RE: DESIGN
Velta has developed flexible, sustainable floor heating and cooling solutions to meet the ever changing demands of the industrial and retail sector. Working closely with its partner, Stuarts Industrial Flooring, the
M&S chose to use Nora’s black flooring exclusively in their food halls to highlight the colours of the food and their packaging by its matt surface
team in the UK and EU. Amtico was the first to remove stabilisers and pigments using heavy metals and introduce no-dressing treatment reducing the use of maintenance chemicals, it says.
There is still a way to go when it comes to screening
chemicals, however. For Greenpeace’s chemical expert Kevin Stairs, because of “the diversity of materials used, including chlorinated plastics and softeners, as well as PFC [perfluorinated compound] chemicals, it is safe to say there are still SVHC’s [substances of very high concern]” used in the industry. “It will take some time, probably to 2020 and a bit beyond, to achieve this if implementation goes well,” he tells Retail Environment.
Low maintenance From indoor air pollution to maintenance, all aspects are now being considered in the manufacturing of flooring, especially for retail. Polyflor flooring, for example, has focused its efforts on developing products which reduce the need for energy intensive cleaning thereby significantly reducing use of polish, water, strippers and chemical cleansers. So-called PUR ranges “create massive cost savings of between 48% and 60%, are polish free for life and require 55% less water,” says the company. “Part of the efficiency of the products comes down to vinyl flooring which is extremely energy efficient to produce, as it is not a slow and laboured process like many other alternative flooring materials. We have
been successful in minimising carbon emissions and since 2000, these have been reduced by 15,236 tonnes, with energy consumption in manufacture having been reduced by over 43%,” Polyflor adds. “It is important that we are responsible in the
chain of custody of our products and we are proactively seeking to recover and recycle waste vinyl flooring,” says Polyfor. An example of this is the Recofloor scheme, a take-back programme for waste vinyl off-cuts and uplifted flooring, of which Polyflor are one of two founder and funding members. In the UK, this scheme has already significantly helped major retailers such as Marks & Spencer, BHS, Halfords, Sainsbury’s and Debenhams.
Choosing what flooring to use in a retail environment is just one element of the sector’s overarching strategy to become more environmentally responsible, but it is no less important than other factors to consider. All aspects of design need to be considered if the sector is to become truly sustainable. While some retailers have yet to think about the
types of flooring they are commissioning, thinking firstly about profit and aesthetics, they can be rest assured with a plethora of environmental laws and increasing ethical consciences the products they are using are more than likely to be better than they were a decade ago and will continue to improve. As with most products, and the retail sector itself, flooring is setting itself on a path to becoming entirely sustainable.
Isowarm is an energy-saving under floor heating system, which delivers invisible, controllable heat on demand. It can save energy up to 30% compared to traditional central heating or air conditioning systems. On a hot day Isowarm under floor heating cools the environment by circulating chilled water underneath the surface of the floor – absorbing heat from the ground upwards.
company says it can deliver the entire heated and cooled structural concrete floor under a single design warranty. Daily installation and production rates of up to 2,000m² of finished concrete floor and Velta system have been achieved. The use of the Velta industrial surface heating and cooling system in large open buildings is an “exceptionally efficient and economical solution” which is used extensively in mainland Europe, often combined with renewable energy sources, reducing energy demands and the carbon emissions. A Velta classic heating and cooling system was incorporated into the retail floor area in B&Q extending to 9,000 m². The system was installed in the composite structural floor consisting of precast concrete units and structural concrete topping.
JUNE 2013 | RETAIL ENVIRONMENT 55
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