Belkin seeks carbon neutrality by 2030

Belkin, a leading consumer electronics brand with a legacy spanning four decades, has recently committed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. This pledge not only encompasses their global operations but also extends to their supply chain and product lifecycle.

“The general policy for the environment in the UAE aligns with Belkin’s environmental goals in several areas, including support towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 and the UAE’s Green Agenda 2030,” Ernie Roberts, Head of Global Sustainability, Belkin International, said in an interview.

Excerpts:

How does Belkin’s plastic-free packaging align with broader sustainability goals within the UAE?

In 2020, Belkin developed 5-year goals aligned with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals to achieve a better and more sustainable future. This project helps us achieve our goals in climate action (UN Goal 13) and responsible consumption and production (UN Goal 12) by reducing our scope 3 emissions on the product level, incorporating validated recycled materials and eliminating single-use plastics in packaging.

In early 2023, Belkin announced its transition design new product packaging to be 100% single use plastic free where possible. This accelerated our reduction efforts to a 63% global reduction in plastic packaging since 2019 more than doubling our 5 year goal of a 25% reduction.

At Belkin, we continuously monitor environmental conservation efforts of our stakeholders in each region that are applicable to Belkin to ensure our efforts to reduce our impact are aligned with the local regional efforts. Therefore, in December 2023, when Dubai issued an executive council resolution No (124) of 2023 which includes a ban on single use plastic bags and other packaging items, Belkin was already aligned with this decision to phase out plastic to reduce landfill waste and encourage recycling and circularity. Packaging serves a critical function not only for marketing and communicating product attributes, but also to protect the product during transportation. Our packaging design and engineering teams were able to develop a plastic free package solution that met all these requirements while delivering the same quality and user experience our consumers expect.

To remove plastic from packaging, we had to redesign its internal structure to ensure it works for our channel partners and products. We tested the packaging in our in-house labs, printing and constructing on-site, then a full suite of reliability, environmental and transportation testing until we felt it suitable. It is essential that product packaging can withstand damage, as products that appear damaged are likely to be removed from retailer shelves, thus adding more waste into the system. Printing is done with soy-based ink to reduce the risk of contaminants and improve recyclability.

What are the environmental benefits of PCR packaging over oxo-biodegradable plastics, particularly in the context of UAE regulations?

There are several types of plastics, and each has their own recycling streams and many recycling streams are not available globally. We investigated plant-based plastics, Post Consumer Recycled materials, bioplastics, and several chemistries such as oxo-biodegradable additives when UAE originally banned all non-biodegradable bags. We ultimately found the best solution was to eliminate plastic packaging wherever possible. With paper packaging, our Life Cycle Assessment showed utilizing paper instead of single use plastic has a significant reduction in environmental impact. With outer packaging, paper packaging was the easiest to recycle globally. Our paper packaging has a high yield of paper pulp when recycled, making it a desirable material for recyclers while also eliminating the need for landfill.

Belkin’s screen protectors, for example, our ScreenForceTM range, utilize a plastic tray for the phone to sit in, making it easy for the end user to have a near perfect application of our screen protector. In this instance we transitioned to Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) plastic to achieve this while we continue to research a more lasting solution. The PCR plastic is made from water bottles, which is the most common type of plastic that can also be recycled again.

We have several research and development projects aimed at reducing our material footprint, but we are beginning to find that our efforts to reduce single use materials have another benefit. We have conducted Life Cycle Analysis on some of these solutions and found, for example, that transitioning from plastic packaging to plastic free packaging will use more paper. However, the elimination of plastic also saves on greenhouse gas emissions. So not only can we save on landfill waste, but we can have some savings on our product and packaging CO2 footprint as well. We have discussed this in our 2023 Impact Report. As we understand more about these tradeoffs between materials and their benefits, we are excited to be more transparent with our customers to help them make informed decisions and move our industry forward in a more environmentally responsible way.