Sustainability Report 2023

ENGEL
Sustainability Report 2023
Sustainable Focus Areas / 05/ Environment
Raw materials & recyclable
machines
Impact
The use of recycled and alternative, more
sustainable materials in the production of its
machines has allowed ENGEL to significantly
reduce its own environmental footprint caused
by the sourcing and processing of raw materials.
ENGEL is making an even bigger contribution
by extending the useful life of its machines
as a result of maintenance-friendly and recyclable
design. The after-sales services offered
by ENGEL are another positive contribution to
protecting the environment, e.g. the refurbishment
and appropriate disposal of decommissioned
machines installed at customer sites.
The purchasing and use of raw products
and materials account for 14 percent of ENGEL
Austria’s total CO 2
emissions. In order to reduce
emissions and at the same time preserve resources,
ENGEL is focusing its sustainability
efforts on two different key areas: the reduction
and substitution of materials, and recyclable
machines. Both areas are described in further
detail in the next chapter.
Reduction and substitution
of materials
ENGEL has dedicated its extensive engineering
expertise to the goal of reducing the input
materials and/or substituting heavy materials
by more lightweight and sustainable alternatives
and thereby sustainably improving the company’s
environmental footprint. As of the reporting
date, ENGEL Austria is sourcing 44 percent of
its purchasing from recycled materials. ENGEL
aims at achieving an average reduction of material
in the single digit percentage range in every
design review step. In order to achieve this
goal as soon as possible, ENGEL starts at the
beginning during product design, where simulation
tools are used for topological optimisation
and prototype construction. The focus is
on emission-intense and heavy materials, such
as cast iron or steel. Reducing the weight of
these heavy materials or substituting them for
lighter materials has a positive effect on transport
emissions and costs, because the emissions
and costs caused by the machine’s
transportation increase in line with its weight.
—
“ENGEL has set itself the goal
of reducing internal packaging
materials by two percent per year
across all of its factories.”
—
ENGEL also works on optimising the packaging
used for the storage and transport of its
machines. Internal closed loops for reusing
packaging materials were already started in a
first step. For example, control cabinets delivered
from Kaplice to the St. Valentin site are packed
and transported with reusable protective covers.
Furthermore, it was possible to introduce
reusable containers for the delivery of engines
in cooperation with the supplier Kollmorgen.
Reusable half pallets including inlays of various
sizes for the different engine types have been
successfully in use since March 2022. In addition
to considerable cost and time savings
(when packing and unpacking), amounts of
waste can be avoided. More such packaging
projects are being planned and tested. ENGEL
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