Most businesses in the country have had to reevaluate their environmental footprint in recent years – and transport businesses are often directly in the spotlight. Here, FUCHS describes how it is making strides to be a sustainable lubricant company.
Buying sustainable products and partnering with companies with environmental credentials should be of utmost importance. Lubricant specialist FUCHS has taken huge strides in this in recent years, and is now weeks away from being completely carbon neutral.
“There has been a real shift in opinion when it comes to the environment in the last decade,” says Andy Brown, UK Automotive Technical Manager at FUCHS. “As a business, we are proud of the huge leaps we have made.”
Last month, FUCHS, which has its UK headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent, announced it will be globally carbon neutral by 1st January 2020, from energy consumption in production, to consumables in administration. In order to implement carbon neutrality, FUCHS will offset its carbon dioxide emissions, which have not yet been avoided, with compensation measures.
This will be achieved by the company investing in high quality climate protection projects that are primarily aimed at promoting renewable energies. The projects are accredited, approved, and monitored according to internationally recognised certifications, such as the Gold Standard, as well as by renowned organizations such as the United Nations.
The validation of the project results with regards to the emissions reduction is achieved is verified by independent testing bodies such as TÜV. Stefan Fuchs, Chairman of the Executive Board of FUCHS PETROLUB SE, comments, “FUCHS’ carbon neutrality plan is embedded in our sustainability strategy, which we launched ten years ago.
“In this way, we are taking responsibility for global climate protection, and are making an important contribution to achieving the goals of the UN climate protection agreement, which was ratified in Paris in 2015.”
This agreement aims to limit global warming to well below 2 ̊C, compared with pre-industrial levels. Stefan added, “When selecting projects, our focus is on climate protection schemes that support economic, ecological, and social development worldwide, in regions with FUCHS locations.
“In this way, we fulfil our global social responsibility in the sense of corporate citizenship. At the same time, FUCHS also supports the 17 sustainable development goals of the UN, which the company officially committed itself to in 2018.”
FUCHS’ commitment to environmental sustainability has already been demonstrated in the UK in a number of ways. The company led the charge with the launch of its Lube Cube, which gives customers the option of buying its leading products in a recyclable cardboard box, rather than a plastic container. The change has resulted in an incredible saving of more than 660,000kg of plastic since the Lube Cube launch in 2012.
Many of FUCHS’ leading CV products are available in 20 and 5L Lube Cube formats, and as well as being entirely recyclable, there are other significant benefits for workshops: FUCHS claims that approximately 14% more oil can be stored on a pallet of Lube Cubes compared to plastic containers.
Furthermore, the storage benefits are even greater when the oil has run out; rather than having empty plastic containers lying around waiting to be collected, the Lube Cube can be hand-crushed to next to nothing and disposed of in the normal licensed recycling waste. There are also significant savings to be made: it costs around £2.50 to properly dispose of a single 20L plastic container, which is almost completely eradicated with the Lube Cube.
In addition, more than 2,000 solar panels have been installed at FUCHS’ base in Hanley. The panels now produce 12% of the required energy for the entire plant. FUCHS has also played a key role in securing a multi-million pound award from the government, as part of a consortium working to create a new lightweight electric drive unit.
