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How sustainable are motion plastics?

We at igus produce components made of high-performance plastics that are optimised for moving applications. Plastic is a much-discussed material, but our motion plastics can help protect resources and the environment. We are aware of our responsibility towards the environment and society, and we have therefore made this a focus of our entrepreneurial activities. Our goal is to be carbon neutral across the group by 2040 at the latest.

At our headquarters in Cologne, we already operate production and office space in a climate-neutral manner in accordance with Scope 1 and 2 by using green electricity, green gas and energy-efficient measures. To achieve the comprehensive goal throughout the group and for all three scopes, we have divided it into short, medium and long-term goals. Our specific measures are described in detail on the following page:

To the sustainability measures

On this page, we show you how sustainable our motion plastics are: to do this, we look at the plastic in our products in three phases. We also introduce you to special product innovations, exciting projects and our path in relation to sustainability:

Before: Production of plastic

Chart of sustainability energy balance: steel and aluminium are about 44,000, plastics about 22,000.

Energy balance

The production of 1m³ of plastic requires around 50% less energy than the production of 1m³ of steel or aluminium.

Triangle chart of plastics with standard, technical and high-temperature plastics up to 300 °C.

Oil consumption

The production of high-performance plastics accounts for just 0.5% of global oil consumption.

PTFE-free and PFAS tested.

PTFE-free and PFAS-tested

In our plastics, PTFE provides low-friction dry operation and the higher-level PFAS makes our products more robust, wear-resistant and resilient. However, the chemicals are difficult to break down in the environment, which is why we now offer many igus products without PTFE.

Seal with the text “100% climate-friendly” and a note about green electricity from RheinEnergie.

Green electricity and renewable energy

We have been using 100% green electricity at our Cologne site since mid-2021 and are continuously expanding the number of photovoltaic systems for our own power generation. In addition, we are continuously reducing the consumption of our machines by replacing them with more energy-efficient models.

No plastic waste

In our injection moulding production, we recycle 99% of sprues and rejects and return them to the production process as recyclates. In addition, in 2021 we were able to reduce the waste rate by 21% with our clean igus initiative by optimising machinery and conveyor belts.

Environmental and climate certification

It is our aim to achieve continuous improvements in our environmental and energy management. We are committed to a sustainable corporate strategy with regard to ecological, economic and social aspects. We have summarised these in our energy and environmental policy.

ISO 14001 on soil with a green background.

ISO 14001 environmental management standard

In order to make our environmental policy transparent and comprehensible, we have been certified since 2019 according to ISO standard 14001, an internationally recognised basis for environmental management systems. It helps us on our way to a CO2-neutral factory.

ISO 50001 and climate neutrality against a blue sky with footprints and landscape.

Energy management standard ISO 50001

Our energy management system is certified according to the international standard ISO 50001. The main aim of this standard is to help companies improve their energy-related performance by setting up systems and processes.

During: Plastics in use

Lubrication-free

Worldwide, 27 million tonnes of grease contaminate the environment each year. Our high-performance plastics provide an alternative here, as they do not require lubrication. Eliminating lubricants reduces the environmental impact and energy consumption during manufacture. Our lubrication-free motion plastics therefore have a smaller CO2 footprint and contribute to more sustainable production. Make your machines and equipment lubrication-free too - GO ZERO Lubrication!

Zero lubricant

World map made of white blocks on a brown background.

Forecasts indicate that global demand for lubricants will grow by 2% per year, which for 2019 would be 45.4 million tonnes.

Source: The Freedonia Group, 2015

No water contamination

Schematic row of containers and bottles symbolizing sustainable use of an oil-water mixture.

1 litre of oil contaminates 1,000,000 litres of drinking water.

Source: Saskatchewan Association for Resource Recovery Corp., 2008

Less environmental pollution

Oil can above a 50% symbol with a globe inside the percent sign.

50% of all lubricants sold worldwide end up in the environment.

Source: M. P. Schneider, 2006

Reduced consumption

Car symbol with diagonal hatching on a brown background.

1/3 of the total fuel consumption of a passenger car is used to overcome friction in the engine, gearbox, tyres and brakes.

Source: K. Holmberg, P. Andersson, A. Erdemir, 2012

Symbol for sustainable, long-lasting products with circular arrows.

Long service life

Our plastics are optimised for wear. They are corrosion-free and insensitive to grease and dirt, which means they last longer and do not have to be replaced as often. Thanks to numerous tests in our test laboratory, their service life can be precisely calculated.

More about the service life of our products

Energy saving

Our plastic is tribologically optimised, meaning that it has improved properties in terms of friction, wear and lubrication. Thanks to the low coefficients of friction and the lightweight design, less drive energy is needed to move a machine part in an application.

How does self-lubrication work?
Two green bushing rings in the grass, one with a moss-like surface.

Biopolymers

With iglidur N94, we have developed a new plain bearing material that consists of 94% renewable raw materials and can be used in a variety of ways. The biopolymer bearing demonstrates that components can be sustainable, and motivates us in our future product development.

To the iglidur N94 plain bearing

Predictive maintenance

Components are not replaced until they have reached the end of their product life cycle - this is the idea behind our smart plastics product range. Sensors indicate wear and parts are replaced when really necessary; resources are used carefully and rationally.

To the smart plastics
Scale with two airplanes as a symbol of sustainability and balance.

Lightweight

Plastic is lighter than steel, helping to reduce both system weight and the energy needed for movement. For example, this amounts to around 4kg for an aircraft that uses iglidur plain bearings instead of metal bearings in its aircraft seats – resulting in lower kerosene consumption.

Orange bearing housing with two green arrows to two interchangeable bearing inserts.

Replaceable parts

In keeping with the idea of the circular economy, we design products that are efficient and durable. Instead of replacing the entire application, individual components can be replaced, such as the bearing on linear guides. This conserves resources and reduces costs at the same time.

After: Plastics after their use

Circular economy with plastic bottles, containers and factory processes around the Earth.

chainge recycling programme

We finally make the recycling of engineering plastics easy. Through our chainge programme, we recycle igus products as well as products from other manufacturers and feed the recycled material into our production. Since the launch of chainge in 2019, we have recycled over 251,000kg of material, supporting the circular economy (as of June 2026). Our programme has already received several awards: from PolyFormNEXT as product of the year, the Rhineland Business Prize in the "Sustainability" category and first place in the "Going Circular" recycling competition of the Cologne Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Join in and become a chainger
Plastic recycling loop around the Earth with arrows, plants and transport of recycled material.

Recycling with Hydro-PRT

We have invested in Mura Technology, a company that has developed a new technology for the chemical recycling of plastic waste. Unsorted plastic waste is converted into crude oil within 30 minutes, using water, temperature and pressure to conserve resources. This technology is called Hydrothermal Plastic Recycling Technology, or Hydro-PRT for short. The first large-scale plant was opened on 26th October 2023 at the Wilton International industrial site in Teesside, Great Britain. Full commissioning of the facility is planned for 2026.

Learn more about Hydro-PRT
Find out more about recycling at igus

Sustainable innovations

Sustainability of our chainflex cables

Sustainability is one of the biggest challenges of our time, especially in industry. With our chainflex cables, we want to address this issue. What are we already doing to make chainflex more sustainable? How can we maintain our high-quality standards while reducing our carbon footprint? And can customers also benefit from this?

More about sustainability with chainflex

Combating pollutant emissions in container ports with shore power

Running diesel generators of container ships in port are a serious problem. They release fine dust, nitrogen and sulphur oxides as well as CO2 emissions into the environment and atmosphere by the tonnes. In 2022, with the mobile socket iMSPO, we created a solution that allows container ships to be supplied with shore power easily, quickly and, above all, flexibly.

More about shore power supply in ports
Container ship at the quay with STS cranes and a shore power solution for container handling.

Sustainable mobility with a bike made of recycled plastic

With our igus:bike and RCYL, we want to promote sustainable and urban mobility. The bicycle consists almost entirely of plastic, mostly from recycled plastic waste. It is robust, low-maintenance and rust-proof and requires no additional lubrication. We show the current state of the art and help bicycle and component manufacturers to network and exchange ideas with each other.

More about RCYL
igus Bike by the water with the rear wheel dissolving in front of a bridge.

e-chain E2.1: the first complete energy chain series made from recycled material

igumid CG LW is the further development of our recycling material igumid CG and is now the new base material for our entire E2.1 energy chain series. Both the energy chains collected as part of our chainge programme and other recycled plastic products are incorporated into this sustainable material.

More about the e-chain E2.1
echain e21 with green arrows for the cycle and material flow.

Wood-based slewing ring bearings

The slewing ring bearing PRT-02-30-WPC consists of a combination of 50% wood and 50% plastic. This means that half of the bearing is made from renewable resources. It is lightweight, cost-effective and needs no lubrication.

More about the PRT slewing ring bearing
Round plastic flange with screws and a central bore.

3D printing filament on sustainable cardboard spool

After the changeover of the iglidur tribofilament i150, the tribofilaments iglidur i151, i180 and i180-BL are now also available on a 750g cardboard spool. Cardboard filament spools have a 50% lower CO2 footprint than conventional polypropylene spools and are much easier for users to recycle.

To the 3D printing filaments
iglidur i150 filament spool on a cardboard reel for 3D printing.

drylin R on wooden shafts - study

We have carried out tests on the coefficient of friction and the wear rate of our materials on wooden shafts. Plain bearings and liners made from the materials iglidur® J and J4 were tested on various wooden shafts and compared with metal shafts. In short: drylin linear technology works with wood.

More about the drylin study and wooden shafts
Study with oak wooden shaft in an igus bearing element.

Ball bearings made of regranulate

Our new material xirodur ECO B180 consists of raw materials that have already been used, such as sprue from injection-moulding production, and is processed back into plastic granulate in an in-house process. Finally, production via injection moulding results in an ECO all-rounder in green with recycled inner and outer rings made of dyed xirodur B180 and a cage made from recycled iglidur material.

More about the xiros ECO ball bearing
Green ball bearing with visible metal balls.

Resource conservation projects and initiatives

Group planting trees in the forest.

We plant new trees around the world

Our tree planting activities began in 2019 as Christmas gifts for customers and since then have grown into a large number of reforestation projects. We have planted a total of 76,280 trees to date, not just in Germany but worldwide. From saplings to large urban trees, we plant and care for trees and bushes in small and large campaigns. By creating new tree-growing areas, we want to help reduce the CO2 load in the atmosphere and achieve our self-declared goal of CO2 neutrality.

To our tree-planting projects
Multi-storey car park with green facades behind a fence.

Green car park at the igus headquarters in Cologne

Future-proof, innovative and a real eye-catcher: The new car park at igus in Cologne is an absolute focal point with its all-year-round green facade. Across a total green area of 1,015m², over 70 plants per square metre create a pleasant atmosphere and shine in full bloom and lush leaf splendour in summer. The facade greening was designed by the global market leader Sempergreen and is one of the most flexible systems on the market, with numerous sustainable benefits: retention of rainwater, increase in biodiversity due to a potential habitat, reduction of noise pollution, increase in well-being for customers and employees as well as a theoretical CO2 compensation of 3 tonnes per year. Another highlight: In addition to the 484 car parking spaces, 22 of which have charging stations for electric vehicles, the multi-storey car park also has 83 bicycle parking spaces, inviting people to cycle to work in an environmentally friendly way.

Two men hold a document in front of the igus building with a climate sign in Cologne.

Partnership with the Cologne Climate Declaration

In December 2024, igus joined the Cologne Climate Declaration and is working with the other partners to achieve climate neutrality in the city of Cologne by 2035. With this step, we are reaffirming our commitment to sustainable business practices and supporting urban climate protection measures. Felix Hülder, Lean Engineer Green Production at igus, on the new partnership: "As a company, we are currently working on developing a holistic plan both for the Cologne site and worldwide, which includes a plan of action including an overarching strategy to become climate-neutral."

About our action plan
UPS logo with notice of carbon neutral shipping.

Climate-neutral shipping with UPS

On 1 January 2024, we at igus Germany made our shipping more sustainable and introduced a new shipping option: "UPS Carbon Neutral Shipping". Since then, we have been shipping climate-neutrally with UPS and the CO2emissions generated by our shipments are offset. This is achieved through recognised, global projects to reduce greenhouse gases, e.g. through the protection of the rainforest in Brazil, wastewater treatment in Thailand or methane recovery in the Netherlands.

Waste barrier in a polluted waterway, before and after cleanup.

Plastic Fischer - against plastic waste in rivers

8 to 12 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year, mostly via rivers. Plastic Fischer starts right here and collects the rubbish in the rivers, which is more cost-effective than fishing in the sea. How does the project work? Local people use special devices to fish the rubbish out of rivers and receive a regular income in return. The collected plastic waste, which is mostly classified as non-recyclable, is forwarded to thermal treatment plants and incinerated with energy recovery. igus financed the collection of a total of 10,000kg of plastic waste, creating regular employment for at least 34 people in Kanpur and Mangalore, India, with additional helpers joining on some days.

Floating litter trap on the Rhine for cleaning and circular economy.

Rhine Octopus ("Rheinkrake") – igus supports a floating waste trap

Every day, 1,000kg of waste floats across the Rhine into the North Sea. That is an enormous amount. K.R.A.K.E., a Cologne-based association ("Krake" is the German word for octopus) has been collecting rubbish in and around the Rhine for years. It took a big step forward in September 2022 with its floating waste trap. Waste floating on the surface drifts into the London-style passive trap. The Rhine trap is regularly emptied by the association members and the waste is recorded on land. The waste is scientifically evaluated in cooperation with the University of Bonn as part of a long-term study on plastic waste in the Rhine. igus supports the project and uses the plastic waste for recycling in its own production.

Find out more about the Rhine octopus

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