Operações circulares e eficientes
A economia circular busca maximizar o valor dos recursos enquanto minimiza o desperdício e os impactos ambientais. Nesse modelo, os produtos são projetados para serem duráveis, reparáveis e recicláveis, incentivando o reuso e a reciclagem de materiais. Em vez de seguir o tradicional modelo linear de produção e consumo, em que os produtos são fabricados, usados e descartados, a economia circular promove a ideia de um ciclo contínuo, onde os materiais são mantidos em uso pelo maior tempo possível.
Essa abordagem não apenas contribui para a conservação dos recursos naturais, mas também estimula a inovação, a criação de empregos e o crescimento econômico sustentável, tornando-se essencial para enfrentar os desafios globais de hoje, como as mudanças climáticas e a escassez de recursos.
Consolidando o compromisso WEG, possuímos certificações ISO 14.001 demonstrando a gestão ambiental nas operações da empresa.
Programas & Práticas
Resíduos e energia
Resíduos sólidos
A WEG possui um sistema de coleta seletiva de resíduos em suas operações. Dessa forma, os resíduos são separados e enviados para os recicladores de cada um dos materiais, possibilitando assim a valorização desses e a reintrodução dos materiais nos mais diversos ciclos produtivos. É importante enfatizar que parte dos resíduos gerados nas operações são reciclados pela própria WEG, retornando assim ao processo e fazendo parte dos seus produtos. Todos os resíduos são enviados para empresas ambientalmente responsáveis, selecionadas e desenvolvidas pela equipe de gestão ambiental da WEG.
Energia
A WEG possui Política de Eficiência Energética, desde 2012, na qual demonstra o seu compromisso com a gestão desse insumo. Essa política é desdobrada em ações para o monitoramento e a redução do consumo de energia, o que contribui para a melhoria do meio ambiente. A WEG pretende tornar, cada vez mais, suas fontes de energia mais limpas, renováveis e sustentáveis.
Água, efluentes e recursos hídricos
A WEG monitora o consumo de água das suas operações e possui diversos controles operacionais que garantem uma gestão eficiente sobre esse recurso, evitando assim o desperdício e promovendo um consumo consciente. Todos os efluentes gerados nas operações são devidamente tratados e periodicamente monitorados, de forma a garantir o atendimento das legislações e a minimizar os impactos nos diferentes stakeholders.
Parte dos efluentes tratados nas operações são reutilizados nos processos internos, sendo que algumas estações de tratamento de efluentes possibilitam até 100% de reúso do efluente tratado. Adotamos iniciativas focadas na redução do consumo de água e da geração de efluentes, através do controle de vazamentos, do monitoramento do consumo e do apoio aos programas que engajam todos os colaboradores a esse objetivo, como o KaizenWEG e o WEG Manufacturing System.
Investimentos e despesas em meio ambiente
Os investimentos ambientais são caracterizados em três categorias:
- Controle ambiental: relacionado com tratamento e disposição de resíduos, tratamento de emissões atmosféricas e líquidas, seguros de responsabilidade ambiental e depreciação de equipamentos e despesas com materiais e serviços de manutenção.
- Equipamentos: relacionados à aquisição de equipamentos para controle ambiental.
- Gestão: relacionado à remuneração de profissionais de treinamento que exercem atividades de gestão ambiental, pesquisa e desenvolvimento, e à certificação de sistemas de gestão ambiental.
Sustainable packaging and biodiversity preservation
We have a packaging factory, RF Reflorestadora, in Brazil. This unit produces all the wooden packaging used in our various product lines. To that end, we have our own reforestation areas that guarantee the continuous supply of wood and the preservation of this natural resource and areas of natural forests, legal reserves and permanent preservation areas that help in the preservation of the local biodiversity.
The areas comply with all legislation and legal requirements, including an area of conservation of native forests much larger than the minimum established for the legal reserve.
Furthermore, WEG promotes and supports conscious reforestation and nature conservation initiatives and invests in the afforestation of its industrial parks.
Kaizen WEG
KaizenWEG is one of WEG's forms of participative management, where all employees are encouraged to promote improvements in their work environment or in any other areas of the company, identifying waste, analyzing causes and taking part in improvement implementation teams.
The collective search for operational excellence and sustainability in a scenario of verticalization of processes makes participative management a key element in enhancing WEG's results.
2019 to 2021 average: 1144
WMS
WEG's continuous improvement management system is WMS, whose main objective is to identify and eliminate losses and waste.
Results are maximized through safety, quality, cost and GHG (greenhouse gas) emission prioritization matrices, which guide the development of projects to optimize or eliminate such waste, contributing to a more efficient and sustainable world.
In addition to the optimization work fronts, multidisciplinary teams act as central points for continuous improvement, bringing innovations and disruptions to our processes.
One of these central points is the Environment and Energy pillar, which aims at and systematizes the reduction of environmental impacts, working to reduce or eliminate the generation of waste and emissions, the consumption of energy resources, chemical cleaning and inputs in general.
WEG Replacement Plan (Available only in Brazil)
Recycling is a serious subject for WEG, extended up to business. By means of the program for reusing electric motors, the “Exchange Plan”, the company has granted a discount on the purchase of a new motor with performance above the law requirements in exchange for a used one. Besides the financial benefit to the customers, the initiative ensures that the low-efficiency motor is no longer used. Once collected by the company, the motors are dismantled and separated into parts for distribution to accredited and tracked recyclers.
Benefits
Reduction of electric energy consumption
Reliability of the plant
Reduction of operating costs
Factory Warranty
Standard products - offer complete interchangeability with motors already installed
Item | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Products sold that can be reused or recycled* (%) – Weight basis | 65 | 66 | 68 | 73 | 65 |
Products that were actually reused or recycled by the company * (%) – Weight basis | 21 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 4.3 |
* It takes into account only the products placed and recalled in the Brazilian market
Investments in Environment
Environmental investments are classified into three categories:
Environmental control: Related to treatment and disposal of waste, treatment of atmospheric and liquid emissions, environmental liability insurances and depreciation of devices and expenses with materials and maintenance.
Equipment: Related to the purchase of equipment for environmental control.
Management: Related to the remuneration of training personnel who act in environmental management, research and development, and certification of environmental management systems.
Below is the amount invested in each category in Brazil.
Investiment | 2021 | 2021 | 2022 | 2022 | 2023 | 2023 |
Environmental Controls | 8,678 | 54.19 | 10,234 | 52.4 | 12,248 | 48.4 |
Equipment | 1,329 | 8.30 | 1,788 | 9.2 | 1,819 | 7.2 |
| Management | 6,006 | 37.51 | 7,519 | 38.5 | 11,261 | 44.4 |
| TOTAL | 16,013 | 100 | 19,540 | 100 | 25,328 | 100 |
Enviromental Certification
In 2023, considering the scope of employees, 74.5% of the WEG group was covered by ISO 14001 certification.
Click here to access the certificates
Environmental Audits
WEG has an environmental audit cycle process that covers all of its industrial operations.
In annual environmental audit process, WEG guarantees compliance with environmental legislation in all industrial operations.
Performance Indicators
In 2023, the scope of monitored units was expanded, including the company's business addresses. Thus, 100% of WEG's global addresses are now included in the indicators.
Solid Waste
WEG has a waste selective collection system in its operations. Waste is separated and sent to recyclers, thus enabling its recovery and the reintroduction of materials in the most diverse production cycles. Part of the waste generated in operations is also recycled by WEG itself, thus returning to the process and forming part of our products.
Item | Unit | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Total hazardous waste recycled/reused | Metric Tons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,101 |
Total hazardous waste disposed | Metric Tons | 5,822 | 4,905 | 5,484 | 6,511 | 5,944 |
Hazardous waste landfilled | Metric Tons | 1,266 | 1.338 | 1.138 | 850 | 0 |
Hazardous waste incinerated with energy recovery | Metric Tons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hazardous waste incinerated without energy recovery | Metric Tons | 4,556 | 3,567 | 4,346 | 5,661 | 5,944 |
Hazardous waste with unknown | Metric Tons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Data Coverage (as % of denominator) | % employees | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Energy
WEG has had an Energy Efficiency Policy since 2012, in which it shows its commitment to the management of this input. This policy develops actions to monitor and reduce energy consumption, which contributes to improving the environment. WEG intends to increasingly make its energy sources cleaner, renewable and sustainable.
Total Energy Consumption | Unit | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Total non-renewable energy consumption | MWh | 466,737 | 462,976 | 499,355 | 478,872 | 430,848 |
Total renewable energy consumption | MWh | 0 | 0 | 56,000 | 86,918 | 127,709 |
Total energy consumption (non-renewable + renewable) | MWh | 466,737 | 462,976 | 555,355 | 565,790 | 558,557 |
Data coverage (as % of denominator) | percentage of employee | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Renewable energy acquisition
In 2023, WEG guaranteed that 22.9% of energy consumption came from renewable sources with guarantee of origin through self-production, purchase of renewable energy certificates (I-REC) and bilateral contracts.
In 2024, WEG will have approximately 90% of Brazil's electricity consumption from renewable sources, which is equivalent an average of 45 MW.
Atmospheric emissions
WEG monitors atmospheric emissions related to volatile organic compounds. Below is the result of emissions related to equipment monitored in recent years.
Item | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Emissions of volatile organic compounds - VOC (t/year) | 93,5 | 135,2 | 114,5 | 139,3 | 382,6 |
coverage rate (%) | 56 | 56 | 56 | 61 | 72 |
Environmental Violations
One of WEG's top priorities is compliance with the environmental legislation applicable to its operations. In the last 4 years, there were no evidence of environmental fines applied to WEG businesses.
