Sustainability in Our Products

Due to the latest market trends and increasing regulations from various governments, having sustainability in our products is one of the leading factors to keep Kautex competitive. As sustainability gains more traction in all industries, it is imperative for businesses to shift their focus towards actively becoming more environmentally responsible. Shareholders are demanding and expecting companies to act now, and provide sustainability targets, actions, and results. We have started seeing RFQs from customers with a set of requirements regarding designing for sustainability and recyclability as well, and it is expected to become more prevalent going forward.

Kautex has been proactive to ensure that our products are sustainable and designed for recyclability. Our goal is to provide products that have environmental and economic benefits throughout their entire lifecycle, starting from the raw material extraction to the end-of-life recycling. We continue to complete LCAs (life cycle assessments) using our D2CO2 app for our products. The D2CO2 app is the easy-to-use tool that allows the user to input various elements of the product including BOM, material, weights, production method, and other elements to output an overall kg of CO2e. The app lets the user select alternate inputs to check if it can reduce the carbon footprint, making it a useful decision-making tool. By identifying the high contributors of the product’s carbon footprint and the alternate options, we’re able to begin discussions with customers for CO2 reduction and make more environmentally responsible sourcing decisions.

One of the major aspects for increased visibility and ensure sustainability is considered during the quote and design phase is the requirement included in the design review for Pentatonic. In the design review, there is a requirement to complete an LCA calculation using the D2CO2 app and discuss the CO2 requirements with the OEM. We are also solidifying the scrap management process for our Pentatonic Systems in effort to create a circular economy, which is significantly different from traditional fuel systems component recycling. Recycling, reducing, and repurposing materials will reduce costs, leading to a more durable and profitable business.

To learn more about sustainability at Kautex, visit our website.