Packaging Management

We design our products’ packaging volume and weight to produce minimum waste, and we carry out reuse and recycling projects to reduce the environmental impacts caused by our packaging processes.

For the detailed information about packaging management and projects carried out in 2021, please check the Packaging Management part of Arçelik 2021 Sustainability Report.

Fighting Plastic Polution

We believe that sustainability is both a lifestyle and a profitable business model. We see sustainability as a pathway to follow resolutely as responsible leaders and companies to tackle global challenges with the products we develop. Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing problems in our world.

The flow of plastics into the ocean is projected to triple by 2040 under a business-as-usual scenario. To stop this plastic pollution, industry and policymakers need to take drastic action. Increasing plastic recycled content in products to 40% by 2030 is one of our ambitious targets.

To achieve this aspirational goal, we have started the Recycled Content Project at our production facilities worldwide. Arcelik R&D develops high-performance and eco-friendly recycled plastic formulations to replace their virgin counterparts without sacrificing the durability of the products. Our holistic approach takes almost all the plastics in our products into consideration to maximize the plastic recycled content. We design recyclable products with reduced environmental impact and share product recyclability rates.

The innovative solutions focus on becoming pioneers in the industry. The examples include using PET bottles, waste fishnets, bio plastics, eggshells, tomato and coffee wastes in products.

The packaging wastes are also turned into valuable components to be used in products. The waste dishwasher components from Arçelik’s own Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Recycling facilities are recycled to be used in Arçelik products again to close the loop in production.

Some of the examples to the value generated are provided below:

Using PET bottles in products

• Recycled PET bottles in washing machines, washer-dryer,tumble dryers, dishwashers, and air

• Starting this project in 2017, we developed the “Leopet” raw material patented by Arçelik by using recycledwaste PET bottles to show how waste material can be transformed into a valuable alternative raw material.

• A new formulation has been developed by Arçelik’s R&D department and serial production of these rawmaterials was started for tumble dryers in 2021.

• In 2019, we began a collaboration with Arçelik–LG to expand the use of Leopet raw material in air-conditioners.

Using waste fishnets and textile wastes in products

• Recycled waste fishnets and industrial thread in the oven, dishwasher and washing machines.

• Arçelik recycles waste fishnets and industrial thread in an innovative way and uses them in different parts of itsproduct groups in order to prevent the damage to the ecosystem caused by ghost fishing nets left in the seasand oceans.

Fiber Catcher

• First of its kind microfiber filter integrated inside the washing machines and dryers to filter up to 90% of the microplastics. Developed within the scope of FiberCatcher technology, this filter itself is made using 98% recycled plastic and contains up to 60 recycled PET bottles in its tubs. This product has been launched in August 2021 in the UK.

Products made from Organic Composites

• The BioFridge is made using both biobased polyurethane insulation material (Bio-Cool) and biocomposite raw materials that contain organic material such as soy and castor oil. The egg trays are made of 20% eggshell waste and 80% bio-based plastics made from organic resources such as corn starch and sugarcane, and the fan cover is produced with 100% bio-based plastics. The door seal material is also partly made of soybean oil. The CO2 emission per unit produced is reduced by 6 kg given biomaterials’ 80% lower carbon footprint compared to petroleum based traditional materials.

• We used coffee grounds in coffee machines and tea fibers in Newline tea makers. These innovative and eco-friendly products has released into the market in 2021.

We Became Signatory of the Business Plastic Initiative (IPG)

IPG is a collaboration founded by the UN Global Compact Turkey, the Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) Turkey, and the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) in 2019. It brings together the stakeholders of the entire plastic value chain to make commitments on taking concrete actions to minimize the production and consumption of plastics.

Being a signatory of IPG, we have set our 2023 commitments in product manufacturing as of March 2021:

• Increasing the recycled plastic content in products from 3,000 to 15,000 tons per year

• Increasing the recycled plastic parts made from waste fishing nets from 8 tons to 25 tons per year

• Increasing the recycled plastic parts made from waste PET bottles from 28 million to 60 million per year

• Using 750 tons of biopolymer and bio composite raw materials including PLA per year

• Using plastics generated from our WEEE recycling plants in dishwasher, oven and tumble dryer product categories

• Recycling 600 tons of packaging waste generated from our manufacturing plants to be used in plastic parts

• Completing and approving R&D processes for using 30% recycled material content in plastic packaging including EPS, shrink, and strip

• Completing R&D processes for using recycled chemical raw materials in food contact product parts

For the detailed information about plastic pollution management and projects carried out in 2021, please check the Product Stewardship part of Arçelik 2021 Sustainability Report.