THINK, RETHINK, ACT
From the beginning, a deep passion for skiing and the aim to build the world’s best bindings in terms of quality, safety and technical perfection has driven our business. However, our efforts can have a lasting effect only if we act as sustainably as possible to allow future generations to fulfil their passion for skiing for the years to come.
To achieve our goal, we constantly rethink our actions, decisions and production processes to find new solutions to contribute to a more sustainable future.
SUSTAINABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
We empower our team members and make them responsible for their actions. As the world market leader, but also as an Austrian company, we are responsible for our team and our facilities. We continuously invest in training and continuing the education of our employees so that future generations can preserve and further develop the knowledge acquired over the last decades.
- Location loyalty
- Training and education
- Diversity
- Mental and physical well-being
- Fair working conditions and wages
- Athlete and event sponsorships
- Value for customers and partners
PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY
We strive to build the best bindings when it comes to quality, safety and technical perfection. We therefore invest in building innovative, durable, high-quality products for our target groups. Our products are designed to provide performance and security to every age group and every ski specialty in any situation.
- Sustainable product design
- Investment in innovation and research
- ISO-certified tests for all products
- Extended product life cycles through higher quality
- Retail and customer feedback directly forwarded to our research and development department
ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
We produce mindfully and strive to reduce our impact across our entire supply chain. A responsible and careful use of resources is reflected in our daily actions so that we and the following generations can continue to fulfill our passion for skiing well into the future.
- Waste avoidance (use of recycled material and resource conservation)
- Reduction of CO2 emissions
- Optimized factory space (in-house strategy)
- Energy efficiency
Our ReThink pillars of action
As part of the HEAD family, we work together according to the ReThink philosophy to create a sustainable future based on the following pillars:
RETHINKING ENERGY CONSUMPTION
We are working to modernize our headquarters and make our buildings more energy-efficient! Our photovoltaic plant at the TYROLIA production site covers 20% of our daily energy consumption. The additional electricity purchased comes entirely from renewable energy sources.
RETHINKING R&D
We constantly research new materials and adapt production processes to create more sustainable products.
RETHINKING PRODUCT
When developing the new Almonte binding, we aimed at innovating and breaking new ground. As a result, all plastic components from our new Almonte bindings come entirely from renewable raw materials.
RETHINKING PACKAGING
We strive not only to reduce packaging in all areas but also to redesign it to eliminate plastic and replace it with sustainable materials with fewer printing inks across our divisions.
RETHINKING CARBON FOOTPRINT
Our environmental management system (ISO 14001:2015) helps us compute our carbon footprint and guides us in reducing our emissions year after year.
RETHINK SOURCING
The supply chain is a crucial factor in shaping a more sustainable future. For this reason, we focus on shorter transportation routes and source our materials almost entirely from Europe.
SUSTAINABILITY MEASURES IN OUR DAILY BUSINESS
INTRODUCTION OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
To ensure a sustainable and future-oriented corporate management, we introduced an environmental management system according to the ISO 14001:2015 standard.
This system supports us in bundling, controlling and improving all our activities that affect the environment. An independent certification company is responsible for verifying the necessary requirements for the ISO standard certification 14001:2015.
CLEAN ENERGY FROM OUR NEW PHOTOVOLTAIC PLANT
Our efforts to protect the environment do not end here!
In the summer of 2022, we installed our new photovoltaic plant over the roof of our factory halls. This system comprises 5,700 m2 of photovoltaic panels with a total output of 1 to 1,2 GWh/year. In the future, solar power will be generated on a roof area of 12,000 m2, covering 16% of the annual energy demand.
The energy production of the new plant covers over 20% of the daily energy consumption of the TYROLIA plant. The additional electricity purchased comes entirely from renewable energy sources.
SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING FOR OUR BINDINGS
All ski bindings manufactured by TYROLIA - including all those bindings produced as an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for renowned ski brands - used to leave our factory in a considerable amount of packaging material.
Since 2021, all ski bindings manufactured by TYROLIA - including bindings produced as an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for renowned ski brands - are sold in environmentally-friendly cardboard packaging. The new uncolored cardboard packaging is also 100% Austrian - like our legendary ski bindings.
80% of our cardboard packaging consists of recycled material. Moreover, we eliminated the environmentally-harmful bleaching of the cardboard and offset printing and now only print monochrome with water-soluble ink.
Last but not least, the mounting instructions for each binding model are no longer printed but can be easily accessed online using a QR code on the packaging label. It allows for saving around 700 kg of paper per year.
REDUCED ENERGY CONSUMPTION AT THE HEADQUARTERS
We are also working to modernize our headquarters and make them more energy-efficient!
Thanks to our self-developed heat recovery in the cooling system of the injection molding division, we already saved 505,000 KWh since 2019, equivalent to almost 123 tons of CO2. As a comparison, it is the same amount of electricity consumed by almost 107 four-person households in Austria every year on average.
Moreover, by changing the windows and installing new LED lights in our headquarters in Schwechat, Austria, we could save around 86,085 kWh since 2020, the same as almost 20 tons of CO2. It is the same amount produced by 7 flights from Vienna to NY.
One of our most recent projects was the new roof for our plastic material warehouse. Since 2020, we managed to cut CO2 emissions by 18 tons. For comparison, you should travel 84 times back and forth by car between Vienna and Innsbruck (495 km pro route) to generate the same amount.
Last but not least, our company headquarters, including the production facility, have been powered exclusively by green electricity since 2022. It has already enabled us to save 2,200 tons of CO2, exactly the amount needed to produce at least 570,000 Wiener Schnitzel!
REWARDS FOR OUR SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS
Starting in 2016, we could use heat recovery to raise the temperature in the electroplating division thanks to a self-developed heat pump.
Thanks to these self-developed technologies, TYROLIA was rewarded by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management as part of the "Energy-Efficient Companies" program of the "klimaaktiv" initiative.