Our Approach to Reducing Our Environmental Impact
Environmental Responsibility
At Vibracoustic we are implementing initiatives to reduce our environmental impact. We are committed to reducing our global scope 1 and 2* CO₂ rate by 65% by the year 2030¹. To reduce the ecological footprint of our production processes and our products we are taking actions to improve our energy efficiency, increasing our use of renewable energy, reduce waste, and utilizing sustainable and renewable materials in our products.
Our global initiatives focus on large-scale improvements, such as installing solar panels, reducing hazardous substances in production, and increasing the use of recycled materials. We are also making small, continuous improvements, such as implementing LED lighting, and reducing heating and cooling temperature set points to optimize energy use. Every small improvement will help us to reach our sustainability goals.
* Scope 1 & 2 emissions include direct emissions from own or controlled sources and indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy
1) Baseline: 2020
We want to reduce our environmental impact as much as possible. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that resources are equitably available to future generations.”
Axel Wersel, COO
We encourage our people to share new ideas when it comes to sustainability improvements. Even the smallest ideas can make a big impact.
Dr. Joerg Boecking, CTO
Vibracoustic Energy Efficiency
Driving Vibracoustic Energy Efficiency
The Vibracoustic Energy Efficiency (VEE) team aims to achieve our energy and CO2 targets through local measures.
The VEE Team tracks continuous improvement initiatives such as energy monitoring, compressed air leakage reduction, heating and cooling controls, start-up and shut-down procedure management, and LED lighting.
Reducing our emissions also means reducing our energy consumption. Our sites are actively tracking and reporting their energy usage each month and are looking at ways to achieve further reductions by installing capacitor banks, actively managing start-up and shut-down processes, and continuously tracking compressed air leakage.
In addition, our Vibracoustic Machine Specification Book includes requirements related to machine start-up and shut-down procedures, energy use monitoring, and maintenance standards to optimize energy efficienc
Renewable Energy
We are actively evaluating options to increase the share of renewable energy at all sites. Actions such as installation of solar panels and sourcing renewable energy via Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) have already been implemented.
Our plants in India, Poland, Romania, Spain, and Türkiye have already installed rooftop solar panels to help increase renewable energy usage and reduce CO2 emissions.
Sourcing Renewable Energy
In regions where it is prevalent, we are evaluating and sourcing renewable energy via Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with third-party energy providers. These PPAs enable Vibracoustic to utilize renewable electricity from renewable energy sources, such as solar parks or wind farms. We currently have PPAs in place at our sites in Germany, Poland and Spain with plans to negotiate agreements in further countries.
Sustainable & Renewable Materials
Developing our “Green Rubber Project”
We are evaluating opportunities to increase the use of recycled materials in our products to reduce the CO₂ footprint of our products and create a more circular economy. The rubber industry is far from being circular and new recycling strategies must be developed to deal with large amounts of waste produced. Our material technologies team developed guidelines to source sustainable natural rubber as well as processes to utilize renewable, recycled, and non-hazardous substances for rubber compounds. From these innovations we were able to develop rubber compounds with at least 65% up to 75% sustainable content.
Sourcing of Sustainable Natural Rubber
Natural rubber from the rubber tree Hevea Brasiliensis has a lower CO2 footprint than synthetic rubber from fossil fuel based raw materials. However, to avoid environmental harm and ensure fair working conditions, the rubber’s origin must be closely monitored. To drive and support environmentally conscious and socially ethical sourcing practices, we invest in materials that are certified by PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification).
We have also sought our own PEFC certification. Since 2023, our European sites in Weinheim (Germany), Dej (Romania) and Melnik (Czechia) have been certified (PEFC/04-31-3714).
Renewable, Recycled, and Non-Hazardous Compounds
Carbon black is usually made from fossil fuels like crude oil or natural gas. Instead, we can obtain it from used tires, thus reducing waste. We can also use renewable plasticizers, which lowers the carbon footprint. Furthermore, with green rubber compounds, we are finding solutions to eliminate hazardous substances improving working conditions for our employees.
Biotechnical Recycling of Natural Rubber Waste
BioReNa is a biotechnological way of breaking down vulcanized rubber waste, functionalize it and then reuse it in rubber compounds. By reusing our own rubber waste, we can reduce the carbon footprint of new products while also reducing the waste generated by our production processes. How it works? Vulcanized rubber waste is shredded and treated with enzymes, converting it into reusable materials via functionalization of the rubber surface, thus contributing towards a circular economy.
Growing a Green Supply Base
Sustainable Sourcing
We aim to align our supply base with our environmental and social sustainability goals. We screen suppliers for social risks and violations while prioritizing sustainable sourcing. Environmentally, we focus on reducing product carbon footprints and sourcing green material alternatives. Our initial steps include raising sustainability awareness among suppliers and evaluating them on environmental and social criteria. We have subsequently formulated targets for green energy use, CO2 reduction, and sourcing materials with higher recycling content and lower carbon footprint. Thus, ESG is anchored in our sourcing strategy, our supplier assessments, and supply base development plan.
Respect for Human Rights and the Environment
We prioritize human rights and environmental protection in our company and require our suppliers to do the same. We prohibit child labor, forced labor, human trafficking, and discrimination in our operations and those of our partners.
Read more in our Policy Statement