
  • CO2e means “carbon dioxide equivalent”. In layman’s terms, CO2e is a measurement of the total greenhouse gases emitted, expressed in terms of the equivalent measurement of carbon dioxide. On the other hand, CO2 only measures carbon emissions and does not account for any other greenhouse gases.
  • A carbon dioxide equivalent or CO2 equivalent, abbreviated as CO2-eq is a metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases on the basis of their global-warming potential (GWP), by converting amounts of other gases to the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide with the same global warming potential.
    • Carbon dioxide equivalents are commonly expressed as million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, abbreviated as MMTCDE.
    • The carbon dioxide equivalent for a gas is derived by multiplying the tonnes of the gas by the associated GWP: MMTCDE = (million metric tonnes of a gas) * (GWP of the gas).
    • For example, the GWP for methane is 25 and for nitrous oxide 298. This means that emissions of 1 million metric tonnes of methane and nitrous oxide respectively is equivalent to emissions of 25 and 298 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide.
• Carbon Footprint:
  • There is no universally agreed definition of what a carbon footprint is.
  • A carbon footprint is generally understood to be the total amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are directly or indirectly caused by an individual, organization, product, or service. These emissions are typically measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
  • In 2009, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) published a standard for calculating and reporting corporate carbon footprints. This standard is widely accepted by businesses and other organizations around the world. The GHG Protocol defines a carbon footprint as “the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, directly and indirectly, through its own operations and the value chain.”
• Decarbonization:
  • Reduction of carbon dioxide emissions through the use of low carbon power sources, and achieving a lower output of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
• Carbon Credits or Carbon Offsets:
  • Permits that allow the owner to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. One credit permits the emission of one ton of carbon dioxide or the equivalent in other greenhouse gases.
  • The carbon credit is half of a so-called cap-and-trade program. Companies that pollute are awarded credits that allow them to continue to pollute up to a certain limit, which is reduced periodically. Meanwhile, the company may sell any unneeded credits to another company that needs them. Private companies are thus doubly incentivized to reduce greenhouse emissions. First, they must spend money on extra credits if their emissions exceed the cap. Second, they can make money by reducing their emissions and selling their excess allowances.
• Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) – Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS):
  • CCS involves the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial processes. This carbon is then transported from where it was produced, via ship or in a pipeline, and stored deep underground in geological formations.
  • CCS projects typically target 90 percent efficiency, meaning that 90 percent of the carbon dioxide from the power plant will be captured and stored.
  • CCUS adds the utilization aspect, where the captured CO2 is used as a new product or raw material.
• Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) or Durable Carbon Removal: 
  • Carbon Dioxide Removal encompasses approaches and methods for removing CO2 from the atmosphere and then storing it permanently in underground geological formations, in biomass, oceanic reservoirs or long-lived products in order to achieve negative emissions.
  • Direct Air Capture (DAC): 
    • Technologies that extract CO2 directly from the atmosphere at any location, unlike carbon capture which is generally carried out at the point of emissions, such as a steel plant.
    • Constraints like costs and energy requirements as well as the potential for pollution make DAC a less desirable option for CO2 reduction. Its larger land footprint when compared to other mitigation strategies like carbon capture and storage systems (CCS) also put it at a disadvantage.
  • Direct Air Capture and Storage (DACCS):
    • Climate technology that removes carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the ambient atmosphere using large fans and chemical processes to bind with the CO2.
  • Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS):
    • Negative emissions technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) from biomass used for energy production and stores it permanently. Plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere as they grow (photosynthesis), and BECCS interrupts the cycle by capturing this biogenic CO2 during the energy conversion process—burning, fermentation, etc.—instead of letting it re-enter the atmosphere.
  • Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW):
    • Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technique that accelerates the natural process of rock weathering by grinding silicate rocks into dust and spreading it on land, typically agricultural fields. This process uses rainwater to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into mineral carbonates, which are then stored long-term in soils, groundwater, and oceans.
• Limits of Carbon Dioxide Storage: 
  • Carbon storage is not endless; the Earth’s capacity for permanently storing vast amounts of captured carbon, particularly in geological formations, is limited, potentially reaching a critical limit of 1,460 gigatonnes at around 2200, though storage durations vary significantly depending on the method, from decades for some biological methods to potentially millions of years for others like mineralization. While some methods offer very long-term storage, the sheer volume needed to meet climate targets requires scaling up storage significantly beyond current capacity, raising concerns about the available volume over time.

 

• Global Warming: 
  • Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s climate system observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere.
• Global Warming Potential (GWP): 
  • The heat absorbed by any greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, as a multiple of the heat that would be absorbed by the same mass of carbon dioxide (CO2). GWP is 1 for CO2. For other gases it depends on the gas and the time frame.
  • Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e or CO2eq or CO2-e) is calculated from GWP. For any gas, it is the mass of CO2 which would warm the earth as much as the mass of that gas. Thus it provides a common scale for measuring the climate effects of different gases. It is calculated as GWP times mass of the other gas. For example, if a gas has GWP of 100, two tonnes of the gas have CO2e of 200 tonnes.
  • GWP was developed to allow comparisons of the global warming impacts of different gases.
• Greenhouse Gas (GHG):
  • A greenhouse gas is any gaseous compound in the atmosphere that is capable of absorbing infrared radiation, thereby trapping and holding heat in the atmosphere. By increasing the heat in the atmosphere, greenhouse gases are responsible for the greenhouse effect, which ultimately leads to global warming.
  • The main gases responsible for the greenhouse effect include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor (which all occur naturally), and fluorinated gases (which are synthetic).

• GHG Protocol Corporate Standard Scope 1, 2 and 3: https://ghgprotocol.org/ + The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard provides requirements and guidance for companies and other organizations preparing a corporate-level GHG emissions inventory. Scope 1 and 2 are typically mandatory for companies that are required to report their emissions by national or regional regulations. The GHG Protocol itself is a voluntary standard.
  • Scope 1: Direct emissions:
    • Direct emissions from company-owned and controlled resources. In other words, emissions are released into the atmosphere as a direct result of a set of activities, at a firm level. It is divided into four categories:
      • Stationary combustion (e.g from fuels, heating sources). All fuels that produce GHG emissions must be included in scope 1.
      • Mobile combustion is all vehicles owned or controlled by a firm, burning fuel (e.g. cars, vans, trucks). The increasing use of “electric” vehicles (EVs), means that some of the organisation’s fleets could fall into Scope 2 emissions.
      • Fugitive emissions are leaks from greenhouse gases (e.g. refrigeration, air conditioning units). It is important to note that refrigerant gases are a thousand times more dangerous than CO2 emissions. Companies are encouraged to report these emissions.
      • Process emissions are released during industrial processes, and on-site manufacturing (e.g. production of CO2 during cement manufacturing, factory fumes, chemicals).
  • Scope 2: Indirect emissions – owned:
    • Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy, from a utility provider. In other words, all GHG emissions released in the atmosphere, from the consumption of purchased electricity, steam, heat and cooling. For most organisations, electricity will be the unique source of scope 2 emissions. Simply stated, the energy consumed falls into two scopes: Scope 2 covers the electricity consumed by the end-user. Scope 3 covers the energy used by the utilities during transmission and distribution (T&D losses).
  • Scope 3: Indirect emissions – not owned:
    • Indirect emissions – not included in scope 2 – that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions. In other words, emissions are linked to the company’s operations. According to the GHG protocol, scope 3 emissions are separated into 15 categories.

 

 

 

• SMT (Surface Mounted Technology):
  • Process of mounting electronic components directly onto the surface of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). This is an automatic process, allowing electronic boards to be produced faster and more accurately than ever before.

 

 

• Printed Circuit Board (PCB) & PCB Terminal Block Relay: 
  • A printed circuit board (PCB) is an electronic assembly that uses copper conductors to create electrical connections between components. PCBs also provide mechanical support for electronic components so that a device can be mounted in an enclosure.
  • The Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is very important in all electronic gadgets, which are used either for domestic use or for industrial purposes. PCB design services are used to design the electronic circuits. Apart from electrically connecting, it also gives mechanical support to the electrical components.
  • Relays are electric switches that use electromagnetism to convert small electrical stimuli into larger currents. These conversions occur when electrical inputs activate electromagnets to either form or break existing circuits.
  • A simple electromagnetic relay is made up of a solenoid, which is wire coiled around a soft iron core, an iron yoke that provides a low reluctance path for magnetic flux, a movable iron frame, and one or more sets of contacts. The three main types of relays are electromechanical, solid-state, and reed.
  • The electromagnetic PCB relay works by applying an electromagnetic field when power gets applied to the coil, subsequently causing the movement of the armature and making the contacts either close or open. PCB relays get classified by construction, mounting type, or function.
  • PCB terminal block connectors are designed using one-piece board mount terminal blocks and two-piece plug connectors with mating right angle and straight shrouded headers. Assembly is made simpler due to our built-in interlocks on the modular housing types.
  • PCB terminal blocks enable the easy and safe transmission of signals, data, and power to the PCB. They are suitable for a variety of applications in numerous industries, markets, and for Industry 4.0 applications.

 

 

• Cleanroom:
  • Controlled environment that filters pollutants like dust, airborne microbes, and aerosol particles to provide the cleanest area possible. Most controlled environments protect the production of products like electronic devices, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment.

 

 

• CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility):
  • Framework or business model that helps a company be socially accountable to itself, its stakeholders, and the public.
  • The purpose of CSR is to give back to the community, take part in philanthropic causes, and provide positive social value. Businesses are increasingly turning to CSR to make a difference and build a positive brand around their company.
  • CSR tends to target opinion formers – politicians, pressure groups, media. Sustainability targets here the whole value chain – from suppliers to operations to partners to end-consumers.
• ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance):
  • Refers to the three key factors when measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of an investment in a business or company. Most socially responsible investors check companies out using ESG criteria to screen investments.
  • ESG metrics are not commonly part of mandatory financial reporting, though companies are increasingly making disclosures in their annual report or in a standalone sustainability report.
  • There is not a standardized approach to the calculation or presentation of different ESG metrics.
    • Environmental: Conservation of the natural world
      • Climate change and carbon emissions
      • Air and water pollution
      • Biodiversity
      • Deforestation
      • Energy efficiency
      • Waste management
      • Water scarcity
      • …
    • Social: Consideration of people & relationships
      • Customer satisfaction
      • Data protection and privacy
      • Gender and diversity
      • Employee engagement
      • Community relations
      • Human rights
      • Labor standards
      • …
    • Governance: Standards for running a company
      • Board composition
      • Audit committee structure
      • Bribery and corruption
      • Executive compensation
      • Lobbying
      • Political contributions
      • Whistleblower schemes
      • …
  • Criteria are of increasing interest to companies, their investors and other stakeholders. With growing concern about he ethical status of quoted companies, these standards are the central factors that measure the ethical impact and sustainability of investment in a company.
  • Consequently, ESG analysis considers how companies serve society and how this impacts their current and future performance.
• CSR vs. ESG:
  • CSR is a company’s framework of sustainability plans and responsible cultural influence, whereas ESG is the assessable outcome concerning a company’s overall sustainability performance.
  • The major difference between them is that CSR is a business model used by individual companies, while ESG is a criteria that investors use to assess a company and determine if they are worth investing in.

 

 

• Circular Economy: 
  • A circular economy is a systemic approach to economic development designed to benefit businesses, society, and the environment. In contrast to the ‘take-make-waste’ linear model, a circular economy is regenerative by design and aims to gradually decouple growth from the consumption of finite resources.
  • In such an economy, all forms of waste, such as clothes, scrap metal and obsolete electronics, are returned to the economy or used more efficiently.
  • The aim of a circular economy is hence to create a closed-loop system where waste and pollution are minimized and resources are conserved, reducing the environmental impact of production and consumption.
• Sustainability Vs. Circular Economy:
  • Circularity focuses on resource cycles, while sustainability is more broadly related to people, the planet and the economy. Circularity and sustainability stand in a long tradition of related visions, models and theories.
  • A sustainable circular economy involves designing and promoting products that last and that can be reused, repaired and remanufactured. This retains the functional value of products, rather than just recovering the energy or materials they contain and continuously making products anew.