FROM THE INDUSTRY
Tell me a little about ACOME Group. We specialise in high-tech cables, ducts, connectivity and we’re based in Normandy, with factories in Brittany. In January this year we acquired Lynndahl Telecom, based in Denmark, which is good for our European focus. They are quite a young company; they only started in 2020 and they were looking for someone to maintain their growth, especially in Europe. They have a presence in the US and Germany as well so it was a great fit for us all round. What sets ACOME apart, in your view? As a cooperative company, I find it’s a really good business model, and a big part of why I joined four years ago. We elect our board and then the CEO among the employees. Of course, as a result of this set up we sustain the company and jobs, but we’re also very committed to sustainability. That’s also part of my role here at FTTH Council; I’m also on the board pushing for this. So looking at the environment, globally speaking, especially with this recent acquisition, is a big priority for us. Do you have net zero targets that you’re sticking to? Yes, we have been very committed to this since the nineties. In 2006 we performed our first lifecycle assessment. Three years later we co-created with other major industry players our own EPD called PEP Ecopassport. It has now become an international programme across Europe. We have been using this tool to ecodesign our products, demonstrating significant carbon reduction in several of the countries where we sell. For example, a year ago we launched a new technology called Nanomodule, that contributes significantly to our carbon reduction efforts. Today, regarding the PEP Ecopassport, there are more than 3000 EPDs available online. That’s very impressive! Although we are doing a lot at ACOME to reduce our carbon footprint, those actions and our targets were not yet monitored through the SBTi third party (Science Based Target initiative). We committed
in 2023 and provided our planned trajectory last December. Cautiously, I’m waiting for the feedback from SBTi before announcing our plans. We are working every day to decarbonise our manufacturing, eg, lower carbonised materials, improved industrial and energy efficiency, and we are doing the same with our technology. We mix different things together, but usually everything is connected. The innovation I was just telling you about is participating. Nanomodule technology is revolutionising the optical cable industry, offering up to 30% reduction in carbon footprint. This directly contributes to the carbon reduction objectives set by operators, helping them make tangible progress
In 2006 we performed our first lifecycle
assessment. Three years later we co- created with other major industry players our own EPD called PEP Ecopassport. It has now become an international programme across Europe.
towards their sustainability goals. By incorporating these advanced
nanomodules, ACOME Group also lowers the environmental impact of optical cable manufacturing, allowing it to achieve its own carbon reduction targets. What’s your strategy? ACOME is positioned across two main markets; the automotive market with electrical vehicles and the telecom market with optical fibres. Both markets are what I call avoided emission markets. When you manufacture, for the sake of argument, single-use products (like cutlery), you know that each new manufactured product will contribute to consume a bit more of the “carbon budget” that mankind has available before a temperature rise of 2° becomes inevitable. For fibre, it’s very different. The technology is inherently low carbon: fibre is the greenest telecom technology. Each time a fibre is produced, especially FTTH, it will replace an old copper transmission technology, which emits at least 3 times more carbon than fibre. So fibre technology is avoiding future
May 2024 Volume 46 No.2
27
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online