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Bystronic and Zühlke uncover carbon reduction potential of 50%
The collaboration between Bystronic and Zühlke is combining sustainability and profitability, resulting in actionable activities with the potential of halving carbon emissions and decreasing operational costs.
The project at a glance
Bystronic is a globally leading technology company that supplies high-quality solutions for sheet metal processing. By nature, sheet metal processing is resource- and emission-intensive. Machines must be durable and powerful to bend and cut metal sheets for decades, and the use of such machines requires significant amounts of energy.
“Our partnership with Zühlke has proven that sustainability and business go hand in hand. Their expertise in sustainability and engineering brought a fresh perspective to our challenges. Our transformation journey is not just about reducing emissions, it's about innovating for efficiency and lower operating costs.”
Bystronic and Zühlke share a common belief that sustainability is an opportunity to do business better. That's why we joined forces on a transformation journey to significantly reduce emissions of bending and laser cutting systems, foster decarbonisation for Bystronic’s clients, and set a pioneering example of sustainable business in the sheet metal processing industry.
Life cycle assessment as a basis for the sustainability transformation journey
As a first step of the transformation journey, the team evaluated the status quo. We conducted a life cycle assessment of the bending and laser cutting solutions to identify the largest emission drivers. Next, we mapped them with the key parts and functions of the machines based on our sustainable product innovation approach. The analysis revealed some anticipated, but also some surprising insights. While the significant potential of reducing steel and electricity consumption was expected, the unexpectedly high impact of nitrogen consumption on CO2 emissions was quite surprising.
“Zühlke's contribution to our mission of decarbonising the metal processing industry has been invaluable. Their comprehensive life cycle assessment laid the groundwork for our sustainability initiatives, uncovering significant opportunities for CO2 reduction”, says Bystronic’s CTO Christoph Rüttimann. “Thus, we're not just making better machines; we're creating a sustainable future for our industry and our clients.”
Meeting sustainability goals and ensuring client focus
In a series of collaborative workshops, Bystronic and Zühlke engineers brainstormed alternative engineering solutions that would help enhance the products’ sustainability, lowering the carbon emissions and incorporating circularity aspects while preserving key functionality valued by Bystronic’s clients.
Within this process, the team identified four focus areas and prioritised them according to their technical feasibility and carbon reduction potential. Following that, the first of several customer value analyses was carried out to ensure a clear customer focus in addition to achieving the sustainability targets.
50% CO2 emission reduction creates real and ongoing business value
By conducting a more thorough study in close collaboration with Bystronic, we converted the insights of the analyses into actionable activities. Optimising resource utilisation, embracing circularity strategies, and aligning with genuine client needs resulted not only in a potential carbon emission reduction up to 50% but also in decreasing operational costs.
“Working with Zühlke is an extraordinary transformation journey. The solutions we've developed together not only result in a massive reduction of CO2 emissions but also promise significant operational savings.”
Now, Bystronic has established clear directions for carbon emission reduction and laid the foundation to build new generations of laser cutting and bending systems. Adopting this sustainability-centric approach not only leads to increased efficiency but also provides tangible and ongoing business value for Bystronic – both ecologically and economically. Bystronic is thus able to combine the two essential business imperatives of sustainability and profitability, thereby creating a real competitive edge.
