When attempting to have best practice around sustainability, a full “cradle to grave” approach needs to be considered ,including the manufacturing of the base raw materials through to the disposal of our products at their end of life.
In its 40th year of operation, RAPP Australia Pty Ltd as the manufacturer of NEANN™ products, takes ongoing pride in supplying equipment that is effective, reliable, and safe to use for the individual operator and their organisations. “Meanwhile we are working hard to be
more sustainable for ourselves and the organisations we supply to” said Roger Buckle, RAPP Australia Pty Ltd Managing Director.
NEANN™ is the medical equipment division of RAPP Australia Pty Ltd, designing, developing, and manufacturing world class products for the professional pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency medical markets within Australia as well as export sales to New Zealand, Europe, and other parts of the world.
Durability
We have determined that one of the biggest impacts to minimise the environmental impact of our products is their durability and service life. Keeping them out of land fill by designing and manufacturing them to have as long life a life as possible and providing a repair service is a big part of that impact reduction. Also understanding what they do in the environment at their end of life has been very important. Our premium products supplied to the majority of Ambulance services (and others) are PVC-free and made from a urethane which ultimately breaks down into urea over time. It does not contain any lead or other “toxins” often found in lower cost PVC’s. Our aim is to get PVC’s out of our supply chain altogether, however, we will need our clients to support these initiatives as materials with a lower environmental impact cost more!
Environment
In 2008 we participated in in an initiative program in regional Victoria run by Village Green Environmental Solutions to change our work practices to achieve a “low impact manufacturing facility”. This, along with being a member of the Barwon Regional Waste Management Programme has assisted us in our drive towards a lower environmental impact. Whilst there is still room for improvement, we are heading in the right direction, especially as a lot of our off-cut material waste is designed to break down without releasing toxins into land fill.
Energy usage.
Targeting a reduction in our power consumption has led us to installing a “solar farm” of more than 100 panels on the roof of our factories, producing up to 53kWh. This means that our products are now almost completely built using solar power and the balance of power is purchased as renewable power supplies. To further reduce our power consumption we have recently upgraded over 80% of our factory’s electric motors to DC low power usage machines along with a full refit of our lighting. All of these initiatives, of course, add to the cost of production, however we feel it is a better option in the long run.
Reprinted from Article in CAA "First Magazine" - July 2022
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