Company of this edition: Tomra Systems

As pioneer in closed loop recycling management, Tomra Systems ASA has turned the efficient use of raw materials into its business model. The company was founded in 1972 as manufacturer of reverse vending machines for empties in Norway.

The technical core of the group that resulted from this line of business today are optical sensors that recognise materials and facilitate the clean separation of the various resources. Thus, the company offers a crucial link in the value chain of raw materials by recycling used packaging and materials for re-introduction into the cycle of resources.

Plastics are particularly problematic when disposed of improperly. The damage is not limited to the pollution of the sea (or other ecosystems) by plastic, but also comes with considerable economic effects. According to estimates, the economy incurs losses of USD 90 to 120b worth of raw materials every year at the moment. Sustainability and value creation are thus a necessary combination

In almost every supermarket

Tomra continues to operate about 75,000 reverse vending machines for empties worldwide, but has meanwhile expanded its activities to the entire field of waste treatment. The solutions provided by the company include the sorting of debris and residual waste, glass, and metal as well as the clean separation of various polymers in the area of plastics. In the USA, the company even went one step farther by setting up an entire recycling value chain from collection and sorting to the re-introduction into the market of cleaned plastics. After all, recycling only makes sense if the raw materials thus obtained can be put to positive use again.

In addition, the company supplies the food industry and mining companies with solutions to improve their resource input with the help of sensors.

Tomra has maintained a pioneering role since the 1990s in analysing the life cycle of the collected raw materials and in improving it on the basis of its findings. Even today, such life cycle analyses are not yet common standard across the industry. The advantage is the sustainable management of resource input and the selection of the suitable raw material.

In its own business conduct, the company also sets high standards of sustainability, which translate into a continuously falling CO2 intensity and in comprehensive social standards.

Overall, Tomra makes an important contribution to dealing with global mega trends, especially in promoting a closed loop recycling economy and the avoidance of waste. That is why ERSTE WWF STOCK ENVIRONMENT has been holding shares in the company for years.

 

^{Risk notes according to 2011 Austrian Investment Fund Act}

ERSTE WWF STOCK ENVIRONMENT may exhibit increased volatility due to the composition of its portfolio: i.e. the unit value can be subject to significant fluctuations both upwards and downwards within short periods of time.

 

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