We’re not just a manufacturer of climbing equipment. EDELRID appeals to ardent climber, boulderers, hikers, rope access workers, arborists, paragliders, and skiers who love the vertical world.
The same goes for us. As a company, we know our business has an impact on the planet and realise it’s our duty to minimise that.
In 2010, we launched an environmental management system for our management and production facilities with EMAS (Eco Management and Audit Scheme) and ISO 14001 certification at our Isny site. Compliance has been verified by an independent environmental auditor once a year since.
EMAS was developed by the European Union and is based on the globally accepted ISO 14001 standard for environmental management systems. An environmental management system allows a business to measure and control its impact on the planet.
At EDELRID, this allows us to clearly define responsibilities in the company, as well as collect, analyse and assess key data on our environmentally relevant consumption of resources. On this basis, we set ourselves targets and devise steps to ensure continual improvement. We publish these results in the annual EDELRID environmental report, which we share with the public on our website.
Every year, the environmental auditor scrutinises our data, the suitability of the goals set, as well as compliance with relevant environmental regulations. If we pass, the independent auditor officially certifies that our environmental management system is working.
In 2020, EDELRID took the decision to actively combat the effects of its actions on climate change and initiate far-reaching climate protection measures. In the same year, we drew up a comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) balance sheet for the first time. Based on these results, we have already taken the first steps, such as switching to green electricity at our site in Isny at the beginning of 2022.
If you would like to find out more about climate protection at EDELRID, click on the link below. Here you will find further information and access to our Climate protection regulation and our Climate report 2023.
Life cycle assessments estimate the environmental impact a particular product has. To do so, the whole life cycle of a product is measured and assessed, starting with obtaining the raw materials to production and use all the way to its disposal.
A life cycle assessment quantifies a product’s eco footprint. There are many ways a product affects the planet. Most life cycle assessments (as is the case at EDELRID) look at CO2 emissions.
To meet our responsibility, we want to reduce our carbon footprint wherever possible. However, to minimise our impact and find alternatives, it’s vital that we understand where, why and in what quantities we cause pollution. Recycling sounds great, but what difference does it make? Shipping from eastern Europe to Germany always sounds worse that within Germany itself, but to what extent?
A braiding machine operates around the clock, which sounds bad for the environment, but to what degree? At EDELRID we want all the facts and figures.
We want to share our expertise with our customers, community, and anyone else who’s interested. Anyone who wishes to, should be given the chance to discover the impact they have and make decisions accordingly. And this information might also inspire those who haven’t considered their footprint to think about what they buy and the impact on the environment.
To date, we’ve only completed a life cycle assessment for our dynamic ropes. However, we already have more in the pipeline for other product groups and hope to give you the results soon.
For detailed information about the life cycle assessments for the EDELRID dynamic rope collection and the results, take a look at the in-depth analyses here.
LIMITED COMPARABILITY: Comparing life cycle assessments between product groups and companies is hard. To allow organisations to specify different criteria for measuring an environmental impact, the ISO standards allow scope for interpretations and methods. Therefore, cautious comparisons are only possible for transparent assessments where the criteria are similar. Our life cycle assessment was based on the relevant ISO standards and conducted in-house at EDELRID but has not yet been verified by external auditors. The assessments shown here only evaluate the CO2 equivalents for EDELRID products and the EDELRID supply chain. Please also note that CO2 is just one of many types of pollution.
In the development process of new products, we focus on our responsibility as a manufacturing company in addition to the factors of safety and function. We analyze the negative effects that the manufacture of our products has on the environment. These can be influences on the climate, ozone depletion, water or energy use, to name just a few examples.
The next step is characterized by our internal 3R motto: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Where possible, (harmful) substances used in production processes are reduced, materials are reused or products are recycled at the end of their life cycle in order to reintroduce their components into the production process.
The bluesign® SYSTEM is a comprehensive and proven system for environmental protection, occupational safety and consumer protection when it comes to textile products.
The bluesign® SYSTEM is based on “Input Stream Management”. This means that it tests not just the end products for harmful chemicals or chemical residues, but even the production processes of each individual component used to make a product. Chemicals used during production are evaluated, not just to check that they produce no harmful residues in the end product, but also with regard to their impact on employees and the environment.
And the individual companies in the textile chain are regularly tested according to environmental management, management of hazardous substances and work safety management by bluesign® auditors, such as chemical and production activities, for example relating to energy, water and raw material consumption. And brand name companies have their supply chain management audited.
A bluesign® PRODUCT stands for:
The benchmark here is that 90% of the main material must have been tested by bluesign® (= bluesign approved) and 20 - 30% of accessories or small parts, such as buckles, webbing or prints. This is why both our suppliers and the majority of components used and ingredients in these products must be tested by bluesign®.
That is where the system sometimes reaches it limits as bluesign® certified materials are limited, and not always available in the qualities that we require, which is enormously important for us as a manufacturer of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). However, we trust in the ever-increasing popularity of the bluesign® SYSTEM and increasing demand for materials in bluesign® quality and hope that in future there will be a wider selection of bluesign®-certified materials available.
EDELRID has been a member of the bluesign® SYSTEM since 2009 and offers bluesign® products in the categories ropes, webbings, slings, climbing harnesses, and chalk bags.
Discover our Climb Green collection - a range of climbing products that make your gear a little more responsible in terms of its impact on the environment. Our carabiners, ropes, slings, harnesses and helmets are proof that it is possible to produce high-quality personal protective equipment without neglecting our responsibility towards the planet. With the Climb Green Label, we have created a dynamic, transparent system that makes it easier for you to identify this environmentally conscious equipment. Be inspired and find out more about our sustainable solutions for your climbing adventure!
