Our environmental issues and activities
In our view, economic success and environmental considerations go hand in hand. That is why environmental issues form an important part of our corporate strategy. Within the area of environmental impact, we actively address areas such as the efficient use of materials, energy consumption, emissions data, waste management and product usage.
We also focus on renewable energy, material cycles and the further development of our operational and digital processes. Our product design is guided, amongst other things, by the aim of ensuring a long service life for our products. What motivates us time and again is that, through our products, we are part of an industry that gets people moving.
This is how we are adapting to climate change
In 2021, Hebie underwent the CheckA assessment ‘Climate Adaptation in Business’ at its Bielefeld site, with the support of B.A.U.M. Consult GmbH. As part of this process, potential climate-related risks to the site were identified and assessed. Since then, various technical and infrastructural measures have been implemented. These include the complete renewal of the electricity supply in 2024, the modernisation of the distribution systems with surge protection, the relocation of the site for the new transformer station, and the refurbishment of the rainwater drainage system on the site. Climate-related changes at the site and in the region, including rising temperatures and extreme weather events, will continue to be taken into account in future site and operational planning.
Getting involved in the CIRCO project
The CIRCO method, for example, has shown us how ideas for circular products and new business areas can be translated into concrete measures and implementations. In 2024, our team took part in a series of workshops on the CIRCO project – a method for developing and evaluating circular product and business model approaches. Using the hebie FIX 40 rear stand as an example, we applied the circular strategies directly to a linear product. Using the CIRCO method, we first analysed the entire value chain of a bicycle, focusing on our rear stand – as one component of the whole bicycle! We analysed the product’s value streams and examined how insights into value losses at the end of a product’s life can be incorporated into circular economy strategies.
30-year warranty
Anyone who chooses a tubus carrier is opting for a product that has been designed to provide many years of reliable service and will bring joy to generations to come. We stand by this with a 30-year guarantee on tubus carriers manufactured from 2009 onwards. You can find the full terms and conditions of the guarantee here.
BASKIT EDGE
The BASKIT EDGE is a robust plastic basket with a long service life. The basket is made from 50%* recycled plastic. The recycled material is sourced from post-industrial waste (PIR). The basket is manufactured at our site in Bielefeld. It is suitable for a wide range of transport tasks on a bicycle and comes with a 10-year guarantee.
* The 50% refers to the portion of the overall material that can be replaced with recycled content.
SNAPIT 2.0-ADAPTER
SNAPIT 2.0 CONNECT
With the SNAPIT 2.0 ADAPTER and SNAPIT 2.0 CONNECT, we also prioritise quality and durability, as well as short supply chains and efficient processes. The plastic components are manufactured in-house. Through in-house production (with the exception of springs, clamps and screws), we consolidate key production steps at a single site and make use of existing technologies and our manufacturing expertise. As part of our ‘Made in Bielefeld’ strategy, which takes sustainability into account, the products are thus manufactured at our Bielefeld site.
Certified ÖKOPROFIT® company
ÖKOPROFIT® is our environmental management system. Hebie in Bielefeld has been participating in the ÖKOPROFIT® programme since 2010, and tubus in Münster since 2022; both are certified accordingly. The system supports the structured recording, planning and implementation of operational environmental measures and provides a framework for reviewing and further developing operational processes. This also includes the recording of measures relating to the use of resources.
Waste management and material recovery in production
The focus is on waste prevention and the sorting of materials into residual and waste streams, which are then used as secondary raw materials or for energy recovery. At the production site in Bielefeld, plastic off-cuts are returned to the production cycle using technical systems and processes.
Material compliance within the company and supply chain
Following our two-year participation in the RASUM project at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, which ran until 2024 and focused on material compliance in the bicycle industry and the requirements of national and international material-specific regulations, we decided to establish our own dedicated material compliance department within the HEBIE GROUP. This allows us to respond more effectively to increasing customer requests for information on REACH, RoHS, PFAS and other regulatory developments. We’re continuing to build expertise in this area and see it as an ongoing process.
Energy sources at the sites
Hebie (Bielefeld) and tubus (Münster) source their electricity from contractually agreed green electricity tariffs. At Hebie, this electricity supply is supplemented by a photovoltaic system that has been in operation since 2000. Hebie has been connected to the city of Bielefeld’s district heating network since 2016. Part of the heating capacity is provided by heat recovery from the hydraulic and tool cooling systems, as well as by the recovery of process heat from compressed air generation. At tubus, natural gas is currently used for heat generation. Once the current gas contract expires at the end of 2026, an adjustment to the gas supply contracts is planned.
Results of the “bicycle recycling” survey, University of Paderborn
If you are interested, please contact us to find out the results of the 2025 survey on ‘Bicycle Recycling’,
conducted in collaboration with the University of Paderborn.