With our innovative approach, we are increasing our use of recycled materials and reducing our environmental impact.
Electrolux will make better use of resources by using more recycled materials, and helping to promote the market for recycling.
As the global middle class more than doubles in size by 2030, the demand for goods and services will increase together with the use of material resources. For Electrolux, this means we can expect the price of materials such as steel, plastic and electronic components to become more volatile. One of our most important materials is plastic, as it is fundamental for the design of affordable, durable appliances.
CO2 emissions resulting from the production of the plastic we use are equivalent to the emissions from our operations and transport activities combined. This means that increasing the amount of high-quality recycled plastic in our products can make a significant contribution to combatting climate change.
Steel is the largest material we use by volume, and is a significant source of CO2 emissions. By sourcing scrap-based steel, we can make a significant reduction in our CO2 footprint from materials.
Our internal Recycling Taskforce includes representatives from each Electrolux sector, purchasing, R&D, production and product lines to define this promise's scope, targets and action points. The main activities are to find reliable and high-quality material suppliers, and to identify the best opportunities within each product category for replacing virgin materials with recycled materials - either within the existing design or by adapting the design for recycled material.
Challenges
Overcoming these challenges requires strategic partnerships with recycled plastic suppliers and strong internal capabilities. Specific requirements have been added to the Electrolux Restricted Materials List, covering our restrictions on hazardous substances.
Electrolux will make better use of resources by using more recycled materials, and helping to promote the market for recycling.
| The roadmap to 2020 | Next steps |
|---|---|
| Replace virgin materials with recycled materials in our products. |
|
| Increase the volume of recycled plastic to 20,000 tonnes annually. |
|
| Increase amount of scrap-based steel in our production. |
|
On track
Additional effort is required
Off track
Work has not yet begun
Our objective for 2020 is to achieve 20,000 tonnes of recycled plastic per year. In 2017, we have seen a slight dip in the total volume of recycled plastic - from 7,400 tonnes in 2016 to 5,640 tonnes in 2017. However, this is still 15 times more than in 2011 when reporting started. The main reason for this dip is the change to new laundry product platforms that initially use virgin material. Going forward, we intend to shift these new platforms to recycled plastic.
Electrolux has increased the amount of recycled steel from 7% in 2013 to 30% (22%) in 2017, which has reduced the average annual carbon emissions per tonne of steel from 2.1 to 1.6 tonnes of CO2, and the annual CO2 emissions by 256,000 tonnes. The accumulated CO2 reduction from using recycled steel rather than ore-based steel from 2013 up until 2017 is 1,084,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
| Percentage | 7 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 30 |
| Total | 623662 | 624012 | 623833 | 588675 | 573768 |
Electrolux has made most progress with scrap-based steel in North America, where availability of high quality scrap-based steel is good. While we would like to see this happen in other sectors, it will take longer time to realize due to structural differences between the steel industries, with less quality scrap-based steel available outside North America.