Circular
economy
In 2000, we started the circular economy in our activities, aiming to turn our waste into resources. This decision is at the heart of the levers controlling the transformation of the automobile to respond to three environmental issues.
Turning waste into a resource
Before being a philosophy, the circular economy was first and foremost a new economic model that Groupe Renault promoted with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. A new way of approaching the life cycle of vehicles by extending the life of its components and materials.
An endless loop
Before
Now
Renault and the major issues of the circular economy
Learn moreWhat Groupe Renault is doing to develop the circular economy:
Material loops
We recover the materials from vehicles at the end of their life and transform them to supply the production of new vehicles.
Groupe Renault has co-developed with suppliers a unique fabric made from 100% recycled materials
Part loops
We recover vehicles at the end of their life and mechanical parts to repair in the commercial network, this prolongs the life of vehicles in circulation. With different components of broken engines, the Choisy site re-manufactures them to propose new engines using a standard exchange system. Workers at Indra dismantle vehicles to extract parts from end-of-life vehicles for use in vehicle repair.
The life cycle of the battery
When the battery is no longer usable, instead of discarding it and recycling it, a second life is given to it to store renewable energies to power buildings for example.
Ready to take on new challenges!
Our action plan
Develop mobility services
Extend the life of products with:
- the use of re-use parts in vehicle repair.
- the development of new services for second life electric batteries.
Increase the economic potential of the group’s circular activities
Promote recycling and the circular economy with:
- the creation and development of material loops
- the increase in the use of recycled materials in the production of our vehicles.
More recycled plastics
As a carmaker, we must limit the environmental footprint of our products and activities as much as possible in order to address the issues of global warming, air quality and the increasing scarcity of natural resources. It is with this in mind that via our automobile business, we have just given the French government reaffirmation of our goal to increase our overall use of recycled plastics by 50% from 2013, or 64,000 tons for all of Groupe Renault
Our subsidiaries, players for change
We are the first carmaker to make a capital-based commitment to the circular economy, through our Renault Environment subsidiary. It coordinates a large part of our circular activities via 3 subsidiaries.
Indra
a joint venture with Suez Environment, a key player in the recycling of End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) in France with a network of 400 auto wreckers. In 2017, 350,000 ELVs were handled.
Boone Conemor
also in joint venture with Suez, which manages the metal scrap on the Renault sites.
GAÏA
a wholly-owned Renault subsidiary, interacts with various players in the circular economy. Its mission? Make suppliers of materials and parts for the automotive sector recycling subsidiaries (Renault and supplier production sites, repair shops, etc.)
Waste recovery in our factories
The Cléon plant in France
collects and regenerates used machining oils from several French factories for use in its own machining processes for mechanical parts to replace new oils.
The Medellin plant in Colombia
has internally recycled its paint solvents since 2014.
The Curitiba plant in Brazil
in 2016 created an internal catalog of packaging in good condition to allow their reuse in large quantities.
The Tangier plant in Morocco
uses the ashes of its biomass heating systems (nearly 1,100 tons in 2017) in the composition of certified biofertilizers used in organic farming.
The Busan plant in South Korea
recycles its sludge from purification and phosphating plants in the cement industry.
A history of partnership
Groupe Renault joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2010 as a founding partner. An influential organization that aims to promote the circular economy, advising and supporting businesses and governments in particular. This innovative partnership has a very specific purpose: to preserve natural resources and secure our long-term future. A transition that goes through the the circular economy and functionality.
