Schneider Electric : > 10/07/2019 - Schneider Electric partners with BASF to develop a new product prototype using recycled plastics

Rueil-Malmaison (France), July 2, 2019
- With growing pressures over climate and natural resources, it is critical that manufacturing and consumption patterns evolve across industry sectors and become more 'Circular'. The Circular Economy represents a wise alternative to resource-intensive economic models and acts as a differentiator towards customers.

In our industry sector, circularity primarily means more Services, modernization, an extension of lifespan, as-a-Service & Leasing offers and Product end-of-life management, all which are good for the Environment and lead to long-term sustainable relationships with customers.

However, circularity also means 'lower carbon and greener materials'. Being more 'circular' in our materials is a key priority for Schneider Electric. We want this to be an enabler to boost innovation and meet the evolving demands of our customers. While accepting The Circulars 2019 award at the World Economic Forum in Davos last January, our President & CEO, Jean-Pascal Tricoire, highlighted this as well (see the short video here).

Schneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, announced in partnership with BASF a proof of concept for chemical recycling for a prototype of its Mini Circuit Breaker Acti 9 iK60 incorporating a flame retardant, with reinforced BASF Ultramid®. The announcement was made at a press conference held on 2nd July 2019 in Düsseldorf (Germany) ahead of upcoming K 2019 fair (Oct. 16-23, 2019).

Xavier Houot, Senior Vice President Group Environment, Safety, Real Estate, Schneider Electric, said, 'We are committed to zero carbon and circular solutions, and seeking greener materials is part of our DNA. We actively assess the ability of secondary raw materials, such as recycled plastics, to meet our demanding quality standards, and stringent industry regulations and norms. We rely on BASF's expertise to demonstrate end-to-end sustainability benefits and offer environmentally superior and cost-effective alternatives to primary raw materials. We are hopeful this experimentation with BASF will open room for more circular innovations in the materials we use in our products'

This experimentation proves once again that Schneider Electric puts the circular economy at the center of everything it does and showing that it's possible to empower a sustainable future with plastics. Schneider Electric's approach to the circular economy is a concerted move away from the wasteful linear system of 'extract, manufacture, dispose' (or 'take, make, dispose') that is demonstrably damaging to the planet and climate. By partnering up, the two companies hope to demonstrate how companies can adapt their offers to be more circular allowing a one-planet economy to prosper.

This is in line with Schneider Electric's commitment to double the number of recycled plastics in its products by 2025 (on a baseline of 2017) - a commitment taken last year as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy Global Commitment as well as with the French Ministry of Environment.

*K 2019 will be held in Dusseldorf on the 16th to the 23rd of October 2019.