Sustainable solutions

Because we want our products to be increasingly competitive, innovative and sustainable, we place our expertise and inventiveness at the service of the energy transition on a daily basis. By focusing on innovation and optimising resources, we contribute to a circular and sustainable economy.

Low impact solutions

Every product around us has an impact on the environment, from the extraction of raw materials to the end-of-life recycling or disposal. Nexans is taking into account the life cycle of its products and is working all along the value chain, from purchasing the right materials to providing the right information to the designers of construction works.

In partnership with its customers, Nexans is contributing to a sustainable economy through eco-design and life cycle assessments of its products. Identified in the Group’s CSR policy as one of its main goals, the aim of the circular economy approach is to limit the consumption of resources by implementing a closed-loop system for materials and resources:

• increasing the use of recycled materials in products from external or internal sources;
• reducing the quantity of raw materials used in products;
• providing recycling services to customers.

The Group assesses the environmental impact of some of its products across all stages of their life cycle, covering every stage from the extraction of raw materials used in their composition to scrapping or recycling, and also covering manufacturing, distribution, installation and use in the process.

In conducting these life cycle assessments (LCA), the Group applies the PEP (Product Environmental Profile) methodology from the PEP ecopassport® programme, of which Nexans France is a founding member. This programme complies with ISO 14025 on type III environmental declarations which provide the results of the product’s environmental impact assessment.

Recycling services

Extending the life cycle of products and re-thinking their end-of-life

Nexans’ products which, by their very nature, are associated with sustainable infrastructures, have long life cycles, in the order of several decades. This characteristic means that the subject of their obsolescence is not very relevant to the Group and yet it is nevertheless working to improve the sustainability of its products in order to further minimize their environmental impact. Through its Innovation and Technology department, and in collaboration with universities and private companies, Nexans is conducting a wide range of tests, in accordance with product standards, to measure, improve and estimate the life cycle of the materials that make up the final cable as well as complete cables.

Thus, each cable has its own ageing protocol for measuring and estimating its longevity: UV, ozone and fluid resistance, salt spray test, thermal ageing, electrical performance in alternating current or direct current at high temperatures, etc.

Energy efficient solutions

Optimize your energy efficiency thanks to Nexans ECOCALCULATOR

The Nexans ECOCALCULATOR will help you optimize cable sizing according to Energy savings and Co2 emissions during the time of usage of the cables once installed.

Nexans ECOCALCULATOR is an online application which determines the possible savings using a cable with a bigger cross section. This tool enables customers to easily calculate the energy savings they can get from their electrical installation.

These savings are estimated according to the three pillars of the sustainable development:

• Save CO2: environment: results are presented in terms of savings in KWh and their equivalent in CO2 footprint.
• Save Energy: economy: Including the price of all cables and the cost of electricity, a time in Return On Investment can be calculated. The ROI is based on the difference in price and electrical losses between a standard cross section and a bigger one.
• Protect life: safety: an alternative solution with halogen free cable is automatically given when available.