Circular Economy

 Research and Development

By prioritizing robust design, low power consumption and sustainable materials, we ensure that our solutions are reliable and long-lasting, supporting the transition to a circular economy.

“Westermo’s R&D function integrates sustainability standards into every development project. When manufacturing new products, we work for planned aging and always focus on material selection, design and energy efficiency. Our products contain no moving parts or batteries, and we mainly design in components that can be reused or recycled. Software updates enhance product performance, and enable long useful lives because they minimize the need for hardware upgrades.”

 - Mikaela Näslund, Global VP of R&D

 Sourcing

At Westermo our purchasing team is dedicated to making our supply chain more sustainable. We closely track our suppliers' progress on their sustainability goals, offering support and learning from their efforts.

“Internally, we set ambitious goals to minimize the environmental impact of our incoming materials. For instance, we are focusing on increasing the use of low-carbon alloys, which represent a significant part of our annual purchased goods weight. We also focus on increasing the amount of recycled material in our packaging solutions. We believe that by committing to a collaborative approach, we can achieve our own sustainability objectives as well as empower our suppliers to succeed in theirs."

 - Paulina Wilhelmsson, Supply Chain Developer & Commodity Manager

  Production and Operations

We work systematically with energy audits and implementing energy measures, and we have the ambition to transfer to a 100% renewable energy, which we have achieved in most of our sites.

To enable more sustainable production, Westermo is prioritizing resource efficiency at our production facilities. To reduce energy consumption, it has phased out less energy-efficient machinery. A heat exchanger has recently been installed to recycle air in the building, exchanging the heat generated by some machinery to heat the plant, saving 500,000 kWh per year. We also have a partnership on a computer exchange program. Computers that are no longer usable are reused in schools or other environments to extend their lives. 

Our operation in Ireland, which also includes manufacture, was located to a new, energy-efficient office building in 2023, with CO2 emissions an estimated 40% less than the typical office building in Ireland according to the Carbon Energy Audit. The new office building uses 100% renewable electricity.

"Our operations in Ireland operate on 100 percent renewable energy. Our rooftop solar installation delivers much of our facility’s operational energy needs. In addition, we work with recycling partners to deliver energy recovery from on-site generated waste that can not be reused and recycled. Throughout our supply chain, we are investing in sustainable product architectures and evolving operational facilities to incorporate timers, meters, and sensors to optimize power consumption."

 - Declan Carew, Managing Director Westermo Ireland

 Transport and Logistics

Our logistics partner vChain gives us access to climate data, enabling us to make conscious decisions regarding transportation routes.

"We aim to reduce our CO2e/kg footprint for product deliveries by 7% in 2025 compared to 2024 through more efficient transport planning. By optimizing our logistics and transportation methods, we can reduce our carbon emissions and ensure a more sustainable future for our operations."

 - Claudio Musazzi, Logistics & Distribution Manager.

Use phase

Westermo focuses on delivering products with long lifespans during the use and operational phase. We achieve this by robust design, upgrade capabilities and Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Our SLAs ensure that customers receive consistent and reliable support throughout the product's lifecycle

Software is continuously updated and developed in response to changes in the business environment, addressing security needs and extending product usability over time.

Our Products are designed to cope with extremely demanding environments with the lowest possible energy consumption.

“By prioritizing resource efficiency during the operational phase and maximizing the useful lives of products, we’re endeavoring to minimize waste and environmental impact.”

- Henrik Jerregård, VP of Products & Marketing 

 End of (first) life

We enable long product useful lives by supplying robust components, upgrade capability and Service level agreements (SLAs).
Repairs of products are offered for many years after the end of the 5-year warranty. Users can continue to get support, like for example technical fault tracing and security updates, for the expected lifetime of the products.

"Within Westermo we pride ourselves on delaying the end of first life for as long as possible. Many of our customers are used to having our products operational and supported for up to 20-30 years. Considering the life cycle of electronic components, and what is required to ensure backwards compatibility in new releases of software and firmware for older hardware, this is no easy task, but one that Westermo excel at! 

Another, ingredient in delaying the end of first life is to designing and manufacturing products with ultra-high-quality. After joining Westermo, I remember going through return rate of faulty hardware. After triple checking the numbers, and verifying my conclusions with a few of my colleagues, it was clear - the return rates were unbelievably low."

 - Peter Ahlström, Product Manager Services

Read more aboout our Services and Service Agreements here