Group Sustainability & Technology Director
We present three different focus areas & specific claims;
We have created a forum, where local initiatives by our subsidiaries may be shared across the entire group, working to inspire and spread experiences in energy-saving measures.
With our “Save the Planet” booklet, we provide educational material for our employees to learn and foster a mindset keeping energy saving a priority. We use surplus heat from equipment to heat both premises and warehouse buildings and we have guidelines for shutting down manufacturing equipment when not in use. Pressure in compressed air systems has also been reduced and leakages minimized.
Renewable electricity makes up 89% of total electricity consumption and 84 % of all energy consumption is renewable.
In China, we have switched from coal to renewable electricity sources such as wind and hydropower. During 2024 Nolato electricity consumption in China was coming from 100 % renewable sources.
Approximately 33 % of Nolato Sweden’s electricity comes from two dedicated solar power farms, sourced from one of Sweden’s largest solar farms located near Åhus in Skåne and the second one located in Studsvik.
We are committed to reducing our climate emissions in line with what science indicates is necessary to fulfil the Paris Agreement. Our targets is to reduce the Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 70 % by 2030, compared to base year 2021. For the same period, we also commit to reducing our Scope 3 emissions by 25 %.
Our mapping shows that over 95 % of Nolato Group’s total climate emissions pertain to Scope 3. Understanding this is fundamental to identifying concrete reduction measures and the allocation of resources.
Nolato Group’s global presence and decentralized organization allow us to locate production close to our customers. This not only provides the environmental benefit of fewer transports, but allows also faster response time and decision-making, higher accountability and proximity to the customer. To avoid the shipment of materials, we also strive as far as possible to identify corresponding materials produced by local suppliers closer to production.
By using the mass balancing method, we are gradually replacing fossil raw materials with bio-based circular raw materials in our customers’ products. Examples include a urine catheter made by Nolato for one large healthcare customer, where the plastic’s carbon footprint has been reduced by 55 %.
The use of chemicals in our production is limited. Phasing out these substances is partly about reducing our environmental impact, but also about removing substances that can have a negative or directly harmful effect on the work environment for our employees.
Our group-wide publication “Nolato Spirit” brings together our core business principles and values in terms of business mission, vision and how we seek to achieve them in a concise manner available to all Nolato employees.
Nolato Code of Conduct provides binding guidelines to all employees within the Group on how our business principles and values should be put into practice. It reflects applicable conventions and regulations, including the principles of the UN Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the core conventions outlined in the International Labor Organization, UN Declaration of Human Rights and the ISO 26000 standard.
Our Molding Excellence Academy in the US and Europe offers training in injection molding at different levels to both technical and non-technical personnel. In addition, a multi-stage training program is offered based on training material from RJG® with in-house licensed trainers.
In cooperation with the college Vermont Tech, Nolato offers its local employees the opportunity to take courses in manufacturing processes, mathematics, and engineering. The program runs for four years and at the end of their studies, program participants give a presentation identifying an operational challenge within their department and proposes a solution.
We have a long-standing tradition of actively participating and contributing with a positive influence on the local societies where we operate. As one of many examples, Nolato Beijing in 2023 awarded grants totaling RMB 9,400 to 11 pupils at the local school Zhenningpu Central Primary School in Hebei province in China.
BROCHURE
BROCHURE
We regulate production by limiting unnecessary inventory, including materials and finished products. The purpose is to standardize operations to create work processes that are repeatable, reliable, and less individual dependent, which enhances stability and reduces fluctuations.
When designing processes, we observe an environmentally sound approach by limiting CO2-footprint and minimizing waste, including energy, water and non-renewable resources. Our production facilities shall be certified according to the environmental management system ISO 14001.
Through daily management via the Green Cross and safety inspection we continuously improve safety in the workplace. We observe, draw conclusions and continuously take measures to reduce risk factors to prevent accidents. Our production units are encouraged to be certified according to a relevant international occupational health and safety management system.
By adopting the principles within Lean and good manufacturing practice (GMP), we may deliver the highest possible value and quality to our clients. We identify problems, develop solutions, and continuously improve by documenting and analyzing relevant data that help us ensure operational efficiency.
By using the 5S methodology, we work to continuously raise our standards and increase efficiency. The methodology makes problems visible, helping us understand the reasons for waste and provides a solid foundation for making improvements.
We minimize the “Eight Wastes” that reduce value, including overproduction, waiting time, inappropriate processing, defects, unnecessary inventory, unnecessary or excess motion, unnecessary transports and unused employee creativity.
We have steadily improved our rating within EcoVadis and placed in the 96th percentile in 2024. Our high rating stems from our advancements within four areas: (1) Complete reporting on the Group’s climate impact, including Scope 3, (2) Approved and validated climate targets by the Science-Based Targets initiative, (3) Improved and more transparent sustainability reporting in our most recent annual report 2023, (4) Establishment of a Supplier Code of Conduct and introduction of our new Sustainable Procurement Initiative, which demonstrates our active engagement in our value chain and strong commitment to promoting climate measures among our supplier base.
Improved design robustness by combining injection molding software with measuring software - Predictive tolerance analyses.
Constantly ensuring that everything Nolato does is sustainable and in harmony with the environment, social responsibility and business benefit is vitally important to us.
By sharing expertise and collaborating with select suppliers, we’re paving the way for sustainable choices in polymer manufacturing. This initiative empowers our teams and customers to make impactful decisions for a greener
Sustainable development is one of the most important aspects of running a business today. It’s about continually reducing the company’s negative impact on people and the environment, or simply taking on our share of responsibility.
Combining both agriculture and solar power generation — called agrivoltaics — is a burgeoning innovation that optimizes the productivity and efficiency of land use. Read more here.