Successful collaboration: Rehau relies on the SKZ for sustainability

Würzburg Plastics Institute cooperates with Rehau in various areas

SKZ – The Plastics Center

The sustainability requirements for the plastics industry are becoming increasingly diverse. In order to be well positioned here, it is important to also rely on expertise outside your own company. As a plastics processor, Rehau has recognized that the SKZ Plastics Center is exactly the right partner for this.

Whether it’s the upcoming sustainability reporting (CSRD obligation), the creation of life cycle assessments and environmental product declarations (EPD) or the transformation to a circular economy – the challenges for companies are many and varied. Andreas Jenne, Sustainability Officer at Rehau Industries, is also aware of this: “For us, the circular economy is one of the key fields of action. We have established a broad basis for this: From our own criteria and scorecards for recyclable product development and our development teams researching recycling options to take-back concepts and subsidiaries for recycling used materials, we have already established the topic holistically.” For certain topics, however, it is strategically more advantageous to rely on strong partners who already have in-depth knowledge of sustainability issues relevant to the industry, says Jenne. “With the SKZ’s Sustainability and Circular Economy department, we have exactly the right experts at our side.

SKZ supports the plastics industry in many areas
For more than 20 years, sustainability in the plastics industry has been the subject of a dedicated working group at the SKZ. Due to the constant expansion of activities, the group became an entire division at the beginning of 2024 and now has twelve scientific employees. “The life cycle assessment (ecological sustainability assessment) of plastic products and processes in particular has been a focus of our activities from the very beginning. In the meantime, however, we have positioned ourselves much more broadly in line with developments and support the plastics industry in many areas when it comes to implementing the requirements placed on them,” says Dr. Hermann Achenbach, Head of Sustainability and Circular Economy at SKZ. In addition to life cycle assessments, this includes energy efficiency analyses, the development of tools for design for recycling, the further development of the digital product passport, preparation for mandatory sustainability reporting and the creation of transformation concepts towards climate neutrality. Rehau also has a long tradition of circular economy: processes to close internal loops and reuse materials were already in place in the 1950s. Today, the company works consistently with external partners to continuously increase the use of recycled materials in all products.

Employee training
Rehau draws on various areas of expertise at the SKZ. For example, the publication of EPDs is required for the building products sector in view of the increasing importance of sustainable construction. For pipes, windows, edgebands, garden hoses, sewer shafts and drainage boxes, the SKZ works with Rehau to create the standard-compliant (in accordance with EN 15804) life cycle assessments and EPD documents. In order to build up expertise in sustainability assessment, the SKZ trains Rehau employees in EPD and product carbon footprinting.
Furthermore, SKZ experts support individual Rehau divisions in preparing for mandatory sustainability reporting and in creating corporate carbon footprints for their products.

Cooperation in the KARE project
With a view to the transformation to a circular economy, Rehau and the SKZ are working together in the KARE project. In KARE, a total of 16 partners from research and industry in and around Franconia are setting up a regional competence center for occupational research into the circular economy of plastics. The aim is to design the work processes of the participating companies in such a way that the recycling of plastics is successful and at the same time creates good working conditions for employees. “The circular economy can only work if we cooperate. Participating in KARE is an excellent opportunity for us to further strengthen our commitment to the circular economy. Through the cooperation and joint projects, we will also take our transformation to another level within our own organization,” says Andreas Jenne. The KARE project led by the SKZ is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) from October 2023 to September 2028 (funding code: 02L22C200).