REUSE: THE WAY FORWARD FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT

Alongside reducing our carbon emissions, waste management is one Petzl's priorities when it comes to our environmental action. Our ambitious objectives to reduce and repurpose waste are pushing our teams to continuously seek out new solutions and partners. The issue of waste requires us to think differently in order to achieve a new, circular model, and a new way of operating based on networking and cooperation. This is what Petzl did in 2021 by starting a strong and partnership with Valoralp, a company that specializes in reuse and offers incredible environmental and social value.

WASTE: 1 OF 4 MAJOR ISSUES

Reducing our waste production to preserve nonrenewable natural resources, or taking it one step further to transform our waste into resources for other uses — this is the challenge Petzl is taking on in the coming years. We're transitioning from a historically linear economy and mode of production (extract – transform – consume – retire), to a circular and more sustainable model.

But how do we get there? 

We're all familiar with the well-known concept of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle". These are the three key objectives that we're working towards as a company in order to uphold the commitments we've made for ourselves: Eliminate single-use plastics in our packaging, reuse 50% of our cardboard and pallets, and recover 80% of our waste by 2025.

BIG AMBITIONS FOR REPURPOSING AND REUSE​

In 2009, Petzl transitioned to a production method based on reducing waste. Now, we've taken this approach a step further by working to reduce, or even eliminate, the use of plastics in our packaging (check out our article on the topic). Additionally, we're progressively replacing polluting materials with lower-impact materials.

When it comes to reusing and repurposing our waste, the endeavor is a more recent one, and it requires a different perspective and more systematic approach. It requires us to imagine a second life for the materials we no longer use, and to actively seek and identify the needs of others within our network. 

After 2 years, the hard work is paying off. The percentage of recycled and reused waste is steadily increasing compared to incinerated waste (82% in 2022 versus 65% in 2019). Additionally, reused and recycled materials are beginning to occupy a more significant portion (11% of our waste in 2022).

VALORALP — A VALUABLE PARTNERSHIP​

To reach these objectives, the teams at Petzl have worked cross-functionally, integrating a wide range of stakeholders that align with our collaborative vision of sustainable development, opening new paths and forging strong partnerships.

This is the case with Valoralp, a partnership that began in 2021. They're experts when it comes to repurposing waste and we resell multiple metric tons of carboard boxes to them each year: 9 metric tons in 2021 and more than 38 metric tons last year.

“Working in the industrial field, I noticed that there was a significant amount of material being thrown away that could be reused. On one hand, businesses were throwing out perfectly good cardboard boxes, while on the other hand, e-merchants were buying new ones”.

Gabriel Glatigny, Founder of Valoralp

Thanks to this partner located close to our largest logistical platform and our headquarters, we're able to give a second life to materials that are fit for reuse, instead of recycling them. This is how we're able to reduce our waste and our environmental impact. 

In partnership with an engineering school in Grenoble that specializes in paper and organic material, Valoralp conducted a study on the environmental impact of reusing vs recycling materials.  The results stated that 1 metric ton of reused paper or cardboard saves 7,000 liters of water and prevents 302 kg of CO2 eq emissions. Petzl's partnership with Valoralp has saved 271,390 liters of water and prevented 11,708 kg of CO2 eq. in 2022.

THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF REUSE​

In addition to its positive environmental impact, reuse also generates local jobs at a far greater rate than other various waste management methods. According to the CNIID (the French National Center for Independent Information on Waste), for every 100,000 metric tons of waste, incineration generates 30 jobs, recycling generates 250, and reuse generates close to 7,000.

For example, Valoralp created a part-time role to manage the collection of cardboard from Petzl.

With this partner located just on the other side of the Chartreuse mountains, only 24 km as the crow flies from our headquarters, our collaboration is a great example of a positive impact generated in our region.