Sandvik Coromant Establishes Sustainability Goals

Sandvik Coromant has developed a set of internal goals called “Make the Shift” to raise the bar for sustainable business.

Sandvik Coromant’s commitment to adopting sustainable business practices includes making use of new technologies, new competencies and new ways of designing to make the processes better for both the organization and the environment.

To achieve this, Sandvik Coromant has established two leading objectives. The first objective is to achieve a more circular business through more efficient recycling. The company aims to recycle at least 90% of its waste and halve the carbon dioxide impact by 2030. Sandvik Coromant has already implemented processes to make this shift, including a robust recycling program through digital devices like the Green Factories measurement tool, which enables Sandvik Coromant to track areas of inefficiency throughout all facilities.

The second objective is to increase energy efficiency by repurposing or reducing energy spent in operations, aiming for a 2.5% reduction in consumption each year.

When it comes to recycling tools, 95% of a used carbide insert can be recycled, according to the company. Of this carbide, tungsten makes up around 75%. Making new tools from recycled solid carbide reportedly requires 70% less energy than producing with virgin raw materials. Production is also more sustainable, and using recycled materials emits 40% less carbon dioxide compared with starting from scratch.

As part of Sandvik Coromant’s global recycling process, used carbide tools are collected from customers and recycled. After an initial crushing, the tools form a carbide powder, which undergoes chemical purification to retrieve materials that have the same properties as virgin tungsten.

Additional elements in the cemented carbide are also managed sustainably. For example, cobalt retrieved from the tools is sent to a third party for recycling. Carbide tools from all manufacturers are accepted into Sandvik Coromant’s recycling program, regardless of size, industry or location.