As part of its sustainability strategy, since 2021 glazed titanium-steel bathroom manufacturer, Bette, has been using significant quantities of carbon neutral steel, known as green steel.
To date the company has made over 59,000 products from green steel, at no extra cost to customers. Now Bette has added a counter to its website which gives the latest data on products made entirely of green steel and is providing information on its approach to the selection and use of green steel.
Bette CEO, Thilo C. Pahl comments: “Environmental protection has to be done properly – merely going through the motions isn’t going to help our planet. Because of this, Bette purchases green-certified steel based on specific projects being undertaken in the steel producers’ plants to reduce their carbon emissions, rather than trading purely on the basis of certificates. It is by buying green steel made in these plants where change is happening, that Bette is also supporting the transformation of the steel industry.
“We are confident of the advantages of our glazed titanium-steel material, and that our manufacturing methods are as environmentally friendly as possible. However, as with any product, the ecological impact must be considered from the beginning of the supply chain. Bette’s aim is to produce around 50 percent of its baths, shower trays and washbasins from carbon-neutral steel by the end of 2024. However, we must be honest with customers so they understand that our use of carbon-neutral steel will depend on developments in supply and demand.”
The use of green steel is one component of Bette’s sustainability strategy, and is said to have had a significant impact on Bette’s carbon emissions. The company has reported its emissions fell by 10 percent in 2021, and predicts even larger reductions of around 42 percent in 2022.
According to Bette the company is constantly working on improving its resource conservation and is putting its processes and procedures across the entire supply chain to the test. For instance, the company has been generating electricity and heat from combined heat and power plants and from solar for many years. However, a manufacturer’s most important emission is, and will always be, its product, which is why Bette is careful to avoid overproduction: around 70 percent of its goods are manufactured to order; the remaining 30 percent are stock products.
Bette say its products can support a more sustainable circular economy approach, in which products are re-used and recycled. The glazed titanium-steel material from which products are made is so durable that all products come with a thirty-year warranty. This means that Bette’s baths, shower floors and basins have the potential to be re-used, even when the rest of the bathroom is being refurbished or will be sold for re-use elsewhere. The products are made from natural materials, with no plastic and can be completely recycled. They are also extremely easy to clean, with minimum cleaning products required.
The company published a sustainability report for the 2019/2020 reporting period based on the GRI standard (Global Reporting Initiative), and environmental product declarations as per ISO 14025, which have been carried out since 2012.
Bette is showcasing its products’ sustainability benefits at The Sustainability Design Summit in London on November 29.
For further information on Bette’s use of carbon-neutral green steel and the latest on the number of products produced using the material see https://www.my-bette.com/en/about-us/sustainability/green-steel