Eco-design, the cornerstone of environmental performance at Dény Security

Fabrice Veront, Dény Security

Dény Security, ambassador for an eco-design approach

In 2014, standards like NF01 0005 or ISO 14 0001, alongside certain French Work Code health and safety regulations, encouraged Dény Security to adopt a corporate eco-design approach.

The company’s sustainability culture was already strong. One example is the way most of its products’ lifecycles had been extended, being designed for a million use cycles at a time when the sector average was 250,000.

To convince customers of the permanent benefit of eco-designed products, Dény Security had to consolidate its approaches and make them as transparent as possible. It therefore initiated a thought process aimed at creating persuasive communications instruments relating to products’ ability to meet environmental standards.

The Challenge: adapting work methods to eco-design

As a service company committed to protecting people, goods and the environment, Dény Security creates products whose lifecycles make minimal use of natural resources while paying greater attention to the health and safety of both people and urban and natural environments.

Towards this end, the Design department would structure its eco-design process via five basic phases intended to define accepted environmental criteria: determining products’ environmental profile; assessing, selecting and ranking guidelines; choosing indicators for specific guidelines; drafting action plans to implement (and track) indicators; while inventorying – and capitalising upon – the experience being accumulated.

More concretely, an often deployed improvement strategy in an eco-design approach involves engaging in value analysis that makes it possible to reduce the number of parts being manufactured when making locks – and by so doing, optimize the entire assembly process.



The process had been piloted using software co-developed with the CETIM Mechanical Industry Technical Centre. An internal communications plan and technician training were organized to facilitate the company’s integration of an eco-design approach. 



To convince customers of the benefits of eco-design, Dény Security began using  Environmental Product Declaration indicators in its communications, increasing general understanding of its product’s environmental impact.


 

Eco-design, a differentiating factor in the protection market

The rise of eco-design has cast a very positive light on Dény Security’s environmental approach. Awareness of these environmental aspects plays out at two different levels.

In the company, it has been stimulated by the Design department thanks to certain innovative manufacturing processes and following the design of new, more environmentally-friendly products.

For customers, there has been the emergence of a communications platform which includes a profile sheet featuring environmentally-respectful reference products.

The next challenge for Dény Security? Finding the best indicator for measuring the business impact of its eco-design approach!