Sustainability

Agfa Graphics does not consider sustainability as a mere tool to green up its image. Instead, it is part of our strategy to systematically improve the cost and environmental performance of our products and operations. We have a long track record when it comes to sustainable development. Environmental sustainability is embedded as a set of technical requirements in our R&D projects for new systems, which are equally valued as quality, performance and cost specifications. Compliance on product regulatory requirements is considered as a sine qua non to bring products to the markets.

By offering an assortment of best-in-class high-tech solutions and by reducing our own footprint when producing and delivering our products, we help printers reduce both their own and their customers' footprint. Our products are designed, developed and manufactured in such a way that the production process, the storage, the transport and the use of products, as well as the waste treatment at the end of the life cycle have minimal impact upon safety and health of Agfa's employees and customers as well as on the environment. We've developed technology that eliminates toxic chemicals, reduces waste, lowers ink consumption and saves energy.

• Chemistry-free plate systems in our Thermofuse and photopolymer assortment save on the use of developer chemistry (incl. the resulting waste) and water, combined with reduced energy consumption and reduced maintenance work of the clean-out unit;
• The physical imaging and clean-out process of our Thermofuse plates offers a stable plate making process, requiring less calibration time and plate remakes;
• :Energy Elite plates don't require an energy-consuming baking step, while achieving high run lengths in harsh printing conditions;
• :InkSave software reduces ink costs, drying energy and time needed, while improving recyclability of the substrate;
• Our fountain additives allow printers to work alcohol free;
• We can help printers deal with managing aluminum scrap plates;
• Wide-format printers replace the energy- and chemistry-demanding screen printing techniques. The drop-on-demand inkjet heads are operated with UV hardened inks which are free of volatile organic compounds. In addition, these printers use considerably less ink per square meter than traditional screen presses;
• We perform life cycle assessment and product carbon footprint studies to inform our customers on the environmental performance of our systems and to identify opportunities for further improvements;
  

• The production of our systems is continuously evaluated and steered to improve our performance w.r.t. occupational safety, health and environment. The Agfa Graphics production sites have ISO14001 and OHSAS18001 certificates or are in a programme to achieve certification;
• In the summer of 2011 Agfa Graphics launched its worldwide Sustainability and Energy Reduction Programme (SERP). The purpose of this programme is to assemble all projects and know-how in the organization and to spread best practices across all sites.
• Our UK plant, winner of several sustainable manufacturing awards, has been the pilot facility for a number of SERP projects, such as:
  
  • Achieving zero general waste to landfill in 2010, down from 5,000 tonnes in 2005;
    
  • Recycling waste process heat, reducing process heating gas consumption by 70%;
    
  • Recycling waste process heat to augment factory space heating in the winter months, reducing space heating gas consumption by 62%;
    
  • Installing high efficiency lighting with sensors in the factory reducing lighting energy consumption by 75%;
    
  • Having its management system certified as compliant to ISO 50001 (the new energy management standard) in September 2011. This kind of certification will be rolled out in all production plants worldwide by the end of 2013.
  The USA factory has recently piloted new technology for process cooling that uses 95% less electrical energy than conventional chiller technology.
  Our Chinese factory has recently realized projects to recycle waste heat back into the process. These will deliver significant energy savings in 2012.
  
  In France, a lighting redesign project has been rolled out in the factory, again reducing lighting costs in the area impacted by 75%.
  
  
• Our programme to redesign our product logistics already resulted in a yearly reduction of cardboard usage by 600 ton and of packaging paper by 100 ton and in the distribution of 100,000 single wrapped printing plates.