B+T presents "Sustainability Award" to Dr.-Ing. Max Schlötter
The B+T Group has presented its first "Sustainability Award" to Max Schlötter GmbH & Co. KG. The award recognizes Schlötter as a company in which sustainability is not seen as an additional program, but as a central corporate strategy.
Schlötter and B+T have been working together as partners for more than 37 years. The Geislingen-based family business Schlötter has anchored sustainability as a strategic field of action along the entire value chain. Since 2020, carbon footprints have been determined for products, greenhouse gas emissions have been recorded in accordance with the GHG Protocol in Scope 1 to 3 and sustainability reports have been prepared in accordance with the ESRS specifications of the CSRD. The evaluations show that raw materials and supplies account for the largest share of emissions. Accordingly, the focus is on developing resource-saving processes and products. Under the leadership of CEO Dr. Michael Zöllinger and Dr. Theresa Knobloch, responsible for sustainability and climate protection, a chrome VI-free hard chrome III process, PFAS-free coating solutions and closed material cycles for the recycling of process chemicals and packaging were established. At the same time, Schlötter reduced emissions in Scope 1 and 2 by investing in combined heat and power plants, renewable energies and an electrified vehicle fleet. A planned new building is to be operated in a climate-neutral manner and connected to a hydrogen supply in the future. Internal instruments such as a climate fund to offset business trips and initiatives to reduce commuter traffic flank the technical measures. With a high proportion of employees in research and development and international locations in Europe and Asia, Schlötter combines a global market presence with regional roots.
B+T Sustainability Award underlines joint strategy
The close cooperation with B+T is based on comparable structures and objectives. Both companies have been family-run for several generations and see sustainability as an integral part of their corporate strategy. B+T has been evaluating its environmental performance with the BUX environmental index since 2020 and has been using the Ecocockpit tool to record Scope 1 to Scope 3 emissions since 2023. Schlötter supports this process by providing CO₂-related product data and by using low-emission coating processes. Research and development play a central role in both companies; in addition to materials and process engineering topics, digitalization, AI applications and IT security are becoming increasingly important. The presentation of the "Sustainability Award 2025" on January 20, 2026 at Schlötter's premises recognizes the progress made so far and at the same time marks the ambition to further expand the cooperation. The aim is to make a measurable contribution to more climate-friendly surface technology through coordinated technologies and transparent ESG reporting.