Supporting Vattenfall’s sustainability strategy

Vattenfall is one of the largest energy producers in Europe and owned by the Swedish state. The company has a significant presence in Germany and is in the process of transitioning from nuclear and coal power to green energy production. Their aim is to achieve “fossil free living within one generation.” This focus on sustainable energy and living permeates everything they do.

A partnership is born 

ISS began working with Vattenfall in Germany back in 2015. “Our first focus was to make sure our services were sustainable,” recalls Benjamin Simon, General Manager for ISS Energy Services in the Berlin/Hamburg Region. “We spent the first two to three years proving that we could actually deliver on that promise. And this was important if Vattenfall were to see us as a true partner.”

The ISS team worked on building an open relationship with Vattenfall, having frank conversations about opportunities, challenges and ideas. This ongoing dialogue helped to build a shared mindset, which became the key to the relationship’s success. As Benjamin explains, “The thinking behind this partnership approach actually really very simple: we only win if the customer wins.”

Walking the talk 

Since sustainability is such a crucial part of Vattenfall’s business approach and strategy, Benjamin’s team began to identify areas where they could incorporate the same thinking within the ISS organisation.

“We implemented the global ISS Green Offices Programme at our own ISS offices, to show that we’re also on the journey towards sustainable energy usage. We also mirrored their strategy in our account structure and introduced a series of sustainability initiatives in our various service lines."

Powered by Vattenfall

The ISS team was constantly on the lookout for ways we could make Vattenfall Germany look better within the larger Vattenfall world.

One of the areas of improvement they identified was the existing mobility solution. ISS provides services at more than 300 Vattenfall sites in Berlin alone, and they used a fleet of diesel-powered vehicles to travel back and forth between sites.

“We decided to convert our fleet from diesel-powered, mid-size cars to smaller, electric-powered cars, which we can charge at many of the Vattenfall sites we service,” Benjamin explains. “We also built our own charging station at our ISS office in Berlin. Today more than 20 e-powered cars are in use with many more to come. Also, we enlarged this strategy to cover our other local accounts.”

The fact that ISS uses Vattenfall power stations to charge the vehicles is a critical element in the companies’ reciprocal partnership. “We are Vattenfall’s vendor, but we are also a customer, because we buy their power and use their charging stations. This has enabled us to move into a new dimension, where we actually give them feedback on how their products are working.”

The go-to e-mobility experts

The shift to an e-mobility solution has had many tangible benefits for both companies. By converting a fleet of more than 20 diesel-powered vehicles to fossil-free electric vehicles, the ISS Germany team was able to reduce CO2 emissions by 42,2 tonnes per year.

The fleet has also provided a model for other teams within the ISS and Vattenfall Groups. “Our team runs the largest e-drive fleet in Vattenfall globally,” says Benjamin. “But we also manage the e-mobility fleet for other ISS teams across Germany. So the Vattenfall ISS unit in Germany is now the go-to source for information on e-mobility for all of ISS.”

Based on their experience, Benjamin’s team also organised a Work Safety and Mobility Event in Berlin which showcased e-mobility solutions. The event included over 400 Vattenfall guests, as well as representatives from German car manufacturers, who spoke about the automotive industry’s shift to E-mobility solutions.

Great for the environment and good for the bottom line

Facility management often comes down to a price discussion, where the focus is on cost savings. But, as Benjamin points out, you don’t have to choose between the boosting the bottom line or improving the environment.

“We try to combine cost-savings with our sustainability objectives. The e-mobility solution is a great example of how you can do both. The e-fleet is both cheaper than the previous mobility solution, and it contributes towards the goal of a fossil-free future.”