SUSTAINABILITY PACKAGE DEALS This Spring, ROCKWOOL® has begun the rollout of


new product packaging for its Trade Range as part of a move by the manufacturer to improve recyclability.


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n April insulation manufacturer Rockwool started the shift to new product packaging for its Trade Range – a collection of five products and 12


SKUs specifically created for builders and tradespeople – with the new look being rolled out through 2024.


The move towards more sustainable product packaging is driven by two main factors, says Cameron Lee, National Sales Manager Merchants & DIY. “Firstly, circularity is at the core of our sustainability strategy at ROCKWOOL; we’ve virtually eliminated waste to landfill from our production process in the UK and we are working to reduce waste to landfill within our supply chain, as well as minimise the use of virgin materials. “Secondly, society has become increasingly conscious of recyclability and recycled content. For example, a 2023 study by Mintel revealed that 71% of consumers find food packaging made from recycled plastic more acceptable than that made from standard plastic. While consumers may not interact with insulation packaging day-to-day, this statistic highlights an important societal shift that is expected to gradually influence the domestic construction mar-ket. We are already seeing heightened awareness of recyclability and an expectation of re-cycled content in larger commercial projects, and it’s only a matter of time before this trend becomes more prevalent in smaller residential projects. As industry leaders, we want to be at the forefront of that change.” Lee says that packaging is essential to improve transport efficiency, maintain low wastage rates and enable the safe transport and handling of material, which means that improvements in packaging design retain these benefits while also helping the transition towards a more sustainable society.


Less virgin plastic One of the most notable changes in Rockwool’s new product packaging is the reduction in virgin plastic, Lee explains. “We’re transitioning to a material made from 30% recycled plastic to minimise the use of virgin material wherever possible. We worked closely with our suppli-ers to carry out extensive


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Left: Cameron Lee, National Sales Manager Merchants & DIY


testing to ensure the packaging continues to deliver the quality specification we demand. “We’ve also made changes to the design of our product packaging to increase its recyclabil-ity by minimising the use of ink, which can impact the environment. By switching to just two primary colours and incorporating transparent elements, we’ve decreased the amount of ink used in production. Reducing ink usage on packaging makes recycling easier and more efficient, producing a better quality recycled product and reducing waste in the recycling process. Our new product packaging remains fully recyclable, helping builders and tradespeople avoid sending waste to landfill.”


Packaging plays an essential role in ensuring the product can be transported safely and efficiently, and Rockwool applies a high degree of compression to some of the lower- density products to maximise the amount of insulation per transport unit, minimising the number of shipments needed along with the associated carbon emissions.


Improved product labelling “Efficiency also applies to our labels,” he continues. “We’ve revamped our labelling to provide clearer product information, allowing customers to find critical details about our Trade Range products quickly. Furthermore, we’ve introduced digital product information, ensuring that customers always have access to the latest updates and specifications right at their finger-tips. Clear technical and certification marks are also prominently displayed, providing reas-surance to our customers about the quality and authenticity of our products.”


Improving product efficiency Lee says that the changes to the Trade Range product packaging are part of the drive to improve the group’s footprint – its operational impact – but as a business, it also focuses on


tracking the positive impact of products in use. “One of these metrics is our energy payback period. Over the lifetime of its use (50 years as an average), ROCKWOOL building insulation sold globally in 2023 will save 818 TWh of energy, equivalent to the annual electricity use of more than 68 million homes .


“As an innovative manufacturer, we’re always exploring how we can develop our products to ensure they have the most positive impact possible on buildings and their occupants. With this in mind, in 2022, we launched NyRock® technology, a patented production process that builds on the existing benefits of stone wool, creating the most thermally efficient stone wool insulation currently available in the UK and Ireland ,” he explains.


Made using a new patented production process, this next-generation stone wool insulation has a more efficient fibre structure that can deliver thermal conductivity as low as 0.032 W/mK. ROCKWOOL Thermal Cavity Slab 32, which is now available in a 150mm thickness with theTrade Range, is created using NyRock technology, thus has a thermal conductivity value of 0.032 W/mK, a 13% improvement over the existing/standard stone wool cavity slab. When considering the latest notional U-values for walls in domestic dwellings, Thermal Cavity Slab 32 can achieve the target performance of 0.18 W/m²K with a thickness of 150mm, depending on construction type, which is 25mm thinner than the standard stone wool cavity products within the same wall build-up.3 Lee adds: “By continually innovating products, packaging and support, ROCKWOOL can ensure merchants are well-placed to meet the evolving needs of their trade customers – and in turn, their homeowner clients.” n


A supplement to builders merchants journal June 2024


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