Green Range, 221 Series

WAGO Splicing Connector with Levers – Green Range

Every contribution to environmental protection matters. That’s why we have redesigned one of our most popular products – the 221 Series Splicing Connector.

This new variant is partially made from bio-circular and recycled plastics, helping keep valuable resources in circulation. As a result, the connector provides a more sustainable foundation right from the start with installation.

Your Benefits:

Plastics made in part from post-consumer recycled material (e.g., recycled PET bottles) and bio-based industrial and household waste (bio-circular)
Reduced consumption of fossil resources by keeping existing resources in circulation
Same quality and certifications as the 221 Series Splicing Connector

The Green Range Family is Growing

With the Green Range 221 Series, we introduced our first splicing connector made partially from recycled and bio-circular plastics. Now, the product family is expanding! The WAGO 221 Series Inline Splicing Connector with Levers, the WAGO Splicing Connector with Levers for conductor cross-sections up to 6 mm² and the 10-conductor splicing connector are now available as Green Range variants.

Sustainability Has Many Levers – Mission Green Range

As an industrial manufacturer, we rely on various resources – including energy and raw materials such as plastics. Conventional plastics are made from carbon compounds derived from crude oil or natural gas – two non-renewable resources whose extraction impacts both the climate and the environment.

To reduce the need for newly produced plastics, we have re-engineered one of our most well-known products. For the past year, the 221 Series Splicing Connector with Levers has also been available in a version made partially from bio-circular and recycled plastics (see FAQ). Now known as the WAGO Splicing Connector with Levers – Green Range, this product family plays a key role in advancing sustainability because every major change begins with a single step.

Mission Green Range – What Do We Want to Achieve?

In early 2022, the WAGO Green Range Splicing Connector with Levers started its journey through our company’s “Kickbox” innovation program. The result was the introduction of a connector made of partially recycled and bio-circular plastics. After just one year on the market, we want to think further. Through the Green Range Mission, we demonstrate our commitment to continuously working towards more sustainable materials to reduce our environmental impact.

Our mission is to identify and set in motion the levers for a sustainable and resource-conserving product design. However, not everything can be implemented immediately – it’s an ongoing process. Sustainability has many levers. We are gradually learning how to utilize them more effectively, because we firmly believe that this is the future!

Products at a Glance

The Path to Greater Sustainability

1 Year of the Green Range: Key Insights and Learnings

The Green Range Splicing Connector with Levers marks its first anniversary! This milestone provides an excellent opportunity to look back and reflect. What progress has the Green Range made over the past year, and what valuable lessons have we gained?

We have learned that sustainability is complex and brings new challenges and requirements to all stakeholders, often raising many questions. We want to address these together and support you along the way.
We have conducted a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to better understand and improve the environmental impact of our products. This analysis evaluates a product’s environmental impact, helping us identify ways to further enhance the Green Range 221 Series and determine which factors influence sustainability.
Our goal was to assess the potential impact of keeping raw materials in circulation and reusing them. That is exactly what we achieve with the partially recycled and bio-circular plastics used in the Green Range 221 Series.

Until now, CO₂ emission savings were only available at the individual plastic level. With the LCA, we determined that, at the plastic level, we achieve approximately 40% CO₂ reduction compared to the conventional 221 Series Splicing Connector with Levers.
Additionally, copper and spring steel account for a significant portion of the remaining CO₂ emissions. A key factor here is recycling content during smelting. The metals we use already come from sources with the highest possible recycled content while maintaining the same high-quality standards. Our suppliers continue working to reduce CO₂ emissions through recycling and energy-efficient processes. By closely collaborating with our supply chain, we aim to benefit from these advancements and further accelerate CO₂ reduction.
Beyond materials, we continuously optimize our processes to reduce CO₂ emissions at every stage. This includes minimizing emissions during our own production by improving energy efficiency, optimizing manufacturing processes such as injection molding and stamping, and reducing material waste.
It is important to note that an LCA is only a snapshot in time. The results depend on primary data, evaluation methods and system boundaries, making it a dynamic metric. This is why we do not focus on comparisons with others. Instead, we focus on how we can improve – and we stand by that commitment. After all, nothing is too small to have an impact.

The Future at a Glance:
Changing Requirements, Changing Challenges

For 50 years, WAGO splicing connectors have been an essential part of every toolbox and countless devices. While not quite as long, our splicing connectors with levers have also been on the market for more than two decades.

From 2003 to today: Discover the story behind our splicing connectors with levers!

Same High Quality – Increasingly Sustainable Materials

Our well-known splicing connector with orange levers has long contained plastics made from regranulate. With the Green Range Splicing Connector with Levers, we are taking another step forward. We continue to keep materials in circulation, using a combination of bio-based and secondary raw materials.

We recycle plastic waste generated during production and reprocess it internally. This regranulate is then reused in new plastic components, helping us minimize plastic waste.
WAGO's 4 mm² Green Range Splicing Connector with Levers consists of 77% bio-circular PC (housing) and 27% recycled PBT (levers), in addition to regranulate.
The PBT used in the 6 mm² 221 Series Splicing Connector with Levers and the 221 Series Green Range Inline Splicing Connector with Levers contains 25% bio-circular plastics.
Same quality: Both connectors maintain the same technical specifications and certifications, making them suitable for the same applications.
WAGO's Green Range Splicing Connector with Levers provides a solution for those looking to build and manufacture more sustainably.

That's in the Connector

Flyer for download

You can find more information about WAGO's Green Range Splicing Connector with levers 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 becoming more prominent. National and supranational 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 future challenges. 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 wish 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 WAGO's Green Range Splicing Connector with levers, we now use plastics made partly from bio-circular material (77% polycarbonate) and recycled material (at least 27% post-consumer PET in PBT). In addition, we package the connectors in a carton made of grass paper. Copper, spring steel and the production are identical to the standard 221 Series Splicing Connector.

The polycarbonate we use is certified under 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 residual materials from industry and households, such as tall oil, used fats and by-products from cooking oil production.

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The bio-circular raw materials are imported with the fossil raw materials at the beginning of plastic production. In production, the bio-circular raw material mixes with the fossil raw material. The mass balance approach then enables the various raw materials to be mathematically assigned 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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In addition to bio-circular PC and PBT made from recycled PET bottles, we are now utilizing another type of plastic that relies on alternative bio-circular sources. The PBT used in the 6 mm² WAGO 221 Series Splicing Connector and the WAGO 221 Series Inline Splicing Connector is derived from biogas.

But what does that mean exactly? Organic residues – such as agricultural waste, wastewater treatment byproducts and green waste – are converted into biogas in specialized fermentation facilities. Chemically, biogas is similar to natural gas, which, alongside crude oil, serves as a raw material for plastic production. By using biogas, we can conserve fossil resources while creating a mass-balanced, certified and bio-circular PBT.

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At least 27% of the new material is made from post-consumer PET bottles diverted from the waste stream. PET bottles (Ocean Bound Plastic/Land Source) are discarded into the environment worldwide, polluting nature. This pollution occurs in waterways, coastlines, beaches and other areas, particularly where recycling systems are lacking. To convert PET bottles into polymers, they must be collected, cleaned and shredded. The shredded bottles are then re-polymerized into PBT through a chemical upcycling process known as “depolymerization,” which involves adding a solvent, petroleum-based molecules, glass fibers and flame retardants. The result is a recycled PBT that retains the same technical properties as conventional PBT.

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Products made from recycled bio-based residues are referred to as bio-circular. For example, the PC material used in WAGO's Green Range Splicing Connector with levers comes from residues such as forestry by-products, edible fats or the production of edible oils.

The metals used, such as copper and spring steel, remain the same as in conventional products. These metals are predominantly sourced from recycled scrap. Currently, we cannot offer a product with a higher (and therefore 100% recycled) content. Non-scrap components included are crucial alloy elements required to maintain our products' technical capabilities and quality.

Technically, the product is identical to the original 221 Series Splicing Connector and holds the same approvals.

No, the functionality of the connector remains the same as that of the standard 221 Series Splicing Connector.

With the Green Range, we reduce CO₂ emissions at the product level. The emissions are accessible via the digital product passport (Asset Administration Shell, AAS).

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