SRE GmbH

What SRE GmbH does

SRE GmbH is a small, founder-owned German management consultancy headquartered in Niederzier, North Rhine-Westphalia, specialising in regulatory compliance within the waste management and recycling sector. Its service portfolio covers management consulting, training, external officer/external waste management officer services, and accredited environmental audits — including audits of foreign (non-German) waste control procedures under § 11 of the German Commercial Waste Ordinance (GewAbfV), for which SRE holds the status of the first NRW-recognised competent body.

The firm is anchored by founder Thomas Staudt, who brings nearly 25 years of waste management experience including prior service as a plant manager, complemented by his accreditation as an Umweltgutachter (environmental auditor). SRE maintains institutional ties to the industry through its membership in bvse and its deputy chairmanship of the bvse NRW state association, providing referral access and policy visibility. In October 2025 the firm expanded its in-house capacity by adding Sara Staudt in a dedicated Sustainability & Compliance role.

The business model is a professional services model: revenue is generated primarily through fee-for-service engagements — consulting mandates, recurring external officer appointments, audit mandates, and increasingly standardised training delivered via its "SRE Kurzseminare" online seminar format. The firm also participates in publicly co-financed industry projects such as CollecTS (2026–2028, €1.8M EFRE-funded), extending its scope into textile collection and recycling. The customer base is concentrated in medium-sized waste management operators and downstream recyclers in NRW and adjacent German states, with no disclosed large enterprise anchor accounts.

Name

SRE GmbH

Legal name

SRE GmbH

Website

https://sre-recycling.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

SRE GmbH is a founder-owned German consultancy in Niederzier that advises waste management and recycling operators on regulatory compliance, including § 11 GewAbfV foreign control audits, and delivers external officer and training services, principally in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Management and Recycling Consulting Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Remediation and Other Waste Management Services (5629)

SIC

Hazardous Waste Management (4955), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Waste & Hazardous Materials Management (incl. HazMat) (BPAHAJAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Waste Management & Hazardous Waste Compliance (RCRA, Universal Waste, Waste Characterization/Manifests) (EUAHABAC), Supply Chain & Product Environmental Compliance (RoHS, WEEE, Packaging EPR, Eco-Design/Labeling Regulations) (EUAHABAJ)

Keywords

• Waste management consulting
• Recycling advisory services
• Environmental compliance consulting
• Permit management services
• Sorting analysis services

Headquarters

HQ city

Niederzier

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Technical, economic and environmental consulting for waste management and recycling companies, including plant permitting, quality management, and operational optimization.
2. Training and Seminars: SRE Short Seminars (SRE Kurzseminare) on topics including GewAbfV, AbfBeauftrV, AwSV and BImSchG. Also includes EfbV mandatory training every two years and fire protection training.
3. External Officer Services: Provision of external waste officers, immission control officers, and fire protection officers for companies that cannot staff these positions internally.
4. Foreign Control Services: Foreign control audits for pretreatment plants according to § 11 GewAbfV, conducted as a recognized competent body in NRW.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SRE GmbH delivers consulting, technical advisory, and training services for medium-sized waste management and recycling companies in Germany. Its core offerings cover plant permit management under BImSchG, quality management and sorting analyses, RDF/refuse-derived fuel optimization, plastics recycling consulting, EfbV certification support, external commissioner services (waste, immission control, fire protection), and regulatory compliance documentation (GewAbfV, AwSV). The firm also runs short online seminars on current waste-management regulations and participates in innovation projects such as the EFRE-funded CollecTS smart textile collection initiative.

Product overview

SRE GmbH is a consulting firm offering technical, economic, and environmental advisory services for the waste management and recycling industry. The company's portfolio consists of multiple specialized consulting services organized around regulatory compliance (Genehmigungsmanagement, Gewerbeabfallverordnung, AwSV Documentation), quality management (QM/Sortieranalysen), technical consulting (Technische Beratung, Ersatzbrennstoffe, Kunststoffrecycling), commissioner services (Beauftragtenwesen), certification support (Entsorgungsfachbetrieb), and professional development (Fortbildung/Schulung, SRE Kurzseminare). The firm also participates in innovation projects such as CollecTS for smart textile collection. SRE operates as a single integrated consulting practice rather than a software platform with modular components.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Genehmigungsmanagement (Permit Management) Consulting for plant permit management under the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG), including permit status analysis, creation of permit registers, and preparation of applications under § 4, § 15, or § 16 BImSchG. Intended for operators of waste treatment and sorting plants who need specialist support to remain in permit-compliant operation.
• QM/Sortieranalysen (Quality Management & Sorting Analyses) Quality management and sorting analyses for recyclers, including bale analysis, QM system development, and complaint handling for delivered waste materials. Helps recycling companies improve input and output quality and economic performance.
• Ersatzbrennstoffe (Refuse-Derived Fuel / RDF Consulting) Consulting for RDF production covering material flow optimization, coordination of plant components, and quality-to-quantity ratio optimization along the entire RDF preparation line. Serves RDF producers and downstream buyers such as cement kilns.
• Technische Beratung (Technical Consulting) Technical consulting for waste processing plants including plant design, construction support, commissioning, and performance testing, with expertise in sorting and processing equipment for mixed municipal and commercial waste.
• Beauftragtenwesen (External Commissioner Services) Provision of external commissioners for waste management, immission control, and fire protection, serving as the interface between companies and authorities for companies that cannot staff these statutory roles internally.
• Entsorgungsfachbetrieb (EfbV Certification Consulting and Audit) Consulting and audit services supporting companies in obtaining and maintaining Entsorgungsfachbetrieb (EfbV) certification through process analysis, optimization, and collaboration with technical monitoring organizations and disposal associations.
• Fortbildung / Schulung (Continuing Education and Training) Training services covering EfbV, BImSchG, fire protection, waste law, and plastics recycling, including the legally required biennial EfbV continuing education, delivered at industry events and in-house sessions.
• Kunststoffrecycling (Plastics Recycling Consulting) Consulting for plastics recycling and packaging recovery, with expertise in polymer properties, recycling capabilities, and connections to recyclers and dual systems.
• Gewerbeabfallverordnung (Commercial Waste Ordinance) Consulting and Foreign Control Consulting for GewAbfV compliance, including foreign audits (Fremdkontrolle) for preprocessing plants under § 11 GewAbfV, advice for waste producers (Erzeuger), and support for disposers (Entsorger) and processors (Aufbereiter) on documentation, sorting quotas, and recycling quotas.
• AwSV Documentation Documentation services for facilities handling water-hazardous substances under § 43 AwSV, including classification and traceable documentation of waste and operating materials.
• SRE Kurzseminare (SRE Short Seminars) Short, live online seminars on GewAbfV, AbfBeauftrV, AwSV, and BImSchG, with practical examples from industry. Sold via registration, with in-house variants available for organizations needing customized training.
• CollecTS – Collect Textiles Smart EFRE-funded R&D and pilot project developing intelligent textile collection containers to increase textile reuse rates in Mönchengladbach, in cooperation with Hochschule Niederrhein, Fraunhofer IML, collectingsystems GmbH, Volksverein Mönchengladbach, WFMG, and mags.

Quantifiable outcome

• Quality improvement through sorting analysis can reduce waste disposal costs and improve revenue potential
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Center TextillogistikcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Cooperation between Hochschule Niederrhein and Fraunhofer-Institut für Materialfluss und Logistik in Dortmund. Project partner in CollecTS initiative for intelligent textile collection, contributing research expertise in textile logistics.
• collectingsystems GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Project partner in CollecTS initiative developing smart collection containers for textiles. Contributes expertise in collection systems technology.
• Volksverein MönchengladbachcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Project partner in CollecTS initiative representing local civic engagement in Mönchengladbach for circular economy development.
• Wirtschaftsförderung Mönchengladbach GmbH (WFMG)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Associated partner in CollecTS project, providing economic development support for the circular economy initiatives in Mönchengladbach.
• Mönchengladbacher Abfall-, Grün- und Straßenbetriebe AöR (mags)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Associated partner in CollecTS project, providing operational support for waste management and circular economy initiatives.
• bvse (Bundesverband Sekundärrohstoffe und Entsorgung e.V.)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional industry association membership. Thomas Staudt serves as deputy chairman of the NRW state association and member of the Board of Experts Recycling of Tires and Rubber. SRE participates in bvse events and training programs.
• Technical Monitoring Organizations and EntsorgergemeinschaftenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with renowned technical monitoring organizations (TÜV-type organizations) and Entsorgergemeinschaften (disposal associations) for conducting annual EfbV audits and certification.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Arcadis NV: Global design, engineering and environmental consulting firm with German operations in water, waste and circular-economy advisory — competes for higher-end strategic mandates in waste/circular economy that overlap with SRE's permit and compliance work.
• SGS: Global TIC incumbent with strong German presence providing environmental, waste and recycling inspection, certification and advisory services — competes with SRE for larger waste-operator compliance and audit mandates.
• Bureau Veritas: Global TIC group offering environmental compliance auditing, waste-related certification and industrial EHS advisory across multiple geographies — overlaps with SRE on certification and audit work for German waste operators.
• TÜV Rheinland: Major German TIC group offering environmental and waste management audits, ISO 14001 certification and compliance services to industrial operators — direct overlap on EfbV certification and environmental compliance auditing for waste-handling clients.
• Intertek Group: Global TIC company with environmental, waste and recycling compliance services across Europe — adjacent competitor for industrial waste operator audit, certification and compliance mandates.
• TÜV SÜD: Global German-headquartered testing, inspection and certification (TIC) incumbent providing environmental management certification, waste-related audits and EHS advisory as part of a broader industrial services portfolio — overlaps with SRE on EfbV-style certification and environmental audits but at much greater scale.
• Ramboll Group: International engineering, environmental and sustainability consultancy with significant German operations in waste management, recycling infrastructure and environmental permitting — competes at the larger-project end of SRE's market.
• DEKRA: Global German-headquartered testing, inspection and certification organization offering environmental and waste-related audit and certification services as part of its broad industrial compliance portfolio — comparable on the audit/certification work SRE performs for Entsorgungsfachbetriebe.

Direct peers

• WESSLING Group: German environmental testing, consulting and advisory firm offering laboratory analysis, environmental compliance and waste management advisory to industrial and public-sector clients — comparable in geography, customer base (mid-market German industry) and waste-compliance service mix.
• GUTcert: Berlin-based accredited certification body specializing in environmental management systems (ISO 14001, EMAS) and EfbV audits for German waste management companies — directly comparable mid-market German competitor for certification and compliance work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SRE GmbH