Playing our part to become a pure electrification player

The use of electricity is everywhere around us: where we have human activity, we have the need for electricity – in all buildings (residential, commercial, industrial); infrastructure such as schools, hospitals; in all means of transportation such as railway station, terminal airports even e-mobility; and data centers for which electricity supply is a critical as data connectivity.

It’s an exciting time to work with energy. Countries around the world are setting out on projects of unprecedented scale and capacity, and global energy demand is set to increase by around 40 percent by 2030. Asia and Africa will see the most significant growth, using electricity to power further industrialization, urbanization and rural development. But as Chris Guérin, Nexans’s CEO said, all these megatrends lead to the same conclusion – the need for global electrification. As a company, our intention is not only to help drive the process of electrification, we’re also committed to taking decisive action to reduce our own carbon footprint.

Sustainable Electrification means that a significant amount of new energy infrastructure must be provided by renewable resources to meet the demand from consumers, governments and conscientious producers. Wind and solar installations are growing rapidly, and the next few decades could see northern Europe powered exclusively by renewables.

Environmental consciousness goes far beyond demand for renewable energy. That’s why at Nexans we are dedicated to sustainability in all our endeavors. Safety, decarbonized production, energy and water conservation, waste management and pollution are all areas which will see increased focus in the years ahead.

Recycling cables

It’s vital that responsible industry account for the entire lifecycle of their cables to ensure they exert the lowest possible impact on the environment. For the last three decades we put a waste management in the plants through to a global program to recycle cables for our customers. Creating a circular economy for our cable production means we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint. This is a global effort, for example, in Europe in 2008, we established one of the largest cable recycling units in the region while in Chile, our copper recycling projects are making excellent progress.

A key element that delivers maximal sustainability and user-friendliness is our very own Lifemark™ cable marking – a unique marking method which puts a complete content declaration on the cable sheath. This makes it easy to recycle the cable appropriately at the end of its lifetime, minimizing waste and energy use.

Cables designed for increased security and safety

Because of the increased demand for electricity, old and outdated installations are mostly under-sized, increasing the risks for electrical fires. A recent report shows that over 25% of domestic fires in Europe are of electrical origin(1). The choice of appropriate cables becomes critical for people’s safety. Common building cables often use halogens that emit heavy smoke and hazardous fumes when burning, impairing evacuation. Nexans advocates the transition to a new generation of cables featuring HFFR (Halogen Free Flame Retardant) insulation with improved features for an easy and quick installation.

The fire-resistant cables play a vital role in hospitals and shopping centers, as well as in tunnels and residential buildings where they maintain the continuity of critical electrical services, such as alarms and emergency communications, during fire outbreaks.

Taking action every day Creating a sustainable future isn’t a one-time event. We must continuously take actions to drive our industry forward and make a real difference. We will continue to design products with careful thinking on materials, construction and function through their entire. Every one of our advancements is designed to produce a better experience for our customers, higher standards for our industry and a more sustainable and electrified world.

Taking action every day

Creating a sustainable future isn’t a one-time event. We must continuously take actions to drive our industry forward and make a real difference. We will continue to design products with careful thinking on materials, construction and function through their entire. Every one of our advancements is designed to produce a better experience for our customers, higher standards for our industry and a more sustai­nable and electrified world.

1 — FEEDS, Residential Electrical Safety: How to Ensure Progress – March 2020