sustainability circular economy

Sustainability

Sustainability consists of fulfilling the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations while ensuring a balance between economic growth, environmental care, and social well-being.

 

One of our generation's greatest challenges is to use the resources available to us responsibly. Due to being so limited and essential for the economy, sustainable action of all forms is imperative to ensure the quality of life for future generations. 

 

Here at thyssenkrupp Materials UK, climate, environmental protection, and energy efficiency are a high priority. This applies to how we handle and process all our products. We aim to constantly grow to satisfy the global demand for environmentally friendly production and the conservation of resources. As an industrial company, progress through technological advancement and innovation is vital. We understand that there is more to sustainability than this and here at thyssenkrupp Materials UK, our goal encompasses ecological, corporate, and social responsibility as well as social commitment. 

We have introduced our BEYOND strategy as part of our global holding company thyssenkrupp Materials Services

We have publicly committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and we will continue to promote our vision of a sustainable future. thyssenkrupp Materials (UK) prides itself on its socially responsible and ethical approach to serving our customers’ needs. 

Billy Kingsbury
CEO at thyssenkrupp Materials UK

Our goals to achieve a sense of sustainability is through three targets:

  • Carbon Footprint Reduction: ethical responsibility to do all we can.

  • Employee & Community Benefit: attracting and retaining the best talent with a great place to work.

  • Business Profitability/Growth - Improve efficiency and allow people to spend time on things that matter.

Not only do these targets allow for the business to develop and become more sustainable, but they also offer long-term growth for our company and partners overall. To achieve these goals, we have introduced new projects focussing on being more sustainable with the materials we receive in terms of production and processing. Some examples of these projects are waste management, energy monitoring, and introducing electric vehicles and charging. 

thyssenkrupp Materials UK has announced a new partnership with ClearVUE.Business

sustainability energy monitoring

in a ground-breaking energy monitoring project, paving the way to carbon neutrality.

Find out more

Circular Economy

A circular economy is a manufacturing term: it is the idea of reusing and recycling products as much as possible, leading to less waste and a better environment. Manufacturing companies have played a significant role in improving standards of living worldwide and we are proud to be part of the supply chain. However, in a linear setting, some are also linked to unsustainable production and consumption patterns. The concept of circular economy has gained traction in recent years: it aims at eventually severing this link, through keeping resources ‘in the loop.’

A circular economy system is a change to the model in which resources are mined, made into products, and then become waste. As an expert in material supply and supply chain management, thyssenkrupp Materials UK can play an integral part of the circular economy to reduce material use, redesign materials, products, and services to be less resource intensive, and recapture “waste” as a resource to manufacture new materials and products. 

The negative impact of human activities on the environment has become unparalleled, particularly in the last half-century. The world’s population has doubled, this also leading to an increase in the economy, and at the same time, the number of materials used to drive the global economy has quadrupled, from 28 billion tonnes in 1972 to more than 100 billion tonnes in 2019. A critical step in circularity is the broader adoption of sustainable materials. There is no universal definition for what materials strictly make up sustainable materials, but our general belief is that truly sustainable materials should have a low environmental impact across their life-cycle stages. 

Metals can be recycled repeatedly with no loss of quality, and when it is recycled it saves significant amounts of primary raw materials, energy, and CO2. Under a circular economy, materials are not discarded after they are used but brought back into the economy through a variety of means. We help manufacturers to rethink how they design, produce, and ship products away from the old way of the linear economy (take, make, waste) to a more regenerative process. 

 

The current trend towards more and better data to improve manufacturing presents an opportunity to create manufacturing systems that are optimised to be less resource intensive, have less impact on the environment, and be more flexible to adjust to changing designs and material streams. At thyssenkrupp Materials UK, we have already integrated customised digital solutions such as iAuditor for traceability, quality and efficiency for our customers’ materials, parts or full products.

To enable the longevity of our business, we strive to enrich the environment and communities in which we operate, improving and preserving them for future generations. Diversity, inclusivity, and compliance are at the heart of everything that we do.

Carl Beckett
Head of QHSE at thyssenkrupp Materials UK

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