Kone is committed to the reuse of components with its new circular economy offer

KONE undertakes to include in its elevator modernization or replacement offers the possibility of reusing some of the components via specialized platforms. Note that 100% of the income will be donated to Reforest'Action, which works to restore and create forest and agroforestry ecosystems. This initiative, a pioneer in France among lift manufacturers, is part of KONE's phase advance and ongoing commitment to reducing the environmental and carbon impact of its equipment and services. According to the French Building Federation (FFB), the construction sector generates 228 million tonnes of waste per year, the equivalent of 70% of all waste in France.¹.

An offer to encourage the reuse of components and reduce the carbon footprint of elevators

On the strength of a successful pilot project with the Opéra National de Lyon in the reuse of components during the replacement of four elevators and a goods lift, KONE announces that it will integrate this circular economy approach into an offer for of all its customers. Thus, during the complete replacement or modernization of elevators of all brands, KONE now offers the possibility of giving a second life to components and materials that can be reused: electronic card, traction cables, lighting, frequency converters... KONE has thus created an internal channel for the recovery of second-hand components intended for reuse. This is a first in the elevator sector, for which the modernization of equipment represented in 2021 a total of 218 million euros on the French market.².

« The circular economy is a key lever to reduce the carbon footprint of elevators, and even if we are still at the beginning, we are convinced that we can make a difference in the long term through this new offer. With this service, a pioneer in the circular economy among lift manufacturers in France, we want to participate fully in the standardization of circularity in our businesses and we hope that our customers will be sensitive to it. » underlines Julien Lanners, Commercial Director Modernization of KONE France.

From the meticulous dismantling of the elevators to the resale of the parts for the benefit of Reforest'Action

The implementation of this offer requires major transformations on the construction sites and a new approach to the dismantling of lifts, which must be non-destructive. During this meticulous dismantling of the devices, piece by piece, a sorting of the components makes it possible to identify those which will be able to have a second life and those which go for recycling. Parts such as safety devices (locks, speed limiters) that cannot be candidates for reuse are recycled in specialized material recovery channels. Remember that 90% of the materials in new KONE elevators can be recycled.

The parts intended for reuse are then put up for sale on a platform specializing in the circular economy for building professionals. They may have a different use from their initial use. For example, luminaires can be used for parking lot lighting and traction cables can be used in the forestry sector. The income generated by the sale of these pieces is entirely donated to Reforest'Action, a French company certified B Corp and specialized in the preservation, restoration and creation of forests. Each customer will know how many trees have been planted following the modernization or replacement of their lift.

With this new offer, KONE is committed to planting 20 trees in 000 in 2023 French forests, including that of Epernay, Bras, Praye sous Vaudemont and Champagnac la Noaille.

« Internally, this project with Reforest'Action was strongly supported by employees who voted for the forests that will be affected by the planting of trees. We do our best to involve the teams in initiatives to reduce our environmental impact. We are all delighted to participate on our scale in the sustainable restoration of ecosystems, while encouraging the circular economy in construction. » comments Julien Lanners, Commercial Director Modernization of KONE France.

An ongoing commitment to reduce the environmental impact of its activities

This new offer dedicated to setting up reuse circuits is part of KONE's overall strategy to reduce the environmental impact of its products and services. Indeed, the Finnish company has always positioned itself in advance of the phase on the subject with the publication of the PEP sheets from January 2022. The company has thus shown that a meticulous supply of materials, combined with the development of eco-friendly solutions efficient for tertiary and residential buildings, make it possible to have a real impact on their energy performance. Thus, the launch of the MonoSpace® 500 DX range of connected elevators has in particular made it possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 58% over its complete life cycle compared to the market standard.³.

In addition, KONE continues to adopt ever more environmentally efficient solutions and components, such as LED lighting, current regeneration thanks to the elevator's braking energy (recovered to be reinjected into the parts buildings) or even the frequency variation allowing a soft start and an acceleration, then progressive deceleration.

¹ According to the FFB (French Building Federation), 2019
² According to the Federation of Lifts, 2022
³ KONE CSR report (2022)