HUBER+SUHNER collaborates with customers and suppliers to take steps towards a more sustainable future

The company and its partners are answering to the increased demand for climate-and environmentally friendly solutions – with passion, transparency, and accountability embedded in every step toward limiting global warming and promoting resource efficiency, according to Lana Ollier, Head of Global Sustainability at HUBER+SUHNER. 

“At HUBER+SUHNER, environmental sustainability means taking a long-term, strategic perspective and working towards targets that are aligned with global climate goals; this involves a diverse range of functions. We underpin our strategic goals with actions and report on our progress in the defined areas,” she explained. 

Ollier pointed out that HUBER+SUHNER for the second time submitted its greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets for validation to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The validated 2030 and 2050 targets put the organisation on a trajectory towards net-zero. The company also discloses its environmental data yearly with CDP and has been a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and its Ten Principles – both since 2020.  

“We are constantly working with our partners to find new solutions. HUBER+SUHNER supports us by providing their products in packaging that is fully recyclable.” 

Jonathan Tisnerat, Sales Engineer, Equinix

In 2022, the Communication segment launched an initiative to provide fully recyclable packaging for its indoor fiber optic cable assemblies as well as plug-type attenuators and improved packaging density for its cables and connectors. Inspired by a data center customer, the company has since reduced single-use plastic bags from its supply chain by 2.2 million annually and introduced recyclable, plastic-free packaging for six indoor and seven harsh-environment solutions, according to Vanesa Alias, Vice President Product Management Fiber Connectivity. The new packaging will be rolled out for 16 harsh-environment communications solutions by the end of 2025 and extended to three more products in 2026. “You can see how mindsets changed; our people are increasingly coming up with new ideas for sustainable packaging, which need to be viable for customers and production,” Alias said. “Today, sustainable packaging has become a key requirement by customers.”  

Answering customers’ demand for a sustainable alternative to wooden drums to transport its cables, HUBER+SUHNER is collaborating with its long-term supplier Axjo – a Swedish spool producer since 1945 – on a pilot project in Germany to provide recyclable high-quality plastic cable drums to its customers. That project supports the circular economy model by minimising waste and making the most of resources by ensuring that the drums remain in usage. By returning, repairing and reusing cable drums up to eight times, companies can significantly lower material consumption, waste, and emissions, thereby making a positive contribution to their environmental footprint.  

Axjo Group Business Development Manager Aldin Avdic explained that the company has been producing reusable drums from 100% upcycled polypropylene for many years as sustainability has always been important to Axjo. A lot of research and development has gone into producing reusable cable drums. The first return programmes were initiated in early 2000 in Sweden and Finland and now Germany, earning kudos from customers.  

“Customers empty the drums and they are then collected or dropped off, then recycled. Axjo’s app makes it easy for customers to return their cable drums for recycling. The response has been great – a win-win for everyone.”

Aldin Avdic, Business Development Manager, Axjo Group

“Sustainability is key for all OEMs. Automotive sector players must increase transparency in their supply chains, and it all starts with raw materials. Our 100% recycled copper solution is very much appreciated by the OEMs and has led to good discussions so far. We are not merely a supplier, but a partner at their side, facing the challenges together and listening closely to better understand their needs.” 

Christine Legendre, Vice President Sales Automotive, HUBER+SUHNER

Copper is a key resource used to produce our low frequency cables used for the railway and automotive market, and it has a major impact on both HUBER+SUHNER’s and its customers’ emissions. Importantly, copper can be recycled, reducing the demand for primary copper and therefore a cable’s carbon footprint. 

Partnering with our suppliers for copper worldwide and in Europe with a leading supplier of sustainable copper solutions – HUBER+SUHNER is poised to offer customers 100% recycled copper cables and, with it, the ability to reduce their copper-wire-related carbon footprint by 50% on average. With this option, customers’ environmental sustainability is underpinned by low-carbon copper cables maintaining the product’s quality while improving resource efficiency – a step towards the circular economy. 

Christine Legendre, Vice President Sales Automotive, said original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in her segment – despite challenges such as geopolitical crises and political change that directly impact the focus on environmental sustainability – have shown great interest in this new solution.