In summer 2010, Rational AG was awarded certification for its environmental management system by the TÜV Süd. According to Erwin Dick, responsible auditor at the TÜV Süd, “Everything was implemented in an exemplary fashion: the internal system for continuous improvement, the checks when handling hazardous material shipments and a system for ensuring that everything is clean and safe.”

The audit also examined the company’s environmental policy and its goals, not to mention how it handles hazardous materials and waste and the ratio of resource input to output. The resulting ecological balance must now be continuously updated, and information about it must be published.

Annual monitoring audit
Passing the audit started in earnest the process of making the company more environmentally-friendly; Rational’s environmental management system will be subject to regular monitoring from now on. According to Joachim Dressel, Environmental Management Officer at Rational describes the certification process thus: “One very positive aspect was that every process was really optimised from the environmental viewpoint during the certification process. Many environmental issues that had been put on the back burner were brought to light as a result.”