Sustainability
“Appliances have a critical role to play in future sustainability, in helping achieve the net zero home”
Paul Hide, Chief Executive AMDEAOver the last twenty years AMDEA members have achieved vast reductions in the energy and water consumption of our essential appliances through eco-friendly design and new technologies. With 188 million appliances in the UK’s 28 million homes, these machines play an important role in making our lives easier, while ensuring clean and healthy homes. Their collective performance can also make a vital contribution to net zero goals.
HOMING IN ON NET ZERO
Behind today’s high-efficiency appliances lies an industry eco-commitment that scrutinises every phase of operations, seeking to continuously reduce emissions. Net zero planning includes extending lifespan and making repairs easy to conserve resources, refurbishing discarded appliances to lend them a second life and developing safe uses for recovered materials.
Leading the way
AMDEA members have opened their doors to reveal their sustainability programmes. Behind the scenes, and often invisibly, leading brands with products in every home have scrutinised their entire operations for opportunities for carbon reduction. Take a look as they lift the lid on their paths to net zero. From use of renewable energy, recycling and recyclable materials, EV fleets, eco-packaging and extending the lifespan of their products, they are tackling every opportunity for carbon savings.
Every drop makes a difference when the UK showers
Serious sustainability behind the famous smile
Production
Given the number of installed appliances in constant use, AMDEA Members recognise that their individual progress in driving down manufacturing emissions, water and energy usage, and increasing the use of recycled and recyclable materials can significantly advance the national journey to net zero.
Eco design
Production materials
Manufacturing efficiency
Packaging
Transport
Eco Performance in Use
Huge strides have been made in developing machines which are more water and energy efficient. Today’s fridge uses half the energy of a 20-year-old model and today’s washing machine needs a third less water than one produced around the millennium. Each efficiency development, wisely used in homes, is an incremental step towards our net zero goals.
In use
Smart features
Maintenance
Repair, Recycling & Recovery
Design emphasises durability and recyclability, and manufacturers extend lifespan by supplying spare parts. At appliance end-of-life, maximising recycling and recovery is key. For every three large appliances bought, two are recycled. Recycling separates an appliance into constituent materials – steel, copper, plastic etc – to be deployed elsewhere, reducing the need for virgin materials. Sometimes, materials from appliances are reused in new machines – an example of a true circular economy.
WEEE regulations and policy
Recovery of materials
Repair
FAQs
Appliances are vital to modern lives because they keep us clean and fed. After they are manufactured, they rely on water and energy to run, and all this means they have an important part to play in how the UK brings down emissions to reach net zero. Find some common questions around sustainability and the appliance industry.
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