Producing more sustainably and promoting a conscious lifestyle. These are the twin challenges facing Grohe, a leader in complete bathroom solutions and kitchen systems.
Reducing the climate and environmental impact of its products and processes while, at the same time, encouraging consumers to choose tap water and avoid the waste associated with the use of plastic bottles. These are the twin challenges facing Grohe, a global leader in complete bathroom solutions and kitchen systems. Donato Pasquale, Leader South Europe, Lixil Emena, tells us about them.
What are the pillars of Grohe's sustainability policy?
Sustainability is one of the pillars of Grohe's philosophy, alongside quality, technology and design. We take a 360-degree sustainable approach that involves our employees, suppliers, customers, processes and products. We recently received two awards: the German Sustainability Award in the "resources" transformation category, and the prestigious international recognition as one of the "50 Sustainability & Climate Leaders" brands.
Siamo molto orgogliosi di annunciare che GROHE fa parte dell'iniziativa globale "50 Sustainability & Climate Leaders". In qualità di pionieri nel settore idrosanitario, guidiamo la trasformazione della sostenibilità sulla base dei 17 obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile (SDG) delle Nazioni Unite. Stiamo lavorando attivamente per proteggere il nostro pianeta e le sue preziose risorse implementando tecnologie innovative come GROHE EcoJoy: il consumo idrico si riduce fino al 50% senza compromettere le prestazioni. A riprova dei risultati raggiunti, siamo stati appena premiati, con doppio riconoscimento, per l'impegno ecologico e sociale in occasione della più importante premiazione europea: GROHE ha vinto il German Sustainability Award 2021 nella categoria "Risorse" come brand e nella categoria "Design" per l'innovativo sistema di filtrazione dell'acqua GROHE Blue. Un ottimo risultato raggiunto con dedizione e un incredibile lavoro di squadra! Ecco un estratto in anteprima del nuovo Video Documentario sulla Sostenibilità in GROHE, presto disponibile sul nostro canale Youtube. Stay tuned… 😉#sostenibilità # 50climateleaders #shapingthefutureofwater #video
Posted by GROHE on Monday, December 7, 2020
On sustainable development, Grohe follows the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals through the triple objective of "avoid, reduce, compensate", increasing energy efficiency each year through its own means and thereby reducing the share requiring offsetting. Since we launched our sustainability programme in 2014, we have increased energy efficiency by 24 per cent and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent, exceeding our 2021 environmental sustainability targets by 20 per cent.
In 2020, Grohe made its production carbon neutral. What concrete actions made it possible to achieve this result?
With the "Grohe goes Zero" initiative launched in 2019, we installed combined heat and power generation plants at our facilities, fitted solar panels on all our factories and implemented smart lighting and green energy. These measures have enabled us to become fully CO2 neutral, even though some unavoidable emissions still remain to be offset. We therefore decided to support two projects: the first in northern India, aimed at generating clean energy through water, and a second in Malawi, aimed at providing safe drinking water through the repair and maintenance of drilled wells.
Have you noticed a shift in customer awareness? Which issues are they most attentive to?
Until about ten years ago, the issue of plastic pollution was not widely felt, and Italians still showed strong resistance to the idea of drinking tap water. In recent years, however, we have been witnessing a revolution, with the plastic-free movement gathering strength. Small water bottles are the most common plastic waste found on beaches and in cities: the only way to limit the problem is to drastically reduce consumption.
It is precisely within this context that two partnerships have been launched. At the international level, we are working with Pacific garbage screening, a non-profit organisation engaged in developing a floating platform for collecting plastic waste from rivers. In Italy, meanwhile, we launched a collaboration with LifeGate at the Porto Antico in Genoa on the occasion of the Mediterranean Boat Show in 2019. Through the installation of a LifeGate PlasticLess device, more than 180 kg of plastic waste has been collected to date.
One of your most innovative systems is Grohe Blue Home. What are its distinguishing features?
Grohe Blue Home is the two-in-one domestic filtration system that allows both mixed running water and fresh filtered water — still, lightly sparkling or sparkling — to be dispensed from the same tap. Made up of a chiller, a filter and a CO2 cylinder, the system is very compact and can be installed in any kitchen space, under the sink or within a four-metre radius, with no need for renovation or invasive work.
The Grohe Blue family also includes Grohe Blue Professional, for offices or large families, and Grohe Blue Pure, which dispenses natural filtered water at room temperature. At the heart of the water treatment process are Grohe's filters, including the five-stage filter, which removes even the finest particles, reduces dissolved solids and decreases limescale without affecting essential substances. In addition to these benefits, the Magnesium + Zinc filter also enriches the water with magnesium and zinc, improving its taste and delivering health benefits.
Grohe Blue represents a practical, intelligent and conscious choice, because it reduces the environmental impact arising from the production, transport and above all the disposal of water bottles. For these reasons it has just been awarded the German Sustainability Award 2021.
How has the response from consumers been?
Awareness of the plastic-free issue has translated into growing interest in our Grohe Blue filtration systems, both in private homes and in commercial and office settings. We believe this is not so much a commercial result as a genuine shift towards a more sustainable and conscious lifestyle.
The recent tax incentives for the adoption of water filtration solutions are an important lever. On one hand, they are a strong signal of a firmer commitment on the part of the government; on the other, they represent an opportunity to bring an ever-growing number of consumers on board. While we are still awaiting clarification on the application criteria, we are already noticing considerable interest. Our goal is to support consumers by guiding them towards the solution best suited to their needs.
Can you give us a preview of the development plans for the coming years, still with a focus on sustainability?
At the research and development centre in Hemer, Germany, 160 employees work to achieve even more sustainable products equipped with exclusive technologies. In addition to CO2-neutral production, the "Less Plastic" initiative – launched globally in June 2020 – has allowed us to eliminate around 10 million plastic packages for our products, with the goal of reaching 35 million over the course of this year. We also want to zero out the emissions from our commercial offices by 2021.
These initiatives also contribute to the sustainability strategy of the Lixil group, of which Grohe has been part since 2014, which sets the goal of zeroing out carbon emissions from home solutions by 2050.