Environment
Additional Information
Environment

Leading our industry, leading the world.

It’s simple: The more lead we recover through recycling, the less we need to extract through mining. This means greater preservation of natural resources, which means  our business inherently protects the earth.

We continually work to reduce our footprint by improving our operational efficiency, including minimizing air emissions from our operations, lowering energy consumption and carbon dioxide generation, lowering water consumption in our operations and reducing waste generation from our processes.  To support our environmental management practices, all of our facilities are certified under ISO 14001 and several are certified for energy management under ISO 50001.

Overall, due to our own internal standards and the high standards and legal requirements that attach to lead manufacturing, lead battery production is reported to have the lowest environmental footprint and lowest production energy and carbon emissions of all widely-used battery technology manufacturing. The use of recovered lead to produce new batteries is less energy intensive than using primary lead, helping to conserve the resources needed to support a growing demand for advanced lead battery technology.

Among our industry, Ecobat is the world leader in recycling lead because our processes are managed responsibly and we are committed to continually improving and reducing our environmental footprint. Our leadership however extends beyond our own operations in North America and Europe. Through our active involvement in the International Lead Association (ILA), we work to eliminate unregulated recycling practices, and to  educate low- and middle-income countries to improve standards and protect communities where these irresponsible recycling practices occur.

Equally important, as we reduce our footprint as a company, we reduce the footprint of millions of end-users—a win-win. We are excited to fill that space in the lifecycle and enable our industry to be a net positive for society.

Additional Information
Storing renewable energy

Storing renewable energy.

Lead is part of the global energy storage solution. In light of new trends in renewable energy, lead batteries are essential to capturing and using renewable energy sources. Power generated by wind turbines and solar panels are stored in lead batteries before going into the electric grid. Lead is also an enabler of green technologies now—as an integral part of hybrid and electric vehicle technology, for example—and for the future.

Protecting land

Protecting land.

Without responsible battery recycling, millions of tons of lead would be deposited into the environment each year, through landfills and illegal, unregulated lead recycling. As a result, more millions of tons of lead would need to be mined and extracted to meet the global demand for lead. Ecobat is the world leader in recycling lead.

Protecting air and water

Protecting air and water.

Ecobat has invested more than $75M to create proprietary technology known as wet electrostatic precipitators (WESP) to limit emissions from several locations. For example, emissions in California are now under four pounds per year—lower than your neighborhood gas station.

Lead technologies are also vital in helping to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. This is well demonstrated in the design of safer, cleaner cars. Start-stop engine technology, made possible by advanced lead batteries, has helped to eliminate millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year.

These efforts are not only important for the planet in general, they also help to make the communities where we operate safe for living and working.

Let us tell you more about the ways we help enable modern life sustainably.