Our ambition: improve plastics use
We aim to reduce waste and the CO2 emission by cutting down on (virgin) plastic in our packaging, production processes and products.
Plastic is a versatile material which has enabled huge progress in product design and has made many things in our lives so much more convenient. However, it is also a huge liability. It is made from oil and extremely durable, it is now one of the main reasons why we have highly problematic waste pollution almost everywhere on our planet. Plus, being made from a fossil material, plastic has a high CO2 footprint. If we want to counteract global warming, this is one of the levers, we have to consider.
Looking for alternatives
This is why at Hager Group we included the better management of plastic in our Blue Planet Commitment, our action plan to make our business more environmentally friendly and contribute to the Paris Agreement to slow down the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees. It is part of our environmental efforts in the E3 sustainability strategy.
When it comes to CO2 emissions, virgin plastic packaging is undoubtly the most emissive material as production of 1kg of virgin plastic emits 2.4kg CO2e (CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas emissions).
100% plastic-free packaging by 2025
Hager Group has already made a big step in its packaging efforts: Today, 80% of its packaging is made of recycled monomaterial cardboard with environmentally safe ink print. About 20% of our packaging – approx. 1000 pieces - are currently made of virgin plastic. It is our goal to replace this with more sustainable alternatives.
All of these items are currently being reviewed in light of their function and customer’s requirements to define the best alternative material, such as for example recycled paper or cardboard.
As part of this project, we were already able to reduce parts of our plastic packaging by 10% within the period of one year and we are on track to reducing it by a further 10% by the end of 2022.
Finding alternatives for our products – a challenging puzzle
A lot of plastic is used in the manufacture of our products. Looking for ways to replace this virgin plastic is not as easy as it sounds. Plastics play a vitally important role in the manufacture and design of our products – also to ensure quality and safety. It protects the user from direct contact with electrical components. An alternative material has to withstand the same criteria and there are instances where recycled plastic or other alternatives just won’t do (yet). However where possible, we push for substituting virgin plastic.
Therefore, Eco-design plays an increasingly important role in our business and product strategy. Our team of material scientists is working hard to find alternative materials, not least promoting the use of recycled plastic wherever possible.
A result of that: We have now more than 200 components made of recycled plastic in our range of products. They are used in our enclosure ranges (Vega, Vector, Gamma, Golf) and cable management ranges (underfloor trunking system, cable retainer). And we aim for more as we are just at the beginning of our journey.
