Commitment to sustainability sees Bruynzeel Storage Systems aim for net-zero by 2045

Raising the bar

Bruynzeel Storage Systems is a leading provider of made-to-measure storage solutions for archives, museums, retail, offices, libraries, smart warehouses, healthcare and vertical farming. The company is a leader in sustainability, having already achieved climate neutral status in its own operations for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. The next step is to decarbonise the company’s operations fully by achieving net-zero indirect emissions. Bruynzeel has set itself the goal of achieving this target by 2045 at the latest. To help Bruynzeel on that journey, the company has begun to purchase ArcelorMittal steels with XCarb^® green steel certificates.

“At Bruynzeel Storage Systems, we want to be the leader in our sector when it comes to enhancing the sustainability of our business,” says Bart Sijben, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company. “With that in mind, we have already taken action to create a climate-neutral factory. That has reduced our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions to zero. Now we are working to decarbonise our indirect – Scope 3 – emissions.”

Flexibility key to use of steel

Most of Bruynzeel’s storage solutions are made with steel due to the flexibility of the material. “Steel is easy to shape and form into the required dimensions and shapes, but it does have a big impact on the carbon footprint of the business,” notes Bart Sijben. “Our goal is to cut our Scope 3 emissions to zero by 2045. We believe that XCarb^® green steel certificates are the best solution available today to help us achieve that goal.”

By buying XCarb^® green steel certificates with its orders, Bruynzeel is helping ArcelorMittal on its journey to net zero

Ultimately the choice of steel is up to the final customer. “We mainly use unoiled cold rolled steel to create our storage solutions,” explains Bart Sijben. “We also use Magnelis^®. It is the perfect choice for applications when we want to avoid pure-zinc coatings. Zinc is not the best corrosion protection solution in indoor projects for a range of sustainability, environmental, and recycling reasons.”

Bruynzeel can use Magnelis^® or cold rolled steel to produce its state-of-the art storage systems 

Giving customers the facts

To help customers make a choice, Bruynzeel can provide quotes which detail the environmental impact of the raw materials used in its products. “We can quote for solutions with and without XCarb^® green steel certificates, but the quotes show the environmental impact of each option,” explains Marius Schlatmann, Group Marketing Manager for Bruynzeel.

Providing customers with fact-based, independently verified data is critical explains Marius Schlatmann, Group Marketing Manager for Bruynzeel: “We are careful to use the right protocols and reporting language in our communications, and we expect our suppliers to do the same. The fact that ArcelorMittal’s certificates are independently verified is very important to us. Our own Scope 1 and 2 reductions have been audited by Deloitte.”

Around two-thirds of the customers who opt for steel with XCarb^® green steel certificates are organisations which rely partly or fully on public funding notes Bart Sijben: “Publicly funded organisations are taking the lead. The National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom is a good example. They now ask suppliers about their sustainability initiatives – and those of their suppliers. It is becoming increasingly important to all organisations, but particularly those that are active in the public sector.”

Compact storage solutions from Bruynzeel can significantly reduce the footprint of retail shops and smart warehouses 

Supporting ArcelorMittal’s journey to net-zero

In the future, Bruynzeel wants to be the first customer to use ArcelorMittal steel produced with low-carbon technology. Until then they are supporting ArcelorMittal on its journey to zero emissions by buying XCarb^® green steel certificates with their orders.

“While ArcelorMittal is developing its low-carbon technologies we will continue to support the steelmaker on its own journey to net-zero,” says Bart Sijben. “ArcelorMittal is the market leader and produces high quality products. We also appreciate their excellent service and short lead-time offer. We feel closely linked. ArcelorMittal has the same culture as Bruynzeel despite ArcelorMittal being a large organisation.”