Strategy | sustainability
Building sustainable brands
Plastics can make a signifi cant contribution to environ- mental sustainability through their energy saving poten- tial, recyclability and energy recovery options. Yet for many consumers plastics are seen as a cause, rather than a solution, to the world’s environmental problems. As a consequence, leading brand owners are becoming increasingly aware of the need to develop and imple- ment sustainable strategies and to communicate their efforts and achievements to their customers.
Sustainable play Danish plastic toy bricks manufacturer LEGO Group last month declared its intention to fi nd and implement sustainable alternatives to its current materials – most- ly ABS - by 2030. The company is investing DKK 1 billion (€134 million) to establish the LEGO Sustainable Materials Centre, which will be dedicated to research, development and implementation of new, sustainable, raw materials to manufacture LEGO elements. It will also develop alternative packaging materials. The LEGO Sustainable Materials Centre will be based at LEGO Group’s headquarters in Billund, Denmark, and will include all current functions and employees involved in alternative material selection. In addition, the company says it will recruit more than 100 additional specialists within the materials fi eld during the coming years. The centre will be setup during 2015 and 2016, and it
is expected that the investment will include satellite functions located at relevant group locations around the world. In addition, it is intended to collaborate and develop partnerships with companies and universities working to produce materials with a reduced environ- mental impact. While the investment marks LEGO’s commitment to
using sustainably-sourced polymers, the company makes it clear that any alternative materials used in the
www.compoundingworld.com
Sustainability is a top priority for many end-users of plastics.
Mark Holmes takes a look at the
sustainability targets and initiatives emerging from some leading brand owners.
production of its bricks must continue to deliver the strength, durability, “clutch power” and colour consist- ency offered by current plastics. Electrical and healthcare goods manufacturer
Philips set itself a goal six years ago of doubling the collection and recycling of its end-of life products, as well as increasing the amount of recycled materials it used. The company says in 2015, it will use 3,500 tonnes of recycled plastics.
One of a number of initiatives that the company
introduced to help meet its goals was an EcoDesign approach in which products are designed for recyclabil- ity and reuse. This approach has also led to the incorporation of high recycled plastic contents in a number of its consumer lifestyle products. A particular example is the Senseo Up one-cup coffee machine, where recycled plastics were specifi ed from the outset of the design process. A number of issues needed to be resolved in the Senseo Up project, including overcoming aesthetic challenges as while recycled plastics are widely available as dark colours it is not easy to produce a deep black. The problem the company faced was visibility of spots and occasional fl ow lines where the
September 2015 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 77
Main image: LEGO Group
intends to fi nd and implement sustainable
alternatives to its current plastic
materials by 2030
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