• 12/08/2025
  • Interview
  • Machinery Change
  • Sustainability

Climate-Ready Machines: Optima Integrates Sustainability Deep Into Engineering

Customers are demanding CO₂ data, policymakers are increasing the pressure – and machinery manufacturers are responding: Optima’s Sustainability Manager Sophia Ehrmann explains how PCF calculations according to ISO 14067, material substitution, and recyclability are shaping the next generation of machines.
Sophia Ehrmann, Sustainability Manager at Optima
Sophia Ehrmann, Sustainability Manager at Optima, outlines how CO₂ transparency, ISO 14067-based PCF calculations and design for recycling are shaping the next generation of machinery.

Whether in pharma or consumer goods, today’s machinery investments look far beyond performance and output rates. Sustainability ratings, CO₂ transparency, and the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) have become strategic decision-making factors. As a result, the way machine manufacturers develop, design, and assume responsibility is changing. Sophia Ehrmann, Sustainability Manager at Optima, explains how her company is leveraging this shift — from PCF calculations according to ISO 14067 to recyclable designs and the goal of integrating sustainability directly into engineering.

What sustainability and CO₂-transparency (PCF) requirements are your customers already asking for today?
Our customers increasingly request sustainability information and CO₂ transparency at both the company and product levels. This includes data on greenhouse gas emissions as well as sustainability ratings such as EcoVadis or the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). Many customers link these requirements to their own science-based climate targets (e.g., following the Science Based Targets initiative, SBTi) and therefore expect robust emissions documentation and compliance.

At the product level, the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) is often requested — especially for resource-intensive processes in the pharmaceutical sector — before a project is awarded, in order to assess expected emissions during the operation of machines and systems. In the consumer goods industry, the focus is mainly on the recyclability of packaging, but the PCF is also gaining strategic importance here.

Regional differences are difficult to generalize, as they depend strongly on individual climate targets. In principle: there is no legal requirement for PCF reporting anywhere in the world; demand is driven primarily by customer initiatives and sustainability goals.

How do you currently calculate the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) of your machines—are there already internal or industry-wide standards?
The PCF of our machines is calculated across the entire life cycle (manufacturing, transport, use, end of life). The methodology is externally verified according to ISO 14067:2019, ensuring an internationally comparable and reliable calculation basis. The data foundation includes machine bills of materials and transport information, supplemented by modelled assumptions for the use and end-of-life phases. Sustainability management works together with internal departments — and in the future also with suppliers and customers — to continuously improve data quality.

How is CO₂ accounting already influencing the development of new machine generations—for example in material selection, energy efficiency, or modularity?
The results of CO₂ accounting help us primarily to identify emission hotspots at the product level and to derive priorities for improvement measures. These include approaches such as reducing energy and media consumption, material substitution, and optimizing modular machine designs. Additive manufacturing methods are also becoming more important, as they reduce material usage and transport emissions. Looking ahead, our goal is to integrate PCF findings directly into the design phase in order to use resource-efficient materials more deliberately and systematically reduce energy and media requirements during machine operation.

Technician reviewing a graphical analysis of machine data in front of a packaging machine
Sustainability in mechanical engineering: CO₂ transparency, PCF calculation and design for recycling are becoming key drivers of the next generation of machinery.

What role do disassembly, recyclability, and the reuse of components play in your product strategy?
Disassembly, recyclability, and the reuse of components are integral parts of our product and sustainability strategy. Optima relies on modular machine designs that allow easy disassembly and material separation by type. Through retrofits and upgrades, we extend the lifespan of existing machines. At the end of the life cycle, machines are often dismantled, resold, or individual components recycled. We support our customers in responsible end-of-life handling. Recyclability depends on material composition — we are continuously working on improvements to enhance circularity.

Thank you for the interview, Ms. Ehrmann.

Editor: Alexander Stark, FACHPACK360°