A sustainable and responsible group

Grosfillex, more than mere words: sustainable products

Grosfillex has been fully aware of the ecological and environmental challenges for a long time, in particular within our industry. Today, the company is engaged in an effort to obtain Iso 50001 certification - a norm focusing on energy management.

Reducing our environmental impact plays out at every moment, so our sustainable development initiatives address the aspect of sustainability taking into account both products and individuals.

Our objectives

-To use between 50% and 100% recycled raw materials across all our products and adapt our tools

-Create new products capable of absorbing 100% recycled materials

-Circular economy project (first test is ongoing).

1)Ecological commitment

- Choice of materials and working method to ensure product quality and longevity

Grosfillex DNA has always been based on sturdy high-quality products that last as long as possible.

The life span of our products is often measured in decades! This is an important point when assessing their environmental cost.

The company is certified ISO 9001 for the design, production and sale of items made with plastic based materials, and has full control over compounding and all stages in the production process, both for extrusion and injection.

All the raw materials we use conform to the REACH European regulation that came into effect in 2007 to ensure safety in the production and use of chemical substances in the industry.

Cadmium was already removed from the formulations as early as in 1996 and lead was replaced by calcium zinc in 2003.

Our product warranties are among the most comprehensive in the industry to ensure that products are only renewed when really necessary.

-Recycling waste

100% of plastic offcuts and waste is recycled at our sites!

Production offcuts or scraps, everything is sorted, regenerated and reused.

The share of recycled material varies between 15 and 100% depending on the range.

There is no financial motivation to this approach, since the recycled material after reprocessing doesn’t get less expensive. This is rather an ethical choice that aims to limit our impact on the environment. The optimal ratio for recycled materials is determined internally for each product type to ensure identical technical features for the finished product. Performance is verified by our internal lab and controlled by independent external labs.

The other types of waste are systematically sorted, processed and recycled in each specialised sector.

-Use of recycled materials sourced externally

> Grosfillex has signed up to the UFME (Professional association of French Joinery Manufacturers) scheme: voluntary commitment charter for recycling end-of-life joinery. A pioneering initiative for the collection and processing of this type of waste and its possible reintroduction in the form of recycled material to manufacture new products. A first test is currently ongoing with harvested old non-Grosfillex joinery products.

* A proactive approach focused on purchasing recycled material obtained from processing household, industrial or other waste.

* Trials using new post-consumption or post-industry recycled materials are under way and to date they are conclusive with certain furniture items. Some parts could be manufactured and composed 90% of such external waste.

-Energy performance plan

Since 2015, in partnership with EDF, Grosfillex is engaged in an Energetic Performance Plan that involves actions aimed at reducing and optimizing energy consumption:

* A 750 m² photovoltaic power system installed on the roof of our Montréal-la-Cluse plant enables a self-consumed annual production equivalent to the consumption of 42 households, saving 50t in CO² emissions.

* Renovation of lighting for all production sites, switching to LED and achieving 50% savings.

* Speed regulation systems fitted on the motors enables to improve regulation, leading to savings.

* New cooling systems for industrial equipment thanks to latest generation installations with no green gas emissions and improved energy efficiency.

* Generalised recovery of calories to heat the industrial premises, and improved management of the overall heating system.

* Renovation plan for the roofs to ensure better insulation.

* Optimised use of compressed air, with regular checks and quick repair of leaks in the system and the machines, as well as turning off the installations when not required by the production unit.

* Implementation of a metering plan: separate energy meters send data and information in real time to a software system to identify potential discrepancies, measure the impact of the implemented measures and identify potential sources for optimisation.

* In 2020, to go further and bring all colleagues on board, an approach has been launched to achieve certification to ISO 50001 norm (Energy management) in 2021.

- Mastering resources: Grosfillex is respectful of regulations and respectful in terms of use of natural resources

•The group's production plants are Installations Classified for the Protection of the Environment (ICPE) and are regularly controlled by the relevant local authorities.

•AIR > Dust extraction systems are fitted in each plant to ensure that the air released in the environment is conform to regulations. The new ventilation installations are inspected by a Control Body and approved by prevention bodies.

•WATER > Water consumption is reduced as much as possible thanks to closed circuit cooling systems that are specific to the different uses and machines.

•SOILS > No toxic waste released into the soils is generated by our activities. We place the emphasis on harvesting and treatment of rain water. Large green spaces are preserved at our sites to ensure the soils remain as permeable as possible.

•SHIPPING > We are continuously engaged in research to limit or optimize flows for different transportation modes, road, air, maritime, to find the most suitable solutions.

To avoid shipping our products over very long distances, Grosfillex has 3 production sites in the world: France for Europe, USA for North America and Brazil for South America.

We engage in regular exchanges with our different carriers concerning eco-responsibility, whilst ensuring respect of delivery dates and method.

•PURCHASES > Our purchasing policy now requires that any new supplier must commit to an environmental approach. Also, considering iso competitivity and reasoning in terms of comprehensive costs while measuring the risks, the company favours the local economy and reduces the impact of shipping/transportation.

2° Social commitment

-The safety of our employees comes first

To guarantee a work environment that ensures optimal health and safety conditions for its employees as well as industrial performance that is respectful of the environment, Grosfillex is committed and asks all its employees, temporary staff and service providers to join in these efforts.

Industrial performance is directly tied to safety and abiding by the rules put in place by the group.

Engaged on a path to continuously improve health conditions in the work place, the Group Management has signed a Hygiene Environment Safety charter with 4 major focal points.

MISSION 1

EDUCATE

Develop basic simple rules that apply to all employees to create common education with respect to safety and the protection of our environment.

Build a road safety culture for all employees.

MISSION 2

CREATE A SAFE WORKPLACE

Introduce an action plan to improve safety concerning our machines and industrial tools.

Integrate HSE best practices into the study, design, purchase and reception of our equipment.

MISSION 3

DEVELOP HSE CULTURE THROUGHOUT THE GROUP

Develop common tools to bring new means for managers and project teams to integrate HSE requirements into their daily projects.

MISSION 4

IMPROVE OUR ABILITY TO DEAL WITH EMERGENCIES

Formalise emergency procedures for the sites to improve our response in case of significant events.

Safety is our number one priority and concerns all employees. It is addressed by the top management via the commitment of the Steering Committee, but also through the leadership of our managers.

-Safety at our industrial sites

To prevent the main risk we face, i.e. fire, all of the group's industrial sites are fitted with automatic extinguishers (sprinklers) and water retention systems.

The safety of the sites is ensured via access control systems and security staff.

Emergency services based close to our sites regularly engage in fire drills within our premises to help determine the different potential situations.

- Local recruitment

We take part in fairs and events promoting employment.

We take care of the professional paths and training of our employees throughout their career.

Actions designed to facilitate internal mobility. We take on work placements.

We ensure that we comply with all legal requirements in terms of labour law, for instance regarding:

*employment of disabled people

*equal job opportunities

-External

The company contributes to the environmental, social and economical development of its region with a win/win approach.