Post by Nexans

The manufacture of 1km of electrical cable* generates as many greenhouse gas emissions as those produced by 2 to 3 people in France over the course of a year. Yet France has 1.3 million kilometres of power lines. Laure Desseigne, Head of the Circular Economy, and Nexans’ team of experts have tackled the problem at its root: incorporating recycled raw materials to reduce emissions and prevent future shortages. Today, our cables contain around 10 % recycled copper. As part of this pilot project, the team succeeded in incorporating 100 % recycled materials. The cables offer the same performance and efficiency, while complying with current standards. The next step was to prove it. An environmental product declaration is often between 6 and 8 pages long, and customers find it hard to make sense of it. We therefore decided to communicate the essential data in a simplified and transparent way: CO₂ emissions**, the improvements achieved through the percentages of recycled metal and plastic, and the use of decarbonized aluminium. Reducing a cable’s carbon footprint and making the data easy to understand are part of the same challenge. It is essential by nature. A first step towards achieving our ambition: 25 % recycled copper in our low-carbon cables worldwide by 2028.

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