With biodegradable PLANTO, virtually everyone can be more sustainable

We increasingly hear our customers expressing a strong desire to develop their business in a more sustainable direction and become fossil-free. We also hear that it can be hard to find sustainable alternatives, as well as concerns that sustainable products could lead to lower performance. In fact, the opposite is true.

An increasing desire to be fossil-free does of course place demands on us as a supplier. But sustainability has long been an important aspect for us at FUCHS, so we are only too pleased to see this development. Having said that, in our world sustainability can be about far more than fossil freedom and carbon neutrality. In hydro power, for example, demand for biodegradable turbine oils has been driven mainly by the risk of leakage. For others, sustainability might be about saving energy or improving the work environment.

Being able to offer sustainable products places demands on strategies that encompass the entire value chain, from raw materials to the customers’ own use of the finished products, and then how used products can ultimately be disposed of.

“In the future, circular concepts will be absolutely crucial to our customers’ operations. This is why it’s important that we develop products that can be reused in positive ways,” says Helene Odelius, Director Product Management Nordic at FUCHS.

Although we at FUCHS have come a long way in our sustainability work, and already offer several biodegradable products, sustainability remains a key area – and not just for ourselves and our customers.  We can only make a genuinely big difference by working together with others in the industry. This is why FUCHS has taken the initiative for and is heading up a sustainability process in UEIL, the Union of the European Lubricants Industry. Creating circular systems and reducing carbon footprint are now seriously strategic matters for the entire lubricant industry – and this can only be a good thing. Industry-wide research projects have more of an impact, and therefore more benefit for the climate and environment.

A sustainable mindset has also become a tool for our customers in gaining a competitive edge. One example is the major municipal clients that now offer incentives to suppliers that can present more sustainable options. But sustainability must of course never come at the cost of performance – gains at one end should not cause losses at the other. But generally speaking, this is not a problem. The key is to find the ideal compromise between sustainability, efficiency, cost and performance.

The products in the biodegradable PLANTO series are based on synthetic esters or vegetable oils, and easily meet technical performance requirements – especially compared to conventional lubricants based on mineral oil.

“Our aim is to be able to offer sustainable alternatives in ALL areas,” says Helene Odelius. “We’re not quite there yet, but we currently have products for most applications. And we’re making progress so you will always be able to choose biodegradable, with low or no fossil content, whatever the application.”

Many companies could therefore easily boost their environmental profile by switching to new generation lubricants. It is simple, because environmental consciousness goes side by side with full performance.

“If you’re hesitating, I can tell you that today’s modern PLANTO products actually do a better job generally than the traditional products based on mineral oil – completely aside from the sustainability aspect,” Helene Odelius explains. “Sustainability is a bonus side effect.”

We also have biodegradable products for turbines and for hardening.