'A better environment really starts with yourself' 

Andreas Ehlen - Managing Director at igus B.V.

Companies want to make a profit and make money. But not at any cost. Corporate Social Responsibility should be anchored in the mission and vision of companies, and that still happens too little. Moreover, achieving success and corporate responsibility often go hand in hand. 

Being economical with our globe is necessary since resources are not inexhaustible. Therefore, we must all guard against waste. Commitment to circularity is one of the magic words. Why would you want to destroy perfect raw materials if you don't have to? As a company, you just have to be willing to embrace it and propagate it widely so that support can be created. 

Of course we return returnable bottles to the vending machine, but what about worn-out energy supply systems made of plastic? As a manufacturer of engineering plastics, we are at the source: we produce, even already with re-granulate, and recycle old cable tracks, together with a recycling partner. With chainge, we have launched an online platform that accepts recyclable material and offers recyclate. This is where recyclers, re-granulate users and suppliers come together. We accept various engineering plastics, such as PA, PBT, POM for recycling. The customer then receives a credit from us, just like when returning deposit bottles. 

Circular business requires an extra effort from both producer and user. Both a business model and a logistics chain must be set up. In addition, we have found that companies initially struggle with the circular mindset as it requires extra effort and especially a different mindset. But by having conversations with the right people - often the early adapters - and due to the changing spirit of the times, it is becoming easier and easier to get companies excited about circularity. And good example fortunately follows.

Besides circularity, (manufacturing) companies also need to be more sustainable, smarter and efficient with their energy consumption. Many companies are already equipped with solar panels, but there are often other creative possibilities such as heating with residual heat from machinery. Some clever igus engineers came up with the idea of reusing the residual heat from our more than 850 injection molding machines at the igus plant in Cologne to heat our own business premises. This idea has since become a successful reality and we are saving large amounts of fossil gas this way. By the way, the concept behind this technology can be requested from us by interested parties free of charge. We only welcome it when more companies start implementing this and thus take care of our planet. If the manufacturing industry can join forces on sustainability and circularity, we can make great strides forward!