A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Building product specialists ARDEX UK and Building Adhesives Ltd are working together to become carbon neutral by 2030. We hear the steps they’ve taken towards that target.
ARDEX UK and Building Adhesives Ltd (BAL) are part of the global ARDEX Group – a worldwide leader in high performance building products.
Mirroring efforts across the Group, both businesses are committed to reducing their impact on the environment in an evolving marketplace through sustainable sourcing of materials and energy in a circular economy in all their activities worldwide to a recognised international standard.
social sustainability, energy efficiency, zero waste, single-use plastic reduction, greater use of recycled materials and a closed loop circular economy.
The UK business has an eight-pillar commitment to sustainability including; CO2
Several initiatives to meet these eight pillar commitments have already been introduced across the UK business including the use of post-consumer resin (PCR) recycled plastic in its bottles and buckets.
From 2019 to 2020, the use of PCR plastic in its products increased from 36% to 77%, substantially reducing the use of ‘virgin’ plastic to below 23%.
So far in 2021, BAL has substituted nearly 50% of its virgin plastic for PCR, while at ARDEX, 64% of all plastic used have been regrind material.
Further plans are in place this year to further reduce the use of virgin plastic, such as trialing 30-50% PCR plastic ‘stretch hoods’ over pallets – with the potential to reduce the use of virgin plastic by a further 48 tonnes per annum.
A further 67 tonnes a year will also be saved by the switch over to 100% PCR buckets for the company’s BAL White Star Plus product in the autumn.
The business has also introduced a number of energy-saving initiatives including the use of electric fork-lift trucks at its manufacturing plants in Stoke and Haverhill, energy-efficient lighting and electric vehicle charging points. There are also future plans to generate their own electricity via solar panels, but in the meantime their energy is provided by 100% renewable energy via EDF.
An ARDEX UK and Building Adhesives 10-year sustainability roadmap has been developed with a goal of being carbon neutral by 2030 – with key milestones embedded into
twitter.com/TContractFloors reduction, external scrutiny,
the company’s manufacturing and corporate programmes.
David Shepherd, UK Operations Director and Sustainability Lead, said: “The Group through it’s Sustainability Working Group are constantly looking at ways to deliver a positive environmental impact while also ensuring our business will be successful in the future.
“Sustainable manufacturing is one of the core pillars of our corporate programme and the activities in the UK are aligned with our global ARDEX Group aspirations. It is right that we take sustainability seriously from a moral perspective, it is also essential if we are going to have a sustainable business in the future.
“Our goal is to be carbon neutral by 2030, and with the plans we have in place to reduce our footprint, we certainly don’t believe we are being too ambitious.”
In addition to its inhouse sustainability programme, the UK group supports also supports external environmental groups including Cool Earth – a charity which works alongside rainforest communities to halt deforestation and its impacts on climate change.
Cool Earth supports local and indigenous knowledge to develop innovative ways to address threats to the forest while making communities stronger and more resilient.
Building Adhesives, through its BAL brand, are committed to saving 83 acres of endangered rainforest in the Peruvian Amazon every year.
For every square metre of tiling fixed with BAL's adhesive products, the equivalent area of rainforest is protected.
www.bal-adhesives.com
www.ardex.com
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