RS South Africa has announced RS Group’s Better World claims-based framework, enabling customers to select verified sustainable product alternatives. This provides suppliers with a standardised framework to accelerate the development and manufacture of more sustainable and responsible products. As part of the new framework, the group is extending its Better World product range by 10 000 products and 50 suppliers, increasing the total to 30 000 products from over 90 suppliers. More than 1000 of the new products support energy and carbon reduction, or renewable energy generation across customer facilities.
The company launched the Better World product range in March 2023 to enable the world’s engineers, innovators, and problem solvers to make more sustainable and responsible product choices, where each product is supported by robust evidence and verifications. It comes in response to an increasing need from customers within process industries and manufacturing to purchase greener products that help improve operational efficiency and drive ambitious sustainability goals. The CIPS and RS Indirect Procurement Report 2024 showed ‘sustainable and ethical procurement’ as a top business pressure for UK procurement professionals, with 71% considering ESG as important when selecting products or services, and 80% saying they would pay a premium for sustainable products.
With customers finding sustainable purchasing confusing and limited, the new Better World product framework was developed with, and verified by, external sustainability consultants. It ensures clear and robust categorisation of product sustainability claims, and is aligned to developing green claims legislation, including adhering to the industry-standard ISO 14021. The framework covers the key areas of the product lifecycle and claims are now classed into three main categories:
• Made more sustainably: products produced using more sustainable materials or manufacturing processes.
• Sustainable solutions: products that help customers run their business more sustainably, from reducing energy and emissions to protecting health and safety.
• Support circularity: products with an increased lifespan that can be reused, repaired or recycled to reduce waste.
Danny Hobson, head of Product & Supplier Sustainability at RS Group comments: “Our customers want to buy greener products to support their sustainability goals, but they find it difficult when there is such a limited selection. This framework has been developed to not only provide more simplicity and transparency for purchasing decisions, but also to ensure peace of mind that our green claims are genuine, comply with the latest regulatory guidelines, and are backed by evidence. We have an important role to play across the value chain to encourage customers and suppliers to adopt greener choices, and the announcement ensures we are working collaboratively to design and build as sustainably as possible.”
RS Group’s Better World product framework sets a clear standard and precedent for sustainable products for the industry. The company is committed to partnering with suppliers and customers to advance a more sustainable and circular value chain. It also marks a significant step in its 2030 ESG action plan to offer customers 100 000 Better World products.
New compact robotics computer for intelligent machines, robotics and vision AI RS South Africa
Industrial Computer Hardware
RS is supporting the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano 2, an entry-level edge AI platform delivering twice the inference performance of its predecessor in the same compact 40 W form factor, giving South African developers new options for intelligent machines, robotics and vision AI.
Read more...Helping mines get results from water improvements
News
South African mines operate under constrained, water-scarce conditions where every investment must be justified. Xylem’s Chetan Mistry explains how the right water technology partner helps mines prioritise high-value water systems across the mining lifecycle.
Read more...Maximising uptime in data centres through smarter MRO strategies RS South Africa
Industrial Computer Hardware
RS South Africa is supporting data centre operators with access to more than 875 000 MRO products, digital procurement tools and inventory management solutions, as Africa’s data centre market continues to grow and operational resilience becomes a strategic priority.
Read more...From the editor's desk: Pushing engineering to the limit Technews Publishing
News
Among the many things robots can do, it’s a lot of fun to follow how fast they are. They go from the Boston Dynamics cheetah, which first reached a record-breaking speed of 45,5 km/h, to the robot Charlie ...
Read more...Schneider Electric concludes Innovation Summit Middle East and Africa Schneider Electric South Africa
News
Schneider Electric's Innovation Summit Middle East and Africa, held in Abu Dhabi with more than 2500 attendees, explored the convergence of energy, AI and industrial software, launched an Industrial AI study and announced the NEST Accelerator Programme for energy and industrial tech startups.
Read more...VEGA brings measurement expertise beyond mining to Electra Mining Africa 2026 VEGA Controls SA
News
VEGA used its Electra Mining Africa 2026 stand to demonstrate that its level and pressure measurement instruments extend well beyond mining, covering water, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and oil and gas applications across the continent.
Read more...Sustainable solutions for sugar Bearing Man Group t/a BMG
News
BMG received a Special Commendation Exhibition Stand Award at the South African Sugar Technologists’ Association Congress, where it showcased an integrated turnkey drive solution designed to simplify the upgrading of ageing crushing-mill drive systems.
Read more...Measure, Manage, Maintain: The operating model behind SA’s water resilience Siemens South Africa
News
South Africa’s growing water crisis is putting pressure on infrastructure, municipalities and the economy. Siemens highlights how digital technologies, smarter operations and safe water reuse could help shift the country from crisis response towards a more resilient and sustainable water future.
Read more...VEGA brings measurement expertise beyond mining to Electra Mining Africa 2026 VEGA Controls SA
News
VEGA used its Electra Mining Africa 2026 stand to demonstrate that its level and pressure measurement instruments extend well beyond mining, covering water, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and oil and gas applications across the continent.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version