New alliance for sustainable optical fiber production: Heraeus Comvance launches SOFIA initiative with industry partners

Heraeus Comvance and six leading companies in the telecommunications industry have launched the Sustainable Optical Fiber and Cable Industry Alliance (SOFIA). This initiative aims to promote sustainability along the entire optical fiber and cable value chain. The partners include Borealis, Covestro, Nextrom, Teijin Aramid and Umicore.

SOFIA focuses on increased collaboration, transparent communication and the development of standardized assessment methods to support the transition to a more sustainable future.

With our initiative, we want to use our experience to establish sustainable practices in the industry and hope to motivate more companies to participate.

The focus of the SOFIA initiative:

• Creating transparency and common understanding: The industry needs clearer information and a common understanding of sustainability requirements. SOFIA aims to close this gap.
• Improve communication in the industry: We aim for clearer communication on progress towards sustainability to give all stakeholders a better insight into upcoming developments.
• Develop standardized assessment methods: Different methods for calculating the CO₂ footprint often lead to confusion. SOFIA is working to standardize these methods.
• Accelerating change: We focus on practices that promote the controlled and continuous transition to more sustainable products in the industry.

The founding members invite all interested parties from the industry to participate in promoting sustainability. In upcoming events, SOFIA will present its goals and initial approaches. We look forward to receiving feedback and hope to lay the foundations for deeper collaboration.

Events:

• Webinar on September 17, 2024, 15:00-16:00, in collaboration with CRU. Register now!
• CRU World Optical Fibre & Cable Conference: Panel Discussion on Sustainability on October 10, 2024 in Shanghai, China.
• 2024 IWCS Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum: Panel discussion on sustainability on October 17, 2024 in Providence, Rhode Island.

Further information on the SOFIA initiative can be found on the official SOFIA website.