Clarios, a global leader in advanced low-voltage battery solutions, highlighted its “circular mindset” in the company’s 2023 Sustainability Report, demonstrating a continued focus on recycling and an integrated supply chain that begins where it ends.
At Clarios end-of-life batteries are a critical resource, not waste. Clarios operates one of the world’s most successful examples of a circular economy – recycling around 8,000 used batteries every hour of every day across its network. Clarios starts with raw materials selected during the battery design stage and ends the production cycle with the reuse of recyclable battery material to create a new battery.
“We believe that our efforts to exceed industry-leading environmental and safety standards globally are a key driver of our success,” Mark Wallace, Clarios CEO, said. “Through our business practices, we aim to demonstrate a dedication to sustainability by seeking continued improvement to lower our greenhouse gas emissions.”
Clarios was a 2023 Circular Economy award winner at the World Sustainability Awards. Clarios’ circular supply chain starts and ends at the same point — when new batteries are delivered to customers, Clarios takes back used batteries in return.
Clarios batteries are designed so that up to 99 percent of the materials can be responsibly recovered, recycled and repurposed to make new batteries or other products. The closed-loop system and reverse logistics network reduces the need for hundreds of thousands of additional transportation miles each year. The recycled materials in Clarios batteries require 90 percent less energy to make and generate 90 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than virgin materials.
Commitment to philanthropy
In the Clarios 2022 Sustainability Report, the company set four strategic enterprise commitments following extensive stakeholder engagement, analysis of material topics and global trends as well as an evaluation of evolving business expectations.
In partnership with Clarios, UNICEF is implementing the Healthy Environments for Healthy Children program in 14 low-and-middle income countries to protect children from environmental threats and hazards, including climate change. Through this partnership, UNICEF has reached over 1.5 million caregivers with awareness programs on environmental threats affecting children and how to protect them and has engaged at least 700 youth activists. Over 3,000 health workers have received orientations on different aspects of the program.
In March 2024, UNICEF rolled out a global e-learning course for healthcare workers on children’s environmental health. The online course reached more than 1,300 registrations in less than two months. The overwhelming need to prioritize children’s environmental health is motivating an additional 10 countries to start working on these issues with UNICEF’s support. UNICEF does not endorse any company, brand, product or service.
Blueprint 2030
To stay focused on the future, Clarios developed Blueprint 2030 to build on the company’s unique circular economy expertise and set clear expectations on how Clarios will operate and report progress. Each Blueprint 2030 priority aligns with a specific UN Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDGs) the business can directly advance. These priorities include cross-functional accountability, the integration of sustainability into business strategy and science-based targets.