Wieland reaches 77 percent recycled content

Germany-based copper and brass manufacturer Wieland Group, which owns several production sites in the United States, is reporting 77 percent recycled content throughout its product portfolio in its 2022-2023 fiscal year.

The company includes the figure in its most recently released sustainability report, which also addresses the expansion of its recycling capacity in the U.S. and beyond.

“Wieland has reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 10 percent in fiscal year 2022-23 in part by increasing its own electricity generation from renewable sources by more than 42 percent,” the company says.

“We are aware of the problems posed by the global climate crisis and the urgency of transforming our company in a sustainable way,” Wieland Group CEO Erwin Mayr adds. “That is why we have made sustainability an important focus of our strategic and organizational orientation.”

The company says it has taken another step toward its goal of increasing the share of recycled materials in its products to more than 90 percent by 2030 by reaching the current share of 77 percent.

Mayr sees the Wieland Group as a pioneer in this field. “In order to obtain even more precise results for the proportion of recycled material, we have developed a calculation method and defined system limits," he says. "We have published our approach in a white paper, thereby attempting to establish standards that can be used across all industries.”

He adds that new scrap-fed production centers, including sites in Shelbyville, Kentucky, and Vöhringen, Germany, which will open in 2024 and 2025, respectively, are the "foundation" for increasing the share of recycled material by efficiently processing scrap.

The company also says it has reduced the use of lead in its alloy portfolio by 25 percent.

Wieland, founded in 1820, says electrification, alternative energy and in-house production methods also have lowered its carbon footprint.

Access to the most recent Wieland Group sustainability report can be found here.