Latin America. The materials we use in our product development are under the microscope, as more and more consumers realize the environmental impact that things like disposable plastic have on the planet.
However, we are still a long way from eliminating them from our daily lives. That is why at Axis Communications – a leading company in the network video industry, making a smarter and safer world possible – we are constantly working on the elimination of unsustainable and dangerous materials from our products, to contribute to creating a more environmentally friendly world.
Plastic: not so fantastic
Your toothbrush in the morning? Plastic. Your credit card? Plastic. Your lunch box or lunch box? Mostly plastic too. Plastic in its various forms and compositions is everywhere. We have a lot to thank you, almost no other material has revolutionized our world like plastic and has given us a material to innovate in numerous areas. Features such as light weight, strength and flexibility have contributed to the adoption of plastic in countless sectors, including network camcorders.
But in a world where we produce more than 330 million metric tons of plastic every year, each and every sector has to do its part to be more environmentally friendly. We have seen the popular ban on plastic straws or straws for the restaurant industry and we can see the omission of certain plastics in the electronics sector.
Like many other electronic devices, the chambers typically contain polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC. While very versatile, PVC suffers from the problem common to all plastics, as it is not recycled properly and plastics take time to decompose.
Most plastics, including PVC, are made of fossil material that, when burned, contributes to an increase in greenhouse gases, and PVC also generates toxic dioxin gas when burned. This is a key reason why Axis has started using recycled plastic in many of its products, and has eliminated the use of PVC altogether from most of its products.
Carl Trotzig, Director of Quality and Environment at Axis, talks about this huge global ecological responsibility and how Axis drives the sustainability agenda.
Axis is taking action against hazardous materials
As the years go by and we begin to see how hazardous materials are impacting the environment with things like climate change, the poisoning of marine life, and garbage-polluted landscapes from 50 years ago; sustainability is becoming increasingly important. Both people and businesses realize the impact they have on the environment and many try to act environmentally conscious and reduce their carbon footprint. A growing number of our customers follow this trend by demanding sustainable products.
The BC Empresarial building in Colombia implemented a low-energy, PVC-free camera solution from Axis.
Take the BC Empresarial building in Colombia, for example, which promotes "green entrepreneurship." Its entire philosophy is based on being environmentally sustainable, so it implemented a solution of low electrical energy consumption and PVC-free cameras from Axis, which subsequently won the LEED Gold Certification award.
Our approach to sustainability is multifaceted, such as ensuring optimal functionality and the effort to use more recycled materials (e.g. plastic). But the elimination of PVC has been one of our biggest projects. Although it is still an integral part of many products, it is now known that PVC not only harms the environment due to recycling and production issues, but also human health. Several studies have found a possible connection between the life cycle of this type of plastic and diseases such as cancer, asthma and immune system damage. Especially due to the release of harmful substances such as phthalates and dioxins.
Axis facing a great challenge
Our R&D team is constantly looking for ways to improve the materials and procedures used for product manufacturing. For many years, Axis has focused on eliminating substances hazardous to the environment, in particular, PVC. While creating cutting-edge products and solutions, we always keep the environmental impact of our operations, products and solutions in mind to ensure they are minimized. The long-term goal is to offer CFR and BFR-free products, including chlorine, which is found in PVC and chlorinated flame retardants, as well as bromine found in brominated flame retardants.
In addition, we strive to use more recovered materials in our products, such as recycled plastic, and apply the same standards to our packaging, so that it is as recyclable as possible.
We are on track to eliminate PVC from all Axis products: in 2017 93% of Axis cameras and encoders were completely PVC-free, up from 70% in 2015.
Customers and the new approach
As mentioned above, customers are demanding this kind of effort from businesses today. And it's not just about what devices are made. They want to know where it is produced and whether companies offer good working conditions that comply with human rights. Today people expect organizations to act ethically and take responsibility for the environment, that goes for everything from the food they offer their staff in the cafeteria to safety solutions.
One example is Vaisala, a global engineering company that takes sustainability very seriously. In fact, it is one of the criteria of the organization when choosing suppliers, even when selecting a security system. Vaisala's decision to choose Axis was based on numerous factors: the cameras have good functionality and due to their long service life, the number of replacements is significantly reduced. Axis solutions also have a relatively low level of power consumption.
We continue to drive sustainability
In addition to Axis' campaign to eradicate PVC, we are developing solutions that reduce the consumption of environmental resources. For example, power consumption has been reduced in many ways through our innovations, such as the use of Lightfinder technology, so cameras do not require additional lighting.
We will also continue our focus on producing the highest quality products possible. Sustainability and product quality go hand in hand: longer life that comes with higher quality means less need for replacements.
Will this be enough?
In 2007, we committed to the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest initiative for sustainable development, and have followed its ten principles ever since. To work with us, suppliers must respect the Supplier Code of Conduct, which we update regularly and have adopted the guidelines established by the Responsible Business Alliance. This focus on sustainability across our supply chain, including regular audits of our key suppliers, means we can be confident that our suppliers support our overall sustainability goals.
We've accomplished a lot in the last decade by eliminating hazardous substances, but environmental pollution doesn't just come from product manufacturing, it affects every step of the supply chain.
To further expand our efforts, we also aim to reduce the carbon footprint of our product transports by 20% between 2016 and 2021, a goal that is achieved by moving production sites closer to their largest markets and reducing the size and weight of our products and packaging, Trotzig ends.
