As one of the driving forces behind the Sustainability Interest Group, Reinhard Müller has no shortage of his own examples of how to be active in a sustainable way. As the first chairman of the non-profit association "Entwicklungsdienst Deutscher Augenoptiker" (EDA) e.V., he has so far implemented 48 international ophthalmic aid projects in 28 countries: always with the aim of involving the project partners in the developing countries in the planning and implementation of the project and making them largely independent of external aid.


 

Marina Riedinger from Pfullingen tries to avoid microplastics in the wastewater system by having her lenses ground mainly by manufacturers who use filter systems. Of course, filter systems for the optical workshop in the company are also a good decision, as there are now some good options for not having to simply dispose of grinding water together with all the plastic in it. This goes so far that closed systems prevent any (micro)plastic from entering the environment during grinding.




 

Bernd Angst has been demonstrating for many years how to operate successfully on a sustainable basis. Since 2020, his supplier query has attracted a great deal of attention, which he continually evaluates and provides to his customers as a purchase decision by means of a QR code on the respective products. In this way, Angst encourages suppliers and customers to give preference to durable and sustainable products. Angst and his team operate in Deißlingen with a neutral carbon footprint: For example, 100 percent of the heating requirements are covered by eco-methane, and half of the electricity requirements are covered by the company's own fuel cell combined heat and power plant.