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Alejandro Pena, Keter CEO, ensures that the brand maintains its sustainability efforts through various inititiatives.
Consumers increasingly expect corporate responsibility regarding environmental sustainability, and one of Keter’s top goals is to protect the environment and natural resources. Keter is a global leader in producing durable patio furniture, tool storage systems, and household organization solutions.
Keter has championed sustainability as a philosophy and business practice longer than it’s been a popular cause. A company of 5,000 employees, Keter is a leader in sustainability. With Chief Executive Officer Alejandro Pena at the helm, Keter is taking bold approaches to sustainability.
As organizations examine data gleaned from their customer base, they’ve discovered customers’ growing concern that companies take responsibility for their environmental footprint. Pena says, “Keter’s responsibilities are not just to our shareholders, but to the communities that we’re in, the environment, and the world we live in.”
In 2020, the company launched the Keter Everyday Sustainability 2025 Pledge. This pledge promises to adhere to five commitments in five years, including: 55% of recycled content in total production; continued zero production of single-use plastic consumer products; 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from production; zero waste-to-landfill from production, and product end-of-life programs implemented in all regions.
“We are committed to being good citizens of the environment,” Pena says. “We are also committed to being good employers and citizens of our communities. We are ethically doing business with good governance and good practices that we encourage our employees to follow.”
Keter CEO Alejandro Pena and CFO Pasquale Iannone Fight for the Environment
Consumers increasingly seek to do business with companies that conserve, restore, and replace the natural resources used in their operations. Such desires are moving the needle, prompting companies to do better for the planet.
Keter designs long-lasting products using durable resin, including Adirondack chairs, chaises, sheds, storage boxes, and raised garden beds. Resin-based outdoor products are weather-resistant and stand up to peeling, fading, and denting. Most synthetic resin products aren’t environmentally friendly. Keter CEO Alejandro Pena and management, including CFO Pasquale Iannone, understand the public’s concern about the material.
“We use resin, which is a controversial material,” Pena explains. “Resin is a phenomenal material that enables great benefits to consumers, but it needs to be used responsibly. One of the benefits of using resin materials is they can be recycled. It’s important to understand that all these products can and should be recycled.”
Keter’s resin products can be fully recycled, and the company has increased its use of recycled resins to create a near-zero-waste process. In 2021, 98% of scrap from production was recycled and used to make new Keter products.
Keter CEO Alejandro Pena, Other Execs, Look to Eco-Friendly Resins
Keter minimizes the use of virgin resources and eliminates waste at each stage of the production chain. Keter has designed all products to be 100% recyclable. The company is on track to increase the use of recycled content in its products from 40% in 2020 to 55% in 2025.
Additionally, as the largest user of postindustrial and postconsumer plastics in its industry, in 2021, Keter avoided 210,000 tons of CO2e (carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases) emissions by using recycled polypropylene instead of virgin polypropylene.
Keter designs its products to be innovative and long-lasting. Every day, the Keter furniture and storage product line grows more aligned with a healthy environment.
Keter CEO Alejandro Pena Explains Why Sustainability Is Good for Business and Employee Morale
Alejandro Pena discusses Keter’s dedication to the environment on the company’s website. “Every single day, our employees worldwide rise to the occasion. They believe the future is bright, and we can build a better company and, most importantly, a better world for future generations.”
He says Keter’s continued shift toward sustainability has positively impacted the company internally and externally.
“Internally, I think it gives our employees something to be very proud of, to know that they’re working for a company that cares is important to the employee population,” Pena says. “Externally, it has elevated our status with our largest, most important retailers.”
Pena says Keter is a business that will live by the values of being good to the environment and its communities.
“It’s not only the right thing to do, but I believe it will be a competitive advantage over the long term,” Pena says. “We will continue to see markets evolve, where consumers will increasingly become more aware of what’s good for the environment. They are going to demand that companies be socially responsible. Keter needs to be at the forefront of this in our industry.”
Keter CEO Alejandro Pena Looks to an Innovative, Sustainable Future
Keter has always put environmental consciousness at its core as, year after year; it produces beautiful and functional designs. CEO Alejandro Pena calls the company’s path to 100% sustainability a “journey” to shape a better tomorrow.
“We’re at an early stage in the journey, and we’re going to continue to do the right thing as we go forward,” Pena says. “We’re a leading player in our industry and a responsible community member. We’re also where people want to work and be part of our company.”
As an innovator, Keter wants to invent newness in products while doing it with a sustainable mindset and with a sustainable consciousness, Pena explains. Keter helps customers live more sustainably via a circular economy by using recyclable content and recyclable design.
“There are several important pillars in Keter’s continued transformation,” Pena says. “We see Keter becoming more of a consumer-centric company where our brands will play an even bigger role in our business model. Keter will continue to be the most innovative company in the industry. Keter will be the most sustainable company and a leader in our industry when it comes to sustainability.”