What does sustainability mean to RATIONAL?

It’s a topic close to our hearts, and we really want to drive change – as you can see from the fact that sustainability is now part of our mission statement. That mission statement was, is, and will be the basis for our success. Sustainability is a complex topic that affects the entire company. So, we need a good plan as far as what to focus on first: in which areas can we create the most change? To this end, we’ve developed a sustainability strategy that sets forth where we’ll be putting our energy first.

RATIONAL aims to be greenhouse gas-neutral by 2050. How do you reconcile that with company growth?

First of all, it’s important to understand the system. Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, using what we call “CO2 equivalents” (CO2e). This standard distinguishes among three “scopes.” Scopes 1 and 2 relate to emissions produced in the immediate vicinity of our company. Scope 3, meanwhile, covers emissions generated along our supply chain or in connection with using our cooking systems. Using 2023 as our reference year, our initial goal to achieve a 42% absolute reduction in CO2e in Scopes 1 and 2 by 2030. After that, we’ll shoot for 90% CO2e reduction by 2050 and cover the remaining 10% using high-quality CO2-storage compensation projects. This also applies to Scope 3. However, we always have to keep in mind that it’s not just us who need raw materials and energy to produce our cooking systems. Our customers need energy to prepare their food with our cooking systems, and this accounts for a significant part of our emissions based on the GHG Protocol. That’s why we’re working to reduce the CO2 footprint in commercial kitchens. With almost every software update and every new generation of cooking systems, we're getting a little closer to this goal. But commercial kitchens can contribute as well, for example by switching to green energy.

What specific measures is RATIONAL taking to achieve this goal?

Our current topics of environmental focus are climate protection and resource conservation. It’s important for us to place more emphasis on circular-economy approaches. That means, for example, using recycled materials whenever possible and working right from the development phase to make our cooking systems easy to repair. We also need to look at what happens to our cooking systems at the end of their life cycle. Thinking about new business models shouldn’t be taboo, either. All in all, these are complex topics, but they’re topics we need to understand even more thoroughly. But we know that we need to do more.

I’d also like to point out that the idea of sustainability has always been incorporated into our products, even if we haven’t emphasized it. It’s part of our DNA. Every kitchen that switches to multifunctional, intelligent cooking systems is a kitchen whose CO2 emissions we've reduced. Compared to conventional appliances, our cooking systems require up to 30% less energy, up to 50% less water, and up to 30% less space. That makes commercial kitchens a lot more sustainable.

Do you implement environmental protection measures at your branch locations, too?

Protecting the climate is a consideration at our branch offices as well. For example, we use modern building structures with geothermal heat and photovoltaic energy systems. We source green electricity and use environmentally friendly materials, like our carpets. Workplace environments are important to us as well. Natural light is a matter of course for us, even in our production halls – after all, it has an enormous effect on well-being. And having good, healthy food at our company restaurants practically goes without saying.

Let’s go back to the topic of strategy. What are the key points of your sustainability strategy?

The guiding principle is that we want to be a company that people want to exist. Our sustainability strategy encompasses our three key action areas: environment, community, and responsibility.

What’s your goal with that?

Our goal is to be pioneers in sustainability. We take our responsibilities seriously, set clear and realistic goals, and report transparently on how we achieve them. We want to keep questioning ourselves and looking at how we can actively shape sustainability. That means taking sustainability into account in our business decisions, and it means that we document and monitor non-financial key figures, as well as financial key figures, the same way we do with customer and employee satisfaction.

How important are partnerships?

Partnerships are essential for achieving sustainability goals. Sustainability isn’t a competition — working together is the only way we can all improve. We need to work together with our partners, and especially with our customers, to take the entire value chain into consideration. It’s also important that we learn from each other.

Sustainability encompasses other considerations in addition to the environment. What else does RATIONAL do?

RATIONAL has always been an employer with a great sense of social responsibility — an honorable company. If a U.i.U. — an entrepreneur in the enterprise — will work on the company’s behalf, the company will work on the U.i.U.’s behalf, too. We offer excellent working conditions, first-class workplaces, and a wonderful, cooperative business culture. We promote the development of our U.i.U.s while being mindful of the diversity among them. We want to see differences as opportunities, utilize different talents, and bring together different abilities, all while upholding our promise and our expectation of helping our customers as effectively as possible. This includes recognizing that we are becoming more and more different, and so are our customers and their employees. For example, our sales subsidiaries are growing all the time, adding new employees with a wide variety of cultures, ethnicities, and religions. At our 50th anniversary, we summarized all of this in one sentence: “When it tastes great, we all speak the same language.”

So you’re saying that you consider being a good employer part of sustainability, too?

Oh, for sure. We had already defined our ideal cooperative culture in our mission statement. U.i.U.s with their rights and obligations play a central role for us. So, I’m especially pleased that organizations like the UK’s Investors in People have recognized us. And in the US, we’ve received the “Best & Brightest Companies to Work For” award year after year.

Training, skilled-worker shortages, work-life balance: all important topics. Are they at RATIONAL, too?

When it comes to training and skilled worker shortages, we take a two-pronged approach: For one, we train ourselves. We have dual-track students, a junior staff program, and an integration program for people with a migration background, and our RATIONAL Campus promotes lifelong learning. For another, we support our customers in solving these challenges. We provide cooking and vocational schools with teaching materials, teacher training courses, and sometimes even RATIONAL cooking systems.

What does sustainability mean to you personally?

For me, sustainability means thinking beyond one’s own political or service term, beyond one’s own lifetime. In other words, it means making decisions today that will benefit our future tomorrow — as people, as customers, as employees and as a company. The sustainability journey is an expedition into unfamiliar terrain. We won’t always know exactly where we need to go. There will be ups and downs. But, that won’t stop us from doing our best on sustainability.

Have you personally acted sustainably today? How so?

We’re planning a weekend trip to Vienna, and we’re taking the train.