Working towards a circular economy

The starting point

They say you can’t manage what you don’t measure, and that’s why a partnership was established with environmental consultancy Circularity to explore the impacts of all their waste streams.

Like many manufacturers, APL had previously embraced the traditional linear model, often known as the ‘take-make-waste’ economy. In 2019, a waste audit was conducted by Xtreme Zero Waste, guided by Circularity, to highlight key areas for improvement and set a baseline to work from. Not just for APL, but all Profile Group business units.

This exercise revealed one particularly shocking statistic: the plastic that they used to protect its products could wrap 25% of the globe in a year and all of it was going to landfill. Added to that, the materials being used in packaging alone were costing the businesses and fabricators well over $500,000 per year to dispose of.

Making change

Replacing damaged products would require more energy and resources, but upon learning of the huge amount of waste being generated, we took instant action and started looking for substitute materials. Knowledge is power, after all and, soon after, we began piloting different initiatives that could make a meaningful impact to waste. Changes included reuse systems for pallet wraps, hardware boxes, coils and cleats as well as alternatives that used natural substrates.

A packaging redesign

One of the most significant projects has been redesigning the packaging of our aluminium, before it travels to our nationwide manufacturer network.

This has been a considered shift from a linear model, to a more sustainable and innovative circular packaging process.

Tracking change

To show its progress, Profile Group became the first New Zealand company to use the Circular Transition Indicator (CTI), a global tool created by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Circular IQ that allows businesses to measure and validate the circularity of products, packaging, energy and water. By tracking all inflows and outflows in the business, the tool showed all Profile’s packaging systems started at 64% circularity. From here, every business unit has a circularity target and monitors progress towards it.

As a result of this new circular approach, there are now three guiding goals:

We are committed to improving the way we operate and while the primary ambition is to reduce our own impact - and run more efficiently - we also hope to push competitors and suppliers in a similar, circular direction.

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Soft plastic recycling

Continuing our journey to circularity through our partnership with PACT Recycling, the largest recycler of post-industrial plastic in the Southern Hemisphere.

An aligned future with Toitū

Independent assessments and accreditations are crucial and that’s why we’re working closely with Toitū Envirocare, one of the country’s leading carbon certification organisations.

The waste process

While APL is working hard to build a more circular business, not every material is able to be repurposed. That’s why we’re working closely with Enviro NZ, a materials management and resource recovery company.

Diversion from landfill

By collecting food scraps, we're helping power local homes and protect the environment.

The importance of ThermalHEART®

While reducing the environmental impact of construction is a major focus of the building industry, another big focus is on reducing the amount of energy that’s required to run those buildings when they’re completed.

Environmental Product Declaration

Three of APL’s window and door ranges have been the subject of an independent environmental and life cycle assessment by external consultants.

Biodiversity Initiative a New Zealand First

Profile Group, parent company to APL Window Solutions, has become the first participant in a new biodiversity market, purchasing biodiversity units from Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, in the South Waikato.

Going Electricity-Neutral

The parent company to APL Window Solutions, Profile Group, has acquired renewable energy certificates from Kawatiri Energy.

The power of the ocean

At APL, we understand the power of the ocean, and what it means to our fellow New Zealanders. We play in it. We eat from it. We live by it. It connects us all.

Homes of the future

A major sustainability project by Kāinga Ora, the government’s public housing agency, will use a new, thermally efficient product range from APL Window Solutions.

Closing the loop on waste

We’ve introduced a series of day-to-day sustainability initiatives aimed at circulating high value materials, innovating new solutions and designing out waste and emissions across the business.

Hautapu ~ Our Green building

We planned carefully to make our large, new manufacturing facility at Hautapu an example of ‘best practice’ sustainable design and construction.

Upgrading for the environment

In 2016 APL upgraded it's powdercoating lines to achieve an environmentally-friendly standard.

Leading the way

At APL, we are well on the way to reinventing the way we do business.