FastenersBulten AB makes fasteners — or in common parlance, screws, nuts, and bolts for the automotive sector and consumer electronics. The Gothenburg, Sweden-based company has been listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange since 2011. The company, founded in 1873, has 10 production facilities in eight countries and 1,673 employees worldwide. It says it makes the world’s most sustainable fasteners and that the Science-based Targets initiative has accepted its climate goals.
Moreover, “Bulten continuously develops its sustainability assessments of suppliers of direct materials, transportation, and packaging materials, to make sure that its supply chain lives up to its demands and expectations, also introducing a supplier ranking system which forms the basis for future decisions,” says Sustain Case, which authored a case study.
In 2019, EcoVadis awarded the company its Gold Medal, which ranks it in the top 1% of its peer group. Bulten has integrated sustainability into its business practices and customer offering. To that end, it is investing in renewable energy at its plants, starting with installing solar panels on the roofs in 2019. It is also deploying energy efficiency technologies, importing raw materials that are less carbon intensive, and undergoing an aggressive recycling posture.
The company says that its solutions weigh less, which helps reduce emissions at the upstream production level and cuts them at the downstream level when the vehicles are moving. This will bode well for Bulten in the future because the European Union is likely to start regulating the entire lifecycle of products. Moreover, consumers are demanding low-carbon products and services.
“The prevailing standards applied by OEMs -- original equipment manufacturers -- obstruct the use of smarter/lighter fasteners, i.e., fasteners in other dimensions or materials, and with properties that are at least as good,” says Anders Nyström, President and CEO of Bulten, in the 2021 sustainability report. “New players are generally more open and have a higher level of acceptance for non-conventional fasteners."
Suppliers throughout the value chain must comply with Bulten’s standards. In 2020, the company introduced a questionnaire to assess and bring along its suppliers.
At the end of 2021, suppliers equating to just over 99% of total purchase volumes had answered the survey and had been evaluated accordingly. The company will winnow down its suppliers based on those who achieve the best scores.
Bulten aims to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 30% before 2030 from a 2019 baseline. Scope 1 refers to those emissions generated by its operations, and Scope 2 refers to those fuels it buys from others. The cuts come primarily from using more renewable energy and deploying energy efficient technologies. Its goal is to reduce its Scope 3 emissions tied to its suppliers by 25% per ton of sold products. That comprises raw materials, purchased finished screws, surface treatment services, and the transport of incoming materials. Scope 3 reductions result from purchasing less steel and importing fewer goods, it says.
“In our core business, we produce, and supply products made primarily of steel, a very carbon-intensive raw material. Unfortunately, as a consumer of steel, we have limited opportunities to influence the metal’s carbon footprint in the production stage, but it is a high-priority area for us,” says Marlene Dybeck, Senior Vice President HR and Sustainability, in the company report.
She adds that since 2016, the company has dedicated itself to going green at its production plant. “During the year, we achieved our target of 100% of our purchased electricity in the European Union and North America being renewable – a goal we achieved four years ahead of our time plan.” Since 2019. Bulten has reduced its emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 39%. It will turn its attention to the factories in Asia, which are fueled by fossil fuels but will power them with renewables by 2030.
At the same time, the company has focused on making its energy consumption more efficient. For example, it has invested in heat recovery equipment and control systems for ventilation and LED lighting.
“Focusing on reducing electricity consumption in production as well as in product development is just as important as focusing on greenhouse gases, as it’s important that we all help to save energy resources, including renewable energy,” she says, in the report. What else?
— Develop more eco-friendly products and services, such as BUFOe, the company’s sustainable product that it says produces 30% less CO2 per bolt.
— Focus on raw materials with low greenhouse gas emissions
— Communication, as well as training of employees and suppliers, to raise awareness.
— Increase its recycling rates and water treatment. It aims to get a significant amount of raw materials from circular flows, noting that a “high proportion” of its products are recycled.
The auto industry is moving from the internal combustion engine to the electric vehicle or hybrid. And hydrogen fuel cell cars are also on the horizon. But Bulten says that its products are here to stay no matter what road the car industry travels. It says its focus on sustainability is also in demand — everything from using more renewables to buying lower-carbon raw materials.
