Circulary

GH Form is a family-owned iron foundry founded in 1918. GH Form’s goal is that 100% of the recycled materials they use to manufacture their cast iron become part of a reuse cycle. GH Form produces park and street equipment and furniture for the public space in cooperation with Nordic designers, architects and artists with an eye to create functional design inventory for the city.

GH Form has a great focus on the environment and circular economy and as a result their long-life products are developed in sustainable materials. Consequently. GH Form works continuously to optimize its production processes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A good example of a product with an optimal profile is GH Form’s Nordic bench. By manufacturing this sustainable bench with recycled materials GH Form reduces the bench carbon footprint by 75%.

In addition to manufacturing cast iron products GH Form also works on a leasing system ensuring that their products are returned when their customers have finished using them. The plan is that customers – mostly municipalities – can lease e.g. park benches. The leasing system guaranties GH Form’s ownership of the products. This entails that GH Form can make sure that the materials are reused in production. If the iron cast product is in good condition it will be cleaned, repainted and then shipped out to new customers. If the iron cast product is in good condition it will be cleaned, repainted and then shipped out to new customers.

• Increase lifetime. By maintaining the ownership of their products GH Form has great incentive to increase quality and prolong the lives of their products. This is particularly advantageous for a company like GH Form, which is experiencing steadily rising commodity and raw material prices. In this perspective the products do not only retain their value during their lives – in fact, the value of the products increases as raw material prices rise.
• Reduced CO2 emissions. A good example of a product with an optimal profile is GH Form’s Nordic bench. By manufacturing this sustainable bench with recycled materials GH Form reduces the bench carbon footprint by 75%:
  • First generation bench with pine: 40.4 Kg CO2 per bench
  • Second generation bench with pine: 10.13 Kg. Co2 per bench
• Cost savings. When the iron goes into production again and again GH Form saves on the cost of purchasing virgin raw materials while also protecting the environment. The leasing system also guarantees significant cost savings for their customers as GH Form is responsible for maintenance and possible replacement.

• Leasing system and the rules of the municipalities. Rules within the municipalities have so far constituted obstacles and barriers to make the leasing system work. Although GH Form has made every effort to create a transparent and user-friendly leasing system, it is still easier for the municipalities to just buy a new bench in cash. It is more time-consuming for them to enter into a leasing agreement. This requires the involvement of many more parties, for example the municipality’s legal department must be involved, as the municipalities’ budgets require detailed documents describing the lease agreement and the areas from which the money must come from. Therefore, it’s important to change the way municipalities think about public procurement. GH Form, in its leases of eight years’ duration, offers the customers a risk-free option to cancel the lease, the added value earned from the raw material and the fact that GH Form is responsible for all maintenance throughout the lease period.
• Product take-back. It can generally be a challenge to get products back. That is why GH Form together with Provice, a consulting firm in green business models, have created an economic motivation mechanism whereby 10 per cent of the sales price is refunded upon return of the product.

Confederation of Danish Industry

Christian Wolff / Kristine Rald Johnsen

+45 5945 0783 / +45 3377 4763

cwp@ghform.dk / krrj@di.dk