Luxembourg-based caps and closures manufacturer United Caps has published an an interim sustainability report outlining its long-term sustainability targets and updating its priorities through 2025 as well as reporting the progress it has made against achieving these
One of the measures taken by the company has been the appointment of a Sustainability Leader from the executive team, tasked with overseeing the development of goal setting and attainment such that current needs are met without compromising the future throughout the production and value chain. Rony Van Regenmortel, Chief Project Officer for United Caps, has been tapped to fill this role. Van Regenmortel has a 35-year track record at United Caps, garnering vast experience throughout the organisation during that period.
The company has established sustainability targets - to be achieved by 2025 or earlier - in two broad areas: environment and product responsibility.
United Caps has already made progress against these targets as outlined in the report, said Benoit Henckes, CEO of United Caps.
“This includes successfully lowering energy consumption across our factories by 10% over the last three years, recycling 85% of production waste, and achieving a 30% reduction in waste compared to 2017. We have also reduced our own carbon footprint by 14% in the last three years, and we are using no oil or gas heating in our facilities by capturing the heat created by chillers and compressors.”
Goals for the next years through 2025 include further reducing the percentage of plastic waste to 3%, using a minimum of two kT of biobased resins in 2020 and establishing five projects using post-consumer recycled materials in collaboration with customers.
Regarding product responsibility, the company will, among others, ensure 100% of its products are recyclable by 2025.
In addition when the European Union directive on Single Use Plastic was proposed in 2018, the company immediately addressed the challenges this brought with it, stressed Henckes.
“Whilst others adopted a more negative, disruptive approach to the proposed Directive, United Caps worked with like-minded organisations from throughout the supply chain to form the Association for Closure Tethering (ACT) Group. We developed superior tethered closures for a changing planet, the product of supreme collaboration, born ready to deliver maximum compliance with minimum disruption,” Henckes declared.