Waste

Waste
GRI 103-1,2,3; GRI 306-1,2,3 

We began reporting on GRI 306 Waste 2020 in our 2020 Sustainability Report and have set the target to reduce the share of disposed waste in 2030 to 21% of total waste, representing a 50% decrease compared to the 2019 baseline of 42%. 

In 2021, we reduced the share of our disposed waste to 31% of total waste. Waste data from 154 operational sites were consolidated in 2021. The difference to the 160 sites was attributed to two sites being closed and four office sites with negligible waste generation.

The share of disposed waste means the total weight of waste directed to disposal by Oerlikon calculated as a percentage of the total weight of waste generated by the Group. Currently, many of the waste-reduction initiatives are implemented locally. 

For example, at one of our sites in Shanghai, China, we launched an “Empty Plate” campaign, where employees receive a voucher when they return plates with no leftovers. The vouchers can then be exchanged for groceries. This campaign resulted in 2021 in a reduction of 24 000 liters of swill waste and savings of around CHF 1 500 (RMB 10 000) in disposal fees compared to the previous year. There are also indirect savings such as decreases in the usage of detergents and workloads to dispose waste. 

At our site in Aurangabad, India, they distributed unpacked leftover meals to those in need in the local community. As standalone initiatives, these impacts appear small. Collectively, they can contribute to a meaningful decrease in waste.

Presently, we are working on improving the quality of our reporting on waste and will begin to work closer with sites that have a high level of disposed waste (in absolute values) to identify solutions. Our goal is to continue to identify measures and work toward achieving our 2030 waste target.

Circular Economy
At Oerlikon, we see the future of sustainability as inextricably linked to circular-economy innovations, regenerative practices and advanced recycling management. Based on this conviction, we have adopted circular approaches as centerpieces for optimizing our environmental performance and have set a circular target.

To achieve our hazardous waste goal, multiple units across Oerlikon worked to recycle or recover waste streams for reuse. For example, at the Oerlikon Balzers ePD site in Suzhou, China, an ethanol cleaning and regeneration unit has been installed, reducing the consumption of fresh ethanol by more than 70%. 

Our site in Wuxi, China, replaced a chemical agent, thereby reducing hazardous waste. In the US, our Metco site filters wastewater, which is accumulated into 55-gallon drums and sent to a recycler. The recycler filters and processes the wastewater, separating the particles. He then sells the recovered tungsten powder and pays Oerlikon. In doing so, the water becomes non-hazardous waste and is disposed of by the recycler.

Our internal operations also generate non-hazardous waste such as plastics, metals, organics and paper. We have implemented several programs to reduce, reuse and recycle office furniture and other non-hazardous materials, for example by donating items in good condition to nonprofit organizations and schools, and we are engaging our employees in recycling efforts. Though the programs are still in the early stages, we are looking into circular solutions that convert our waste streams to raw materials for use in other industries.

In our supply chain, we are purchasing recycled materials for reuse. At our Houston site in the US, we buy scrap from our bit-manufacturing customers in the form of “milled pieces” and sort out the non-carbide material. This material is then sent to our recycling supplier for tolling into tungsten powder or tungsten carbide powder, which is sent on to our Oerlikon Metco site in Canada, where it is blended, packaged and sent back to Houston for sale. This process is not only sustainable in terms of reworking and recycling, but has also brought us commercial benefits.

At our Barchfeld site in Germany, we also have random programs where we buy spray materials from our customers and then use this material, after screening it, as finish materials in our processes.

For our surface coatings, the thin-film physical vapor deposition (PVD) technology needs raw materials in the form of sputtering targets. The sputtering targets that are left over at the end of the coating process are then sold back to our suppliers to be reused. 

The above-mentioned are some examples of our efforts in contributing to the circular economy. As we define the processes and measures to systematically gather and analyze data, identify measures and report on waste, we seek to work in parallel, and also within our recently started Scope 3 project, to improve circularity along our value chain.