The long-established Austrian company F/LIST bundles its sustainability measures under the title F/GREEN.

F/LIST not only stands for high-quality interiors, but also for innovation and future orientation. For the Lower Austrian company based in Thomasberg (Neunkirchen district), future orientation means taking a stand and assuming responsibility. A holistic corporate responsibility in light of the fact that climate change is of great importance to us all. F/LIST wants to be part of the solution. F/LIST wants to be a provider of ideas, an initiator and an active partner in finding and implementing solutions. This is why F/LIST is now bundling its sustainability measures and initiatives under the F/GREEN initiative.

"For F/LIST, sustainability is at the heart of our business activities, be it in relation to our processes, our employees or the products themselves. It is impossible to think about a new product or a new service without thinking about sustainability," says Katharina List-Nagl, CEO of F/LIST.

F/LIST stands for climate protection

The Lower Austrian company is aware of its responsibility towards the environment and therefore consistently strives to reduce its energy requirements while at the same time increasing its energy efficiency. F/LIST operates one of the largest photovoltaic self-consumption plants in Austria with a total gross area of approx. 8,000 m2 and 4,400 installed modules. The system produces 1,030,849 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. This corresponds to around 18 percent of F/LIST's annual electricity consumption. The company is currently expanding its plant to include a third facility, which will also expand the photovoltaic system so that the share will be increased to 25 percent upon completion in 2024.

F/LIST invested in the construction of the photovoltaic system at the Thomasberg site (Plant 2) back in 2016. With the commissioning of the extension on the roof of production plant 1 in September 2019, the long-established company is continuing its sustainable strategy of using alternative energy sources. With a high investment volume, the largest possible roof area was used to generate energy using photovoltaics.

Intelligent energy use

The state-of-the-art system has an intelligent energy management system that measures performance, self-consumption and total consumption in real time, among other things. The PV system is part of the MSR system (measurement/control/regulation), which enables the energy flow to be controlled. This means that the energy generated can be used in the plant as required. Excess energy is not only fed back into the public power grid, but is also directed to separate consumers by the control system. For example, electric forklifts or all battery-powered machines and tools are charged at the end of the week when the production machines are idle. In this way, the energy generated is used optimally.

Green perspectives

Energy efficiency and sustainability are a top priority at F/LIST. The energy management system was successfully certified to ISO 50001 for the first time in spring 2020 and has been recertified three times. In accordance with its energy policy, the company uses all technical and organizational possibilities to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption in line with its growth strategy.

List of current measures:

•  Stream cooling/cooling by river water
•  Photovoltaic systems: Plant 1 and Plant 2 incl. expansion of Plant 3
•  Heating control of the entire plant using district heating from renewable energy sources
• Conversion to 90% LED lighting
•  Intelligent energy management: depending on availability and demand, the electricity generated is
  electricity is distributed depending on availability: for example, electric forklift trucks are charged at the weekend when the production machines are at a standstill
• Waste management (recycling of recyclable materials for local heating supply)
• Low-pressure painting using nitrogen
• Compressed air guns (low pressure)

F/LIST is positioning itself as an innovative and future-oriented company with the aim of achieving net-zero operation by 2050.

F/LIST is also committed to the United Nations (UN) Global Compact.

Respectful treatment of employees, gender equality, support for employees with disabilities, the promotion of paternity leave and a safe and work-friendly infrastructure are important to F/LIST. F/LIST is therefore expressly committed to the ten UN principles in the areas of human rights, labor standards, the environment and climate, and the prevention of corruption. These are taken into account in all corporate strategies, guidelines and procedures.