Sustainability. We see it as a driving force in the development of our products, the services we provide, how we manufacture and contribute to a future-fit society.

Our suppliers make a significant contribution to the quality of our products; which is why it is so important for us to foster a trusting relationship with them. We usually involve them in the development process at an early stage so that we can work together on solutions. Around 60% of our suppliers are located in Switzerland and another 30% in the surrounding European countries. The majority of our supplier audits are conducted in person.

For us, a sustainable product begins with its development. It is at this early stage that we can have the most influence on its ‘lifelong’ sustainability. We focus on elements including the durability and repairability of the appliances, low energy and water consumption in use, and a modular design to enhance circularity.

Here at V-ZUG, we have been dedicated to providing the best solutions for laundry rooms and kitchens for over 100 years. To this day, our employees continue to manufacture the products at our Zug and Sulgen sites with a great deal of commitment and dedication. In order to ensure the continued success of our research, development and production, we are making our creative and working spaces fit for the future. A new district is being built on our main site, which will be supplied with local, renewable energy from photovoltaics, groundwater, exhaust heat and lake water. The partial verticalisation will allow us to use our available space even more efficiently. In terms of building materials, we are relying on wood from the region or low carbon concrete.

Small inventories and optimal route planning for our transport have a positive effect on our environmental footprint. Rather than many suppliers’ sending their trucks to us, we send one truck to all of them, collecting only what we need at the time. Reducing journeys, carbon emissions and unnecessary stock levels.

At the end of its life, an appliance can be collected by the installer of a new device and passed on to their recycling partner, or the customer can dispose of it directly.

The choice of the appliance and washing programme have a major influence on a household’s energy and water consumption. Efficient use of our appliance is encouraged by our EcoManagement that visualises water and electric consumption. And to ensure maximum appliance life, our spare parts are available for up to 15 years. If ever a repair is necessary or a malfunction should occur, our service technicians will respond quickly to keep the downtime as short as possible.

In our showrooms, we provide our customers with expert advice, and offer spare parts in our online shop. In addition to the classic retail channels, we are also pursuing new circular approaches, such as offering the product as a service.

Demands on household appliances change. With this in mind, it may be that we simply stop needing our appliances long before they reach the end of their technical life. Some of our used appliances are taken back to be refurbished and resold. We believe this is only the beginning.

Our goal is to steadily increase the recycling rate, so we teamed up with a recycling partner to analyse the recycling process and gain important insights for continous optimization. That said, our commitment to recycling starts as early as the production stage: Material residues that arise during the manufacturing process are automatically sorted into designated containers and sent for recycling.

Development, production, administration, transport and disposal all generate unavoidable waste. Any materials that we cannot return to the cycle are disposed of properly. We are constantly optimising our waste processes with the aim of creating as little waste as necessary and achieving as much recyclability as possible. In this way, we strive to keep closing the circle, which brings us right back to ‘design’.