Think long term – act ecologically

Sustainability is an integral part of Victorinox’s corporate strategy. Learn how rigorous Victorinox is with regard to energy and environmental management.

Sustainability is part of Victorinox’s DNA

The issues of environmental protection and sustainability have been a high priority at Victorinox for many years. Both at our own production centers as well as for our suppliers, this family company is vigilant about the sparing and efficient use of resources, as well as environmentally friendly production.

Consciously serving the environment for almost 50 years

As early as the 1970s – at a time when hardly any statutory regulations existed for industry at a national level – Victorinox recognized that protecting the environment and ensuring sustainability were not just part of their duty as a business, but also an important factor for success. Today, the company’s innovative products and professional implementation of environmental and energy management reflect the long-term strategy of this family enterprise.

The fact that the company’s management also assigns particular importance to concerns about resources and preserving the livelihood of future generations is also demonstrated by the company prize from the Schweizerische Umweltstiftung [Swiss Environmental Foundation], received in 2008. Since 2007, our own «Green Shield» label has been helping to make all employees aware of our environmental protection concerns.

Comparison of occupational accidents between victorinox and the swiss average (days lost per worker/year)

Victorinox records significantly fewer employee lost-time incidents than the Swiss average. Even though Victorinox is an artisanal enterprise, few accidents occur.

Source: Swissavant Wirtschaftsverband Handwerk und Haushalt

Comparison of sick days between Victorinox and the Swiss average (Days lost per worker/year)

We also give our corporate culture credit for the low number of sick days.

Source: Swissavant Wirtschaftsverband Handwerk und Haushalt

Heating oil is now used only in emergencies

Victorinox pays special attention to the low consumption of heating oil, energy, and water. In particular, the ongoing optimization of our machinery helps to lower our energy consumption. For example, a ventilation system that went into operation in 1980 at our production site in Ibach now functions with 50% less operating power than at its original installation. Victorinox is also contributing to climate protection by means of heat recovery: the waste heat from production facilities provides up to 75% of the heat for all of the operational buildings at the headquarters’ location and for 120 apartments owned by the company.

Thanks to this intensive use of waste heat and the ongoing renovation of our buildings, the company reduced its demand for heating oil from over 30,’000 liters in 2014 to an average of 2,500 liters per year. In fact, since 2015, heating oil is now only being used in emergencies or in case of a water pump failure. Due to closed-circuit circulation systems, we’ve been able to more than halve the quantity of fresh water needed to cool erosion and cleaning facilities. We also use rain water for the toilet facilities at several production centers.

Overview reduction of heating oil at the Ibach production site 2015

We were able to massively reduce the use of heating oil in recent years. A major contribution here comes from the recovery of heat from waste heat in production facilities.

Source: Betriebsinterne Statistik Umweltmanagement 2016

Separate instead of burning – maintain instead of disposing

At Victorinox, the maxim “separate instead of burning – maintain instead of disposing” is applied across the company. An integrated waste disposal plan for solid and liquid waste involves all employees in the recycling of resources and reduction of waste. Thanks to our in-house collection stations, we are now able to send 55% of our total waste for recycling. From production, substantial quantities of plastic and steel waste as well as grinding sludge are recycled, which results in the generation of significantly less industrial waste. Last but not least, thanks to careful maintenance and constant modernization, Victorinox’s production machinery has a very long lifespan – some of the machinery has already been in operation for 50 years.

Victorinox resolutely complies with and implements laws and regulations regarding water protection, air purification and the handling of chemicals and hazardous materials. Wherever possible, production does not use chlorinated hydrocarbons. By various measures, such as switching to water-based and CHC-free cleaning systems, we were able to reduce their consumption from 108,000 kg to 236 kg per year, which is far below the legal limit. Waste water from production is pretreated in the internal cleaning system prior to being discharged into the municipal wastewater treatment system.

永續性是開發與製造的優先要點。

就品牌自有及供應商的所有產品開發與製造（供應商會定期接受審查）而言，Victorinox 在如物料與包裝的回收程度及對健康和環境無害程度（特別是免收重金屬）等，以及製造和運輸的能源消耗量條件標準部分採用最高規格標準。秉持著「盡其可能 - 盡量減少」的原則，所有用於保護產品的包裝皆為可回收再造；紙板包裝則包含高達 90% 的再生紙。此外，我們只會使用 100% 無氯漂白的紙張和無溶劑墨水和顏料塗層。
用於保護產品的包裝皆為可回收再造。

除了一流的品質以外，Victorinox 的袋裝刀還有使用壽命長、可無限次數維修及物料再用的特色。Victorinox AG 的保修範圍包含所有物料及製造瑕疵，而且沒有期限（電子產品則為 2 年）因自然耗損或不當使用所造成的損壞則不在保修範圍之內。

不論是大規模或小範圍都一樣 – 持續改善的程序

Victorinox 並不會只滿足於目前的成就。我們的企業文化還有一個非常重要的部分，那就是持續不斷改進。因此，我們目的是透過在宜溪鎮的工廠建築中加裝光熱能裝置（自 2016 年 4 月即開始生產公司自用能源）、進一步開發熱能回收系統，以及對於建築架構的改造設計來提高能源使用效率。

在德萊蒙 (Delémont) 的建築物也正在全面裝修，並加入最新的能源技術。2,495 平方米的太陽能電池板，每年可生產約 47 萬千瓦的電能。這樣的供電量相當於約 135 個家庭的用電。將使用暖氣燃料油改為使用熱力泵，二氧化碳的排放量降低了約 400 噸。此外，我們也會協助每名員工盡到自己的本分：Victorinox 不僅支付員工上班時搭乘公共交通工具的費用，還計劃在 Ibach 廠區設立電動汽車充電站。