IDS: a vision for sustainability

Leveraging technological innovation for environmental benefits

IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH, an industrial camera manufacturer based in Obersulm, Germany, believes it has a responsibility to keep its environmental footprint as small as possible. This is reflected in its own business activities, for example, in durable, climate-compensated camera models or resource-conscious production and logistics. As an integral part of many automation solutions, the use of industrial cameras also opens up new ways for users to conserve resources and thus ensure greater sustainability.

IDS recognizes the importance of preserving natural resources and strives to balance environmental, social and economic goals. With a view to global challenges such as climate change and the loss of biodiversity, the company is adopting an approach that focuses not only on ecological responsibility but also on innovation and competitiveness.

Focus on responsible action

The upcoming CSRD reporting standard highlights the relevance of sustainability in corporate governance. Accordingly, the topic is becoming a permanent fixture on the corporate agenda of more and more SMEs, and strategies are being developed. IDS is a big step ahead of other medium-sized companies: "Since 2021, we have been operating completely climate-compensated. We consistently implement our comprehensive energy concept and use only 100 percent green electricity and climate-compensated gas in Obersulm. Our logistics can definitely be described as green," says Sebastian Liepe, Head of Quality and Environmental Management at IDS. "Various measures have been taken to achieve this. We have reduced the amount of plastic in our packaging to less than five percent and replaced it with biodegradable and sustainable alternatives. We expect to be able to switch to brown packaging with a recycled content of almost 100 percent towards the end of the year. In addition to DHL GoGreen, we now also use the UPS carbon neutral program. I'm particularly pleased that our individual shuttle boxes are so well received and that more and more reusable packaging is being used."

Unavoidable emissions that occur despite the exclusive development and production at the main site in Germany - for example, caused by delivery routes for the unavoidable, global procurement of electronic components or the travel of employees to the office - are offset by supporting international climate protection projects. This allows the uEye CP camera family and the uEye ACP models to call themselves climate-compensated.

Enabler for sustainable applications and processes

The company's goal is to develop products that offer not only technological innovation, but also environmental benefits. In an era of increasing automation and robotics, machine vision (with artificial intelligence) plays a crucial role. With their help, companies can improve their product quality as well as save resources and produce in a more environmentally friendly way. Industrial cameras record quality characteristics or consumption data, for example. Used in quality assurance or inspection, they reduce scrap and avoid complaints, returns or repairs. In robotics and automation, cameras enable collaborative work and support employees in physically difficult or monotonous tasks. This allows companies to direct their human resources to more creative and valuable tasks.