Sustainability

Switzerland (RAL)

Production

As part of the Paris Climate Agreement, Switzerland has committed itself to halving its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. On the basis of new scientific findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Federal Council decided to tighten this target: From 2050, Switzerland should no longer emit greenhouse gases. Switzerland is thus following the internationally agreed goal of limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5 ° C compared to the pre-industrial period.

As a major energy consumer, SIGVARIS GROUP Switzerland concluded a universal target agreement with the Energy Agency for Business (EnAW) in 2013. To continuously increase energy efficiency, thereby lowering energy consumption and reducing CO2 emissions. Through the implementation of numerous measures in the areas of heat recovery and the connection to the municipal district heating network, the use of fossil fuels has been continuously reduced. Fossil fuels have not been used for heat generation since March 2019.

The next step for 2023 is the installation of a photovoltaic system on the roof of the production facility, which will go into operation in September and will be able to cover up to 100 % of the energy consumption. With this step SIGVARIS GROUP Switzerland will be able to produce the products with solar energy.

SIGVARIS AG Voluntary Climate Protection and Energy Efficiency - Certificate

French (AFNOR) products

Production

Different aspects of the manufacturing processes are being addressed. Waste management of the dyeing process is very complex, as each dye is subject to rigorous control of the reproducibility of the colour shade. For several years, the Product Development and Dyeing teams have been seeking to limit the environmental impact of this activity:

• Limiting the use of water in the process
• 20% reduction in water consumption at the manufacturing plant in 5 years
• Use of dyes that are environmentally friendly and friendly to the user
• Zero carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic substances in the dye recipes used
• In 2019, investment of more than €800,000 in the construction of an industrial water pre-treatment plant. Initial results have tripled the biodegradability of the dye water and reduced the chromium content by 70%.

Managing the impact of waste is also a high priority. Across all the French sites, SIGVARIS GROUP France manages approximately 350 tonnes of waste per year.
In 2019, 74% of the waste from SIGVARIS GROUP France's sites found a recycling or recovery channel.
In 2017, the company optimised its packaging. The redesign of this packaging saved over 4,500 kilos of cardboard in 2019.
In the coming years we will be doing all we can to reduce our effect on the planet and set targets to achieve this.

SIGVARIS GROUP Britain

SIGVARIS GROUP Britain is not a manufacturing company, however all items sold are from other SIGVARIS GROUP companies, therefore their carbon reduction plans impact our own.

Transportation of goods from these companies to Great Britain is restricted to carriers who themselves have strong carbon reduction plans, ‘Green’ portfolios and climate protection projects.
All packaging used to dispatch our products is recyclable and a strong plan for shipping consolidation is constantly reviewed.

Additionally, there is an enticing car policy to encourage staff to run all-electric cars and to carry out meetings and training by Teams where this does not impact the customer relationship or learning outcomes. EV charging points have been installed at our offices in Andover, Hampshire.