Sustainable manufacturing in practice: our progress and what comes next

By Tim Franssen, Sustainability Manager, Rompa Group 

Today's publication of Rompa Group's first Sustainability Report feels like a good moment to reflect on how far we have come, what that progress looks like in practice and how much work still lies ahead. 

Over the past few years, we have moved from trying to understand our sustainability impact more clearly to building a structured ESG strategy, setting measurable climate targets, and embedding sustainability into decisions across the business. 

What matters to me is that this work stays practical. Simply put, focusing on sustainability and decarbonizing our activities are the right thing to do. They should help us make better decisions, improve how we operate, and create more value with our customers, rather than being a separate exercise in reporting and compliance.   

This first report gives us a chance to show that progress openly, including the areas where the results are encouraging and the areas where we still need to improve. 

2025 was the first year in which we measured progress against our 2024 base year, and the results show significant movement. 

The biggest improvement came from our own operations: combined Scope 1 and market-based Scope 2 emissions decreased by 76.5% in a single year, largely driven by the transition to renewable electricity at our manufacturing sites. Meanwhile our total greenhouse gas footprint fell by 36.5%, from 39,840 to 25,309 tonnes of CO2e, although some of that was to do with one-off changes to our operations. 

Today, our plants in the Czech Republic and China purchase 100% renewable electricity. Mexico is our next major focus, with a target to transition our Mexican operations to renewable electricity by 2028. 

Scope 3 emissions also fell by approximately 28%. However, we need to put that result in context. Part of the reduction came from lower production volumes following the end of certain business activities during 2025, particularly affecting emissions from purchased goods and services. 

That does not make Scope 3 any less important. In fact, it shows where our biggest challenge now lies. Scope 3 accounts for 93.6% of Rompa's total footprint, with purchased goods and services alone representing 64.4%. Further structural reductions will therefore increasingly depend on changes in materials, product design and collaboration across the value chain. 

We also now have clearer targets against which to measure that progress. In 2026, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validated our near-term greenhouse gas reduction targets. These include a 42% reduction in absolute Scope 1 emissions by 2030, 100% renewable electricity sourcing by 2030, and a 37.5% reduction in Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services by 2035, all against our 2024 base year.  

But reducing Rompa's own emissions is only one part of sustainable manufacturing. 

The materials we buy and process have a much greater impact on our overall footprint than our direct operations. In 2025, plastics accounted for 78% of the 4.4 million kilograms of materials we purchased globally, while only 3% of the plastics we bought contained recycled content. That makes materials one of the clearest opportunities for further improvement. 

It is also an area where we can create value together with our customers. Today, we're working with them to explore recycled and bio-based materials, understand Product Carbon Footprints, and assess the environmental, technical, and commercial implications of different choices. The report is very clear that this is not always straightforward: more sustainable materials can cost more, and those trade-offs still influence purchasing decisions. Our role is to make those choices more transparent, so customers can make informed decisions about what works for their product and their sustainability goals. 

Our work with fiber broadband equipment maker Genexis is a good example of what this kind of collaboration can look like in practice. Together, we reached 70% recycled ABS content for their broadband products manufactured in Europe and up to 85% in China. The use of renewable electricity also contributed to an estimated 30% reduction in the carbon footprint of the parts we manufacture for them. 

There is plenty still to do. Our environmental targets include reaching 100% renewable electricity by 2030, reducing energy use at every site, increasing our use of recycled plastics, and working towards both zero plastic waste, and zero waste to landfill. 

But our Sustainability Report also makes clear that ESG extends beyond carbon. Health and safety, fair working conditions, training, responsible business practices, and the standards we expect throughout our supply chain are all part of building a manufacturing business that customers and employees can rely on for the long term. We see the positive impact of our efforts in this area through our annual employee satisfaction surveys. In the most recent poll, employees rated their satisfaction with Rompa at 8.6 out of 10. 

Meeting our targets will require continued focus and action within our own factories, collaboration with suppliers, and increasingly, conversations with customers about how the products we manufacture together can be made with a lower environmental impact. 

Much of this progress is driven by people across Rompa every day. Our Sustainability Representatives play an important role in turning Group-wide ambitions into practical action at each location, but sustainability is ultimately something we all contribute to. I am grateful to everyone across Rompa who continues to move this work forward. 

Explore Rompa Group's sustainability progress, targets and approach, and download our Sustainability Report 2025 here: https://rompagroup.com/about/sustainability