# Rockwell Automation

> Rockwell's material-transition opening is the industrial asset lifecycle. Its repair calculator and Connected Enterprise framework connect uptime, energy, waste and product life, which makes repair and remanufacture a more concrete lane than a broad circularity claim.

- Industry: Industrial Equipment & Automation
- Collection: Active
- Materials: Paper and fiber, Plastics
- Processes: Recycling
- Evidence through: 2026-09-18
- Canonical URL: https://www.materialtransition.com/library/rockwell-automation

## Material inputs to resolve

Industrial automation, control hardware, software and lifecycle services

Rockwell describes a Sustainability Calculator for Repairs that helps customers compare repair with replacement, and its customer-sustainability framework includes product lifecycle assessment, supply-chain traceability, waste minimization and circular economy workflows. Public sources do not establish a product-level repair dataset, component recovery rate, material passport or customer-specific result.

**FY25** Current sustainable-packaging update

**Mixed materials** Eliminated from packaging, company-stated

**SFI or FSC** Required for paper and wood packaging sourcing

**Open** Format, supplier and site evidence

- Control hardware, electronics, metal enclosures and components
- Corrugated, paper, wood, plastic protection and labels
- Supplier certificates and packaging specifications

### Outputs and residuals to resolve

- Automation products, drives, controllers and lifecycle-service parts
- Reusable or recyclable shipping packaging
- E-waste and field-return material requiring controlled routes

**First decision:** Choose one high-volume automation product or repair family. Capture failure mode, repair path, parts replaced, test protocol, service-life extension, avoided replacement and end-of-life route in one auditable record.

## Disclosed packaging controls

Rockwell says it is right-sizing packaging, incorporating recycled and recyclable materials, and eliminating mixed materials.

#### Fiber sourcing

The company says suppliers must provide SFI or FSC certification for paper and wood packaging.

#### Product constraint

Industrial automation hardware must survive shipment and arrive with part identification and documentation intact.

#### Evidence boundary

Public sources establish the strategy. They do not disclose a named packaging SKU, recycled-content percentage, supplier award, drop-test result or reverse-logistics program.

### Decision boundary

Rockwell does not need an invented product-recycling story. Its disclosed material lane is packaging. Make that lane rigorous: one SKU family, one shipping configuration, one supplier specification and one verified end-of-life path.

## Material flow map

| Material or stream | Qualification gate | Process or destination | Evidence still needed |
|-|-|-|-|
| Packaging input | Qualification gate | Use point | Evidence still needed |
| Corrugated or paperboard | Strength, fiber certification and dimensions | Outbound product packaging | Supplier certificate, grade and transit test |
| Wood packaging | Sourcing certification, fit and reuse condition | Heavy equipment or rack shipment | Specification, return path and treatment status |
| Plastic protection or label | Mono-material design, static and abrasion control | Sensitive hardware protection | Material construction, recyclability and compliance |

This is a public screening map. It separates company-disclosed flows from open qualification work. It does not convert a destination into a buyer or an announced ambition into operating capacity.

## Three defensible entry lanes

#### Create a shipment-level packaging BOM

A packaging strategy becomes credible when materials and performance are visible at shipment level.

**Next evidence:** SKU family, packaging components, weights, suppliers and transit requirements.

#### Test one mixed-material elimination

The strongest first change is a format where material separation or substitution can be proven without risking damage.

**Next evidence:** Current construction, proposed construction, drop test, moisture exposure and cost.

#### Connect procurement certification to physical intake

SFI or FSC is a supply-chain control, not an end-of-life outcome.

**Next evidence:** Certificate scope, chain of custody, fiber content and supplier validity.

## Evidence register

- **Corporate Sustainability and Goals** Rockwell Automation https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-il/company/investor-relations/sustainability/sustainable-company.html [1]
- **Investor relations sustainability hub** Rockwell Automation https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-us/company/investor-relations/sustainability.html [2]
- **Corporate responsibility** Rockwell Automation https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-ro/sustainability.html [3]
- **Industrial Sustainability Solutions** Rockwell Automation https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-mde/sustainability/sustainable-customers.html [4]
- **Sustainability as Strategy** Rockwell Automation https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-us/company/news/blogs/sustainability-as-strategy.html [5]
- **Current State of Smart Manufacturing 2025** Rockwell Automation https://www.rockwellautomation.com/content/dam/rockwell-automation/documents/pdf/campaigns/state-of-smart-2025/INFO-BR027D-EN-P-noi.pdf [6]

Source hierarchy: filings and company disclosures first. The brief states what those sources support and leaves the unresolved plant, grade, permit, buyer and mass-balance questions explicit.

## Material Transition editorial interpretation

Rockwell's material transition is a hardware-and-shipping problem. Automation products have long service lives, but every shipment still carries packaging choices that must preserve product protection, traceability and compliance. The next useful working session starts with: Choose one high-volume shipment format and prove that it can be right-sized, mono-material where feasible, responsibly sourced and protective enough for the product's transport and handling conditions.

## Sources

- [1] Corporate Sustainability and Goals - https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-il/company/investor-relations/sustainability/sustainable-company.html
- [2] Investor relations sustainability hub - https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-us/company/investor-relations/sustainability.html
- [3] Corporate responsibility - https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-ro/sustainability.html
- [4] Industrial Sustainability Solutions - https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-mde/sustainability/sustainable-customers.html
- [5] Sustainability as Strategy - https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-us/company/news/blogs/sustainability-as-strategy.html
- [6] Current State of Smart Manufacturing 2025 - https://www.rockwellautomation.com/content/dam/rockwell-automation/documents/pdf/campaigns/state-of-smart-2025/INFO-BR027D-EN-P-noi.pdf

From the Material Transition company brief library: https://www.materialtransition.com/library/rockwell-automation