Die REMONDIS-Welt der Nachhaltigkeit
REMONDIS' World of Sustainability
De REMONDIS-wereld van de duurzaamheid
The whole notion of sustainability will be a lost cause unless we take action here and now to conserve our planet's natural resources. Future generations and today's developing countries will only be able to enjoy prosperous lives if steps are taken right now to counteract the growing shortages of raw materials. For us – being one of the world's leading recycling, service and water companies – there can be only one goal: to tackle this problem and lead by example. Why not join us on this path?!
Everyone agrees that global warming must be limited to 2°C – or preferably 1.5°C – if we wish to prevent our ecosystem from being irreparably damaged. Large areas of woodland in Germany are dying as the country suffers ever longer periods of drought. Pussyfooting around is not going to stop climate change. Some major action needs to be taken. And not just switching from fossil fuels to renewables but from virgin to recycled raw materials as well. We are showing how this can be done.
The Lippe Plant in Lünen is not only a high tech site, it is also an important project for combatting global warming. The various activities carried out at the site help to cut carbon emissions by 488,000t every single year. For a forest to have the same effect, it would need to contain 37 million trees. Certainly a lovely place to take a walk in but perhaps not an ideal place for creating 1,400 jobs.
People searching for an argument in favour of plastics recycling need look no further than at our seas and oceans. Vast areas of waste are floating around in them and are so big that they can even be seen from space. This problem, however, can only be solved on Earth – with more responsible consumer behaviour and systematic plastics recycling.
Talking the talk but not walking the walk? Not at REMONDIS. It goes without saying that our all-encompassing view of sustainability also includes us being sustainable ourselves. This covers all aspects of our business – from the energy efficiency levels of our head office buildings, all the way through to ensuring that all our locations adhere to our high social standards, no matter where in the world they may be.
Every company tries to make a profit. And things are no different at REMONDIS either. For us, however, money is always a means to a good end – which is why a large part of the profits we make is invested in developing new and innovative recycling processes and technologies. Helping to preserve our planet’s valuable natural resources.
Sustainability is not a state or a condition but an ongoing process. First and foremost, sustainability is team work. Which is why we cooperate closely with experts and research institutes that also feel strongly about conserving our planet’s natural resources and preventing climate change. Such work always leads to new approaches and innovations.
Wherever we see an opportunity to drive forward the notion of sustainability and to fix it even more firmly in the minds of people, then we are there, full of passion and enthusiasm for the cause. This covers a whole range of activities – from educational projects, to acting as advisers, to supporting universities.
Everyone is talking about the scarcity of raw materials and about sustainability. But what exactly is behind it all? We decided to do some research to find out what it’s all about – so that we could put together some pages with the most important background information for you to read.
The steel industry is one of the world’s biggest carbon emitters. Why? Because steel production – i.e. making steel from iron ore – requires enormous volumes of coal and coke, which are both fossil fuels. With the Green Deal’s goal in mind, namely for Europe to be climate neutral by 2050, the steel industry is working hard on becoming more environmentally friendly. The catchword here is ‘green steel’. And the industry has chosen to achieve this by having hydrogen as its preferred source of energy instead of carbon. There is a snag here, however: if this option is to have a truly positive impact on the climate, then the hydrogen must come from renewable sources. This is wishful thinking at the moment. According to industry experts, it will be impossible to supply the amount of green energy (wind, solar etc) it needs before 2035. Which means an interim solution is urgently needed. And this can be provided by using high quality recycled raw materials. Something that also greatly reduces energy consumption and carbon emissions. And not sometime in the future but right now, from one moment to the next.
Recycling is always a good idea as a way to tackle climate change. Indeed, there are very few processes that are more sustainable than steel recycling. There are a number of reasons for this, one of them being that metals can be processed again and again without the need for downcycling. This means that huge volumes of virgin raw materials are saved as none of the metal being recycled is lost. However, there is an even more important aspect for steel producers looking to operate a greener business: using recycled material to produce steel is a far more energy-efficient process. Carbon emissions are cut by one tonne every time a tonne of recycled raw material is used. This fact alone should be enough to motivate steel producers to use as much recycled raw material as possible. And then there is the positive impact that steel recycling has on the climate and environment of the countries mining the iron ore. As there is a lower demand for virgin raw materials, they need to consume less land and destroy less of their landscape. What’s more, there are fewer transport-related carbon emissions.
At the moment, 15% of the material used to make steel is recycled material. It is possible and doable to increase this figure to 25% right away. For this to happen, however, it is essential that the material supplied has the highest possible purity levels. And this is precisely where we or rather our subsidiary TSR Recycling come into play. This company specialises in all aspects of metal recycling. Using state-of-the-art technology, TSR transforms scrap – as it is commonly known – into an extremely pure, high quality product for making high grade steel.
TSR Recycling processes around 8.5 million tonnes of metal every year. Find out more at tsr.eu
Which makes us a must-have partner for the steel industry as it strives to become greener and more climate friendly. Just one example here is the collaboration agreement signed with Thyssen-Krupp in 2021 that runs until 2030 and aims to develop new innovative steel technologies. Growing the use of high quality recycled materials to produce green steel is just the first step here.
In one of its studies, the Fraunhofer Institute concludes that the share of recycled material used to produce steel around the globe could be increased to up to 50%. A number of conditions must be met, however, for this figure to be achieved. Besides introducing comprehensive metal collection schemes across the world, these include the steel industry no longer using any fossil fuels whatsoever and there being a supply of high quality recycled materials as mentioned above. This is essential if more recycled metal is to be used in conventional furnaces. Modern electric arc furnaces – which are being deployed more and more nowadays – already use up to 100% recycled material. This alone underlines just how closely green steel will be linked to recycled raw materials in the future.
Find out more about green steel in our online magazine REMONDIS AKTUELL 03/20
Being one of the world’s leading recycling, service and water businesses with over 30,000 employees, everything we do revolves around sustainability. We ensure that the environment is protected and that natural resources are conserved in over 30 countries across four continents.
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