R&M Sustainability Report 2023
R&M Sustainability Report 2023
R&M Sustainability Report 2023
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Connecting Circularity – Sustainable Supply and Value Chain<br />
The ethics program throughout the supply<br />
chain was further expanded in the reporting<br />
year. The focus was on the application of<br />
ISO 14001 (environmental management<br />
systems) and ISO 45001 (occupational health<br />
and safety management systems). The audit<br />
system and supplier rating were adapted<br />
and expanded to include sustain ability aspects.<br />
The aspects environment, people and<br />
management of the upstream suppliers have<br />
now been completely integrated.<br />
New packaging<br />
concepts<br />
The material, volume and disposal of packaging<br />
have significant climate and environmental<br />
impacts. Cardboard boxes, fillers and<br />
films cause high volumes in transportation<br />
and generate large quantities of waste. Installers<br />
must put a lot of effort into recycling<br />
and disposal.<br />
R&M wants to improve the situation to the<br />
advantage of its customers as well as in the<br />
interest of sustainability. To this purpose, the<br />
first packaging projects were launched in the<br />
year under review. The main objectives: minimizing<br />
packaging overall, amounts of plastic,<br />
packaging waste and packaging-related<br />
emissions. In addition to internal production<br />
packaging, this also applies to packaging from<br />
upstream partners.<br />
«Thanks to the minimalist<br />
packaging, the volume<br />
of the shipping boxes can<br />
be optimally utilized.»<br />
Mathias Gerber,<br />
Market Manager LAN Cabling<br />
By 2030, packaging intensity should be<br />
below 800 kg / CHF 1 million net sales. In the<br />
year under review, the 900 kg / CHF 1 million<br />
net sales mark was missed by only a few<br />
kilograms.<br />
Starting with the<br />
RJ45 connector (FM45)<br />
One of the biggest internal challenges is<br />
finding alternatives to plastic. For example,<br />
R&M would like to use more recycled plastic<br />
or paper. Different material properties make<br />
the switch difficult. Depending on the product,<br />
important packaging properties, such as<br />
protection against impact, dust, and moisture,<br />
must be maintained.<br />
Following a series of tests, an initial success<br />
was achieved in the reporting year.<br />
As Matthias Gerber, Market Manager LAN<br />
Cabling, explains: «We launched the new<br />
FM45 Cat. 6 A EL with paper packaging. The<br />
paper is recycled and can be recycled again.<br />
Thanks to the printing, we don’t need adhesive<br />
labels. Due to the minimalist packaging,<br />
the volume of the shipping boxes can be<br />
optimally utilized.»<br />
Customized packaging<br />
In <strong>2023</strong>, R&M launched the «Customized<br />
Assembled Packaging as a Service» (CAPaaS)<br />
offering. Customers can assemble and order<br />
project-specific planned platforms such as<br />
Netscale patch panels online. The patch<br />
panels are completely assembled and ready<br />
for installation, and all parts are delivered in<br />
one package. With CAPaaS, project-specific<br />
CO2 emissions can be reduced by up to 25 %.<br />
Installation time is reduced by up to 30 % and<br />
waste by up to 25 %.<br />
030.8604<br />
Product development<br />
follows an end-of-life<br />
approach<br />
In the future, sustainable product development<br />
will play a more important role at R&M.<br />
On the one hand, this involves testing and<br />
using more sustainable materials in product<br />
development. On the other hand, it also involves<br />
assessing the extent to which raw<br />
materials can be used for a second life. Once<br />
installed, R&M products usually remain in<br />
place for decades. They often contain valuable<br />
resources that should be returned to the<br />
cycle. To this end, suppliers and customers<br />
should also be consulted to develop and<br />
implement holistic solutions together.<br />
Technologies and products from R&M are<br />
generally configured for consistently high<br />
quality. They are reliable and durable. This<br />
is underscored, among other things, by the<br />
25-year system warranty and life-long application<br />
warranty for the R&Mfreenet system.<br />
The modular design approach makes it easy<br />
to add, compact or replace network units.<br />
The passive infrastructure does not have<br />
to be completely replaced when a new IT<br />
generation is introduced. This saves material<br />
in the long run, especially metal and plastic.<br />
Nevertheless, even greater leverage can be<br />
achieved. R&M already applies an «end- oflife»<br />
analysis to identify the long-term ecological<br />
effects of products. Eco-design and<br />
packaging design are also important. In 2024,<br />
R&M will be addressing the issue of being<br />
able to determine the ecological footprint<br />
of key products over their life cycle.<br />
R&M <strong>Sustainability</strong> <strong>Report</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 27