Keter announced on Tuesday that it was expanding its use of a bio-based, sustainable plastic substitute developed in southern Israel across multiple new product lines.
The company said it will now incorporate 55% recycled content in total production and 5%-10% load of UBQ Materials advanced materials made from waste, developing a new line of eco-branded "Made with UBQ" sustainable products.
The announcement was made at the United Nations climate conference in Dubai, COP28, where UBQ is one of only four companies brought to the conference as part of Israel's official delegation. It is also a burst of good news for a company that suffered a tragedy on October 7.
The startup located in Israel's South
UBQ is a startup based on Kibbutz Tze'elim in the Negev, about 30 kilometers from the Gaza border. The company has 115 employees, including 31 who live in the Negev.
On October 7, Hamas terrorists infiltrated southern Israel and murdered more than 1,200 people. Among them were two UBQ employees: Hadar Berdichevsky, 30, the company's former assistant controller, and Uri Russo, 44, who served as UBQ's maintenance and engineering manager. Both were murdered in Kfar Aza.
In addition, many of the wounded, missing and hostages were related to or close friends of staff members. The attack shut down the UBQ plant until October 30.
During COP28, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of UBQ Materials Jack "Tato" Bigio spoke on stage with Edward Johnson, Keter's managing director of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Nordics in the UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub pavilion. The talk was part of a session called "Climate Partnerships: Corporate-Startup Collaboration for Net Zero Targets," organized by Startup Nation Central.
UBQ has converted trash into useful plastic-like material, named to Time magazine's 'best inventions' list earlier this year. The two executives discussed how incorporating UBQ enables Keter to achieve sustainability targets and what the future holds for the long-term partners.
"We are committed to transforming our industry for the better. We have been working with UBQ Materials for several years and are committed to going beyond our recycled content goals. UBQ provides a much bigger impact," said Keter's Chief Sustainability Officer, Iftach Sachar. "Combining our scale with UBQ's climate-positive material allows us to deliver tangible products that achieve a measurable impact on the environment."