Keter Continues to Increase Output of Recycled Products on an Ambitious Timeline

 

Designed more than a century ago from flat wooden boards, the Adirondack chair is immediately recognizable. Initially conceived in 1903 for a lakeside vacation home, the slanted chair has since been reproduced in materials from leather to resin.

The Adirondack chair’s modern incarnation includes an environmentally friendly version produced by Keter, a global leader in outdoor furniture and storage solutions.

Keter makes its chair from recycled resin-based materials that require no maintenance. The design is the physical manifestation of Keter’s sustainability strategy and earns the nickname “Zero Wood Chair.” For every 1,000 chairs Keter produces, its inherent sustainability saves 27 pounds of virgin wood and 50 trees.

Keter prefers recycled resin over virgin resin. Reusing this material expends less energy, reducing GHG emissions, smog, and water consumption.

Keter’s chief executive officer Alejandro Pena described the boons of using recycled materials and recycling.

“One of the benefits of using resin materials is that they can be recycled,” Pena said. “It’s very important to understand that all Keter products can and should be recycled. We are starting to be more proactive in trying to collect back many of these products that are being discarded.”

Keter Sets a High Bar With its Sustainability Strategies

The Adirondack chair is one of many ways Keter shows its business philosophy of sustainability in its products, production, and materials. Keter infuses this ethos into its innovative and durable outdoor furniture and storage solutions, tool storage systems, and household storage and organization solutions.

A company with more than 5,000 employees, Keter is a leader in sustainability in its industry. Whittling down its carbon footprint is one area of focus.

By Keter’s calculation, its annual use of recycled content in its manufacturing prevents more than 680 metric tons of greenhouse gasses from being emitted into the environment each year.

This measure prevents greenhouse gas emissions as much as taking 565 passenger vehicles off the road for a year. Recycling touches many aspects of Keter’s production and is a powerful environmental protection tool.

Subhead: Keter Manufactures Close to Markets

One of Keter’s major sustainability strategies is to manufacture as many products as possible near places where it is selling them. This reduces transportation costs, a significant move that keeps carbon out of the atmosphere.

Production and sourcing close to markets also yield the perk of dependability. The COVID-19 pandemic proved that complicated supply chains could be unreliable.

“About 60% of our production is in the country and the region where the product will eventually be purchased,” Pena said. “During the pandemic, we were able to leverage our global footprint and avoid long lead times that our competition had.”

With approximately 20 manufacturing facilities worldwide, Keter can manage its production to take advantage of cross-category innovation and new product developments.

For example, Keter production in the United Kingdom fills a demand for smaller, lightweight products. Meanwhile, across the pond in the United States, consumers seek much bigger items to complement larger home footprints.

Also, in areas near Keter manufacturing locations, the company partners with communities to buy back or collect local waste.

“We have a commitment as part of our sustainability to make sure that no waste coming out of our factories ends up in a landfill,” Pena said.

Keter Puts its Promise of Sustainability into its Production and Design Process

Keter builds its sustainability goals around three pillars: materials innovation, design innovation, and responsible business practices. Together, these pillars ensure Keter creates resin products that can be recycled responsibly.

Keter is investing heavily in new product development to satisfy consumer demand for sustainability. These developments include zero production of single-use plastic consumer products. The company has already achieved this goal.

Keter designs its resin-based household and garden consumer products to be 100% recyclable. The company is on schedule to increase its use of recycled content to 55% in 2025. (Keter has already reached 41%).

To fight climate change, Keter has pledged to implement operational efficiencies and environmentally positive actions through the supply chain. This move includes a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (a 10% reduction has been achieved). Keter is also on track to reach its goal of zero waste in landfills.

Keter is Fulfilling the Better Planet Pledge

To hit its carbon-neutral goals, Keter is moving toward even more sustainable manufacturing techniques. Along with the innovative design, Keter’s production capabilities are increasing.

Zvika Zak, Managing Director of Keter Innovation Center, said, “Keter is committed to ensuring we lead the industry when it comes to the design, creation and delivery of sustainable lifetime product solutions that meet the emerging behaviors and buying trends of consumers across the globe.”

Zak added: “New technology will also be employed to create a new portfolio of product finishes that will widen consumer appeal for Keter products, supported by speedily re-configured products that will get to market without delay.”

Zak said sustainability would come to define how future products will be created and used.

A spirit of innovation flies high at the Keter Innovation Center. There, professionals are using cutting-edge materials and new technologies whose capabilities will inspire Keter’s ongoing new product development programs for years to come.

Zak said, “We will do it all based upon the company’s stated commitment to a more sustainable future, where Keter’s products play a full part in enhancing consumer lifestyles without compromising the environment we all share.”