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Sustainability

That's in the Connector

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Green Range 221

 31. august 2023
WAGO Splicing Connector with Levers Green Range

Nothing is too small to make a positive impact on our environment. Therefore, we have reimagined one of our best-known products – the 221 Series Splicing Connector.

A variant made of partially bio-circular and recycled plastics has been created to keep existing resources in circulation. The connector thus lays a more sustainable footprint right at the start of the installation.

Your Benefits:

  • Plastics made partly from post-consumer recycled material (e.g., recycled PET bottles) and bio-based residues from industrial and household use (bio-circular)
  • Reduced consumption of fossil resources, since existing resources remain in circulation
  • Same quality and certifications as the 221 Series Splicing Connector

The Path to Greater Sustainability

As an industrial manufacturing company, we require many resources, meaning energy and raw materials like plastics. Conventional plastics consist of carbon compounds derived from sources like petroleum and natural gas – two non-renewable materials whose extraction damages our environment and climate. To steadily reduce the need for new plastic, we have rethought one of our most popular products, the 221 Series Splicing Connector with Levers. It is now available in a version made from partially bio-circular and recycled plastics. Its name: the WAGO Green Range Splicing Connector with Levers. The new connector from the Green Range family is a first step towards sustainable development since every big change begins with a first small step.

The Same Quality from More Sustainable Plastics

Our well-known connector with orange levers also contains plastics made from recycled materials. However, we’re going a step further with the WAGO Splicing Connector with Levers Green Range. We continue to circulate existing materials while including materials from other circular economies.

  • Internal recycling process: We reuse regranulate with nearly new product quality to produce new connectors.
  • Therefore, our standard 221 Series Splicing Connector already contains a significant amount of regranulate.
  • In addition to regranulate, the new WAGO Splicing Connector with Levers Green Range consists of 77% bio-circular PC (housing) and at least 27% recycled PBT (lever).
  • Two-thirds of their total plastic consists of more sustainable materials than the 221 Series Splicing Connector.
  • Same quality: Both connectors have the same technical data and certifications and are suitable for the same applications.
  • The WAGO Splicing Connector with Levers Green Range is an option for anyone seeking to produce or construct more sustainably.
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That's in the Connector

Packed in Grass Paper

Not only does the splicing connector use more sustainable resources, its packaging also follows suit. WAGO pays attention to the materials used and the associated environmental footprint when it comes to packaging too. WAGO’s Green Range Splicing Connector with Levers is packaged in grass paper, a more sustainable alternative to 100% recycled paper. Grass paper is made of up to 30% grass fiber and up to about 70% recycled paper. Grass paper production emits less CO2* and consumes less water** than pure recycled paper production. In addition, its impact on biodiversity is about 28% lower since the grass fiber comes from ecological compensation sites for development or fallow agricultural land. By law, these sites must be mown several times a year, and the grass clippings go into grass paper production.


*Approx. 5.6% less CO2 **Approx. 11% lower water consumption

In this video, our expert Meike Beimstroh shares more background on the new WAGO Splicing Connector with Levers Green Range.

Flyer for download

You can find more information about the WAGO Splicing Connector with levers Green Range in the product flyer – simply download the PDF.

FAQ

Sustainability is gaining increased importance in social and legal discourse. This is also due to the fact the effects of climate change are also becoming more prominent. National and supra-national objectives provide the direction, for example, for climate protection goals. Regulatory requirements also have an increasing impact – including the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act and the upcoming EU requirement for sustainability reporting.. But regardless of these external developments, we are also convinced that sustainable business is the foundation for long-term success and an indispensable element of corporate responsibility – an attitude that the CEO, management and shareholders fully support. WAGO has participated in the UN Global Compact sustainability initiative since 2012 [1], an endeavor by companies committed to universal sustainability principles, and has voluntarily reported its progress since then. In 2021, we launched our sustainability strategy process with a comprehensive sustainability analysis to establish sustainability in the company in a binding and extensive way; during the process, we set ambitious goals.

As an industrial manufacturing company, we need resources and energy to produce and operate our products. We recognize that this makes us part of the problem when we consider the challenges of the future. Therefore, it is all the more important for us to be part of the solution and assume responsibility as a company and an employer in an integrated way. For this purpose, we have strategically anchored environmental and social sustainability within the WAGO structure. Every entrepreneurial decision is evaluated in coordination with the sustainability program, and the entire supply chain is considered. Nothing is too small or insignificant on this path; every step in the right direction counts. This attitude also allows us to empower and motivate our employees. We also desire to report on successes and failures transparently.

Until now, we have been processing plastics made from fossil raw materials. Part of the fossil molecule chains in the PC and PBT plastic types are replaced by polymers obtained from bio-based residues from industrial and household use and post-consumer waste. With the WAGO Splicing Connector with Levers Green Range, we now purchase plastics that consist partly of bio-circular material (77% share of PC) and recycled material (at least 27% of PET post-consumer share in PBT). In addition, we package the connectors in a carton made of grass paper. Copper, spring steel and the production steps are identical to the standard 221 Series Splicing Connector.

The polycarbonate sourced by us is certified according to the “International Sustainability and Carbon Certification System” (ISCC Plus). ISCC PLUS is an international certification system that applies to the bioeconomy and the circular economy for food, feed, chemicals, plastics, packaging, textiles and renewable raw materials originating from a process with renewable energy sources. The mass balance is one of the chain of custody options that ISCC PLUS could certify (see “What is mass balance?”). ISCC Plus certification allows complete traceability of the materials used throughout the entire supply chain. In our case, the mass balance ensures that 77% of the PC material is linked to bio-circular materials. This means that 77% of the raw materials linked to the biogenic residues (bio-circular) are used for PC production. These are residues and waste from forestry and the food and paper industry (tall oil).

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The bio-circular raw materials are imported together with the fossil raw materials at the beginning of the plastic production. In production, the bio-circular raw material mixes with the fossil raw material. The mass balance approach then allows a mathematical assignment of the various raw materials to specific plastic materials.
Thus, mass-balanced materials are materials for whose production biobased raw materials or precursors were demonstrably used materially (i.e., not energetically), without their biogenic carbon being reliably detectable in the end product. The proportion of certified renewable (bio-based) raw materials is assigned to specific products based on the assignment requirements.

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At least 27% of the new material consists of post-consumer PET bottles that are removed from the waste stream. PET (Ocean Bound Plastic/Land Source) bottles are released into the environment worldwide, polluting nature. Whether on waterways, coastlines, beaches or other land regions, especially where no recycling system exists. To source the polymers from PET bottles, the bottles must be collected, cleaned and shredded. The bottles are then repolymerized into PBT through a chemical upcycling process called “depolymerization” and the addition of solvent and petroleum-based molecular chains, glass fibers and flame retardants. The result of the chemical upcycling is a recycled PBT, which has the same technical properties as the conventional PBT.

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Products that are recycled from bio-based residues are called bio-circular. In the case of the PC material for the WAGO Splicing Connector with Levers Green Range, these are residues from forestry, edible fats or residues from the production of edible oils.

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Environmental aspects have always played a role in the production of the WAGO Splicing Connector. For example, the original 221 Series Splicing Connector with levers consists of 75% PC (housing) and 25% PBT (lever). 35% of this is regranulate, which is produced during production and is recycled directly.

The WAGO Splicing Connector with Levers Green Range reduces the proportion of the original plastic. The amount of standard PC used is reduced to 17% (original 75%). The remaining 58% is replaced by a bio-circular PC. With the lever, the value could be lowered from 25% standard PBT to 18%. The remaining 7% will be replaced by recycled PBT. The proportion of regranulate from internally processed raw materials corresponds approximately to the value of the original splicing connector, at 29%.

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Metals (copper and spring steel) are unchanged from the conventional product. Both copper and spring steel are already obtained from scrap in high percentages. Unfortunately, no product with a higher (and thus not 100% recycled) content can currently be offered. The non-scrap components are mostly important alloy components that must be added to ensure our products‘ technical capabilities and quality.

The product is technically identical and has the same approvals as the original 221 Series Splicing Connector.

No, the functionalities are identical to the standard 221 Series Splicing Connector.

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