The Norma Group, an international market leader in engineered joining technology, has lowered its water consumption by 10.5 percent, its total waste by 6.4 percent, its energy consumption by 3.3 percent and its greenhouse gas emissions by 2.7 percent, each in relation to its production costs.

The company is thus contributing to environmental protection at its global sites and is documenting this in a transparent manner in its first independent Sustainability Report.

“It is our responsibility to meet current needs without placing a burden on future generations,” says Werner Deggim, CEO of Norma Group. The company accepts this responsibility by using resources sparingly in manufacturing, but also with its products that reduce weight and, as a result, emissions. “Together we can use valuable resources in a cleaner, safer, and more efficient manner,” Werner Deggim says. “We also contribute to global climate protection and help battle the scarcity of energy and water with our products,” he adds.

At the Norma Group plant in Subotica, Serbia, cooled steam from thermosetting equipment that is used to design plastic products is fed back to the boiler again as recovered heat. This steam can then be brought back to a higher working temperature with considerably less electric power. This is only one method that the Group employs to reduce its water demand, its energy consumption and its emissions. Other measures include machines, compressors and lighting that conserve power, but also initiatives on using energy and water with greater care.

The products that Norma Group offers also help reduce emissions and energy consumption. For example, a passenger airplane requires more than 30,000 clamps for the connections in its fuselage and engines. The Group’s products allow for the weight of an aircraft to be reduced by about 100 kilograms. Assuming an average flight performance of 2.4 million kilometres per year, the same aircraft uses approximately 50,000 litres less kerosene. This equates to 158,000 kilograms of CO2, the same amount that 80 trees are capable of neutralising in a year.

Photograph below: The Norma Group collects and recycles metal residues in its plants with the aim of reducing waste to a minimum.