By Emma Dylan
A glance at the Adirondack chair produced by the team at Keter Group would bring to mind simplicity and elegance. First brought forth in the early 1900s, Adirondack chairs are an image of style and relaxation. Crafted with recycled resin materials, Keter Group’s Adirondack chair is just one example of the way by which the company has pushed sustainable manufacturing to the next level under the guidance of CEO Alejandro Pena.
Alejandro Pena was promoted to CEO of Keter Group in 2017 after spending time as Keter Group’s Managing Director for its North American markets. With a focus on expansion and a specialty in sustainability, Alejandro Pena has enjoyed prominent growth in his new position.
Let’s explore how Keter Group is continuing to grow and expand while adhering to its sustainable mission statement.
Introducing Alejandro Pena
Alejandro Pena was brought on board to work with the Keter Group after spending years at Rubbermaid, a legacy company. Pena’s work with the company would underscore his abilities, priming him for the role of Managing Director of North American markets. After finding success by delivering year-over-year growth, Pena was able to secure a promotion to CEO.
As the CEO of Keter Group, Pena has been markedly focused on pushing the sustainable envelope to find better results for consumers and collaborators. Pointing to the aforementioned Adirondack chair, deemed the “Zero Wood Chair” by Keter, we can underscore the efficacy of Keter’s work. The Zero Wood Chair is inherently sustainable as every 1,000 chairs will save 27 lbs of virgin wood and more than 50 fully grown trees.
Pena and Keter have continued to focus on expanding operations while reducing emissions by centrally locating manufacturing facilities to better take advantage of their proximity to potential buyers. Keter is also focused on developing more cross-category innovation while developing new products.
Recycled Products and Greener Outcomes
Keter Group has long been at the forefront of the sustainable conversation thanks to its nearly 100 years of effort with recycled resin products. Utilizing recycled resin over virgin resin has allowed Keter to reduce its overhead while saving money and protecting the environment.
The very act of reusing materials can go a long way toward reducing environmental waste and greenhouse gas emissions. The utilization of recycled resin over virgin resin has led Keter to reduce its energy use, GHG emissions, smog level, and overall water consumption.
Pena added, “It is very important to understand that all Keter products can and should be recycled. We are starting to be more proactive in trying to collect back many of these products that are being discarded.”
With more than 5,000 total employees and 20 manufacturing facilities around the globe, whittling down the carbon footprint of the company is an important goal for Pena and the team at Keter. This isn’t to say that Keter is disappointed with its progress so far.
According to internal calculations, Keter is preventing more than 680 total metric tons of greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere thanks to its use of recycled content. This much greenhouse gas is the equivalent of removing nearly 600 passenger vehicles from the road for an entire year. Recycling is the cornerstone of what Keter is doing, and the outcomes that they are creating can be hard to ignore.
