Our environmental challenges
Preserving the planet
The products we design directly respond to many of the problems facing our society, not least urban congestion, public health and climate change. But these products also leave a footprint, and it is this footprint we aspire to reduce.
The challenges
To meet these challenges, our vision is to conceive, develop and produce robust, comprehensive solutions in a responsible, agile and dependable manner. So, our sustainable development policy is articulated across five strands.
Our policy
across five strandsWe are committed to reducing our carbon emissions to help limit the rise in global temperature. The Bontaz Group’s net-zero target has been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The Bontaz Group is committed to absolute reduction in scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions by 42% by 2030 compared to the 2020 base year. The SBTi is an initiative that aims to encourage and support companies to set emission reduction targets aligned with the latest recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), thus helping to combat global warming.
To achieve this we are reducing the environmental impact of transporting goods, sourcing more eco-friendly components, improving our production processes and favouring local procurement. Using a tool to conduct LCAs (Life Cycle Assessments) we are able to measure our impacts and put eco-design at the heart of our product development. We also work with our suppliers to reduce emissions throughout the supply chain.
We strive to reduce waste related to our business and products and we embrace the principles of the circular economy. With this in mind our packaging is optimised and we favour both recycled and recyclable packaging. We are reducing plastic use, and working towards a more efficient sorting system to maximise waste recycling. We have also partnered with a company that recovers and gives a second life to obsolete computer equipment.
Social and environmental criteria play a key role in the selection process and we evaluate and support our suppliers in these areas in order to produce a cascading effect throughout the supply chain. We are committed to upholding human rights and motivating our suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment. Additionally, we favour local purchases in order to reduce the carbon footprint linked to transport.
When designing products we favour environmentally conscious materials and wherever possible we use recycled, recyclable or refurbished materials. Our brake levers are made of Carbontaz©, a recycled and 100% recyclable material. We have also succeeded in creating 100% removable brake systems to allow repairability, thereby increasing the lifespan of our products.
The largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions is transportation. While significant progress has been made in recent years, the bike’s share of urban transport remains low. The potential for growth is therefore huge. At Bontaz, we are resolved to helping advance the bike’s evolution by offering light mobility, accessible to everyone, with responsible components, technological systems and connected solutions that confer peace of mind on the rider. We believe this democratisation will also involve an element of re-education, which is why we are working on the implementation of a specific programme to be rolled out shortly.
Rewarded for our commitments to corporate social responsibility (CSR)
This demonstrates the high value the company attaches to sustainable development issues.
The CSR approach is most impactful when adopted right across a company’s operations. Hence Bontaz is a member of the United Nations Global Compact using the ten principles of the Global Compact and the seventeen SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) to deploy these actions worldwide. As a result our subsidiaries are also invested in meeting these commitments.
