Climate responsibility: time to move from declaration to action?.
The year 2023 will be the one in which a watershed moment in environmental action by global business may be reached. According to predictions by the US Institute for Management Development, this will be the moment when many companies will move from declaring a desire to reduce their environmental impact to taking real, effective action to do so. Of course, many companies have long been aware of the negative human impact on the climate and have been taking steps to reduce the negative impact of their production and logistics processes for years - we are fortunate that all of Tabasco's customers are among them.
Here are some examples of measures and regulations implemented by our clients to minimize environmental impact.
Belkin
The company has decided to manufacture the cases of its products from PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled, recycled waste) materials and the packaging - without using plastic. By doing so, Belkin is helping to reduce the amount of trash lying in landfills and has reduced the use of so-called virgin plastic (i.e., newly manufactured for production). This decision alone has reduced CO2 emissions by up to 67%, which (as of May 2022) translated into a reduction of 7,000 tons. The company's efforts were recognized by the Business Intelligence Group, which last year awarded Belkin the "2022 Sustainability Award"
It is worth mentioning that the company's products have clear markings on their packaging, confirming that they are made from recycled raw materials - allowing customers to consciously choose a product whose environmental impact is reduced. Of course, while maintaining the same quality, reliability and great design.
Thule
For the Swedish brand, issues of climate responsibility and reducing environmental impact are an absolute priority. It strives to ensure that production processes are always efficient and climate-friendly, and that the workplace allows employees to feel positive and safe.
The climate impact of Thule's factories is primarily due to the use of energy for heating, ventilation, cooling and during the manufacturing process - which is why the company has taken measures to reduce energy consumption and increase the use of renewable energy (with a target of 100%). A great example, for example, is the use of solar panels at a manufacturing facility in the US state of Connecticut, which cover about 25% of electricity needs. On the other hand, at the assembly and production facility in Hillerstorp, Sweden, renewable energy is used for heating and as a source of electricity.
Thule is also active in the structures of organizations that take initiatives to increase balance and ensure positive development of the sports and outdoor industry - the company is a participant in the bluesign® program (a certification program for sustainable textile production - its goal of this program is to eliminate harmful substances and realize high standards of friendly and safe production) and the exclusion of harmful substances from production), as well as a member of The Conservation Alliance, , European Outdoor Conservation Association, Leave No Trace, Outdoor Foundation, Mistra and UN Global Compact.
Western Digital
A whole range of climate action is also being taken by Western Digital - both by optimizing its manufacturing and logistics processes and by creating programs to motivate customers to recycle used equipment responsibly.
A great example of this is the Easy Recycle program, run in cooperation with the USMe organization, which aims to ensure that the company's end-of-life products do not end up in landfills, but are effectively recycled. As part of the program, a tool has been created whereby the owner of a used appliance can easily arrange for it to be picked up and delivered directly to a recycling center. An incentive for such responsible action is an automatically generated discount coupon for subsequent purchases at the company's Western Digital store.
It is worth mentioning that in the first two years since the program was launched, more than 26,000 disks (a total of more than 11 tons of electronic waste) were recycled.
Of course, Western Digital's efforts don't stop there - the company uses recycled materials for many of its popular products, e.g. SanDisk Ultra Eco-USB, WD_BLACK P50 Game Drive, My Passport SSD and SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD. An interesting and effective idea is to reduce the energy consumption of HDDs - Western Digital estimates that the changes made to their architecture save up to 300,000 MWh globally. The company has also redesigned the packaging of its products in recent years - so as to use a minimal amount of materials in their production (saving up to 12,000 trees).
Of course, the above initiatives are only a selection of our clients' initiatives - for detailed information on our clients' climate action, please visit the following websites Belkin, Thule and Western Digital.
