With environmental concerns pushing to the top of the agenda for consumers, governments and regulators, businesses are becoming increasingly vocal about being green. It’s not always an easy transformation, but the story of Umicore shows it can be done.
The Belgian company’s history dates back to 1805, when Napoleon Bonaparte granted a mine on the border between Belgium and Germany to the industrialist Jean-Jacques Dony. For nearly two centuries, the company was predominantly involved in mining and the production of commodities and base metals.
Then, around the start of the 21st century, as man-made climate change and the dangers of fossil fuel use became global concerns, the company embarked on a strategic revolution, selling its mining assets and shifting focus away from commodities and onto speciality materials and, eventually, clean technologies.
The company realised it "had a very heavy environmental legacy to deal with, from 200 years of industrial activities", says Marc Grynberg, Umicore’s chief executive officer. "It wasn’t just about improving our image or reputation. We fundamentally believed it was the only way forward. We knew that if we did it on a voluntary basis, it would allow us to keep control of the methodology, the cost and the timeline."
Umicore today
Today, Umicore (which changed its name in 2001 from Union Miniére) is a global materials-technology and recycling group with over 10,000 employees and revenues (excluding metals) of EUR 3.3 billion for the full year 2018. The company dedicates the vast majority of its research and development (R&D) efforts into clean technologies, from emission-control catalysts to materials for rechargeable batteries to recycling technology, with an overarching business goal to create sustainable value. Every year, between 5 and 7 per cent of revenues are spent on R&D; and in 2017, 85 per cent of that was channelled into clean mobility research.
For instance, one of its flagship recycling facilities in Hoboken, Belgium is historically located in what has now become a residential area. This proximity has forced the company to develop some of the cleanest possible processes in order to mitigate the risk of emissions affecting those in the locality as part of their zero-tolerance approach to environmental impact.
Business transformation
Being an early mover is now paying off.
"We invite regulators" to visit the site, says Grynberg, "so that what we’ve done becomes the benchmark. We’re asking for tighter regulations." Not only will this benefit society globally, he adds; it will also have a positive impact on the business by putting Umicore’s less ethical competitors in a difficult position. Such is the power of moving before you’re pushed.
Yet, Umicore’s recent history is also a cautionary tale of how long some changes can take. Take the example of electric vehicles. The company made the decision to work on materials for EVs back in 2005, five years before Nissan first launched its all-electric Leaf model. "This was a time when there weren’t many believers in electrification," says Grynberg. "The first 10 years were an uphill battle against the sceptics, until regulations changed the game about five years ago." Now the EV business has taken off. Recenty, Umicore partnered with German auto group Audi for a closed loop battery recycling model, projecting that more than 90 per cent of the cobalt and nickel in Audi e-tron high-voltage batteries can be recycled.
So, what is waiting over the horizon? A major focus for the next five to ten years is improving the performance of lithium-ion batteries, according to Grynberg. For the time being, the electrification of mobility is being driven by regulation, but we are just starting to see the consumer pull taking over from the regulatory push. For that to accelerate, consumers are going to need to see four things: cheaper batteries, longer driving ranges, shorter charging times, and longer battery life overall.
Closed loop process
Another priority is recycling – specifically the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. "If the car industry is going towards electric mobility, at some point we will need to deal with end-of-life batteries," Grynberg explains. Umicore has developed unique recycling processes in order to recover all the valuable metals from such batteries.
With these two initiatives, the company is in a position to offer its customers (suppliers to the automotive sector) a ‘closed-loop model’, selling materials in the first instance, recovering materials at the end of the battery’s life cycle, and then re-selling those materials. This means a high level of traceability for materials.
We invite regulators, so that what we’ve done becomes the benchmark. We’re asking for tighter regulations.
Sustainability: next steps
For Grynberg, this is the next ethical frontier. If traceability is to become a key focus for consumers, Umicore will be ahead of the pack. Yet another reason to move early and to go above and beyond current regulations.
Applications of the ‘closed-loop’ recycling model do not stop here. Other industries such as consumer goods and real estate have started putting in place a more sustainable business model.
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Closed loop recycling process: other applications
Danone
The company treats three key resources – water, milk and plastic – as part of closed loops. In the milk cycle, for example, Danone is finding new uses internally for acid whey both in its early life nutrition products and as a feedstock for animal feeds, fertilisers and energy. In plastic, Danone is working closely with Veolia to build plants with zero liquid discharge and is working towards using 100 per cent biosourced second generation plastic, as well as achieving 100 per cent rates of recycled materials in packaging.
Fairphone
One of Fairphone's key value propositions is an extended usable life span made possible by the ease of repairing the phone, thanks to modular components. In addition to its responsible and ethical sourcing policy, Fairphone is beginning to incorporate recycled metals from its various e-waste programmes into its supply chain, with the end goal of ensuring that Fairphones are returned and completely recycled at the end of their lives.
Miniwiz
The technology-focused company specialises in repurposing multiple forms of waste into valuable products and materials across multiple categories – from architecture and building materials, to transportation, consumer goods and furniture – and at industrial scale. Waste plastic is transformed into a curtain wall system used in buildings, whilst discarded rice husks become new iPhone casings.
Source: UN Global Compact, Project Breakthrough
