SUSTAINABILITY
SAVING THE PLANET WITH SCIENCE
Unilin explains what sustainability means to the company.
A t Unilin as a group,
responsibility for protecting the planet is taken very seriously, and as Unilin Insulation sustainability is a top priority.
However, Eamonn Clarke, technical manager says: “Being sustainable means more. It is also about the quality of life of those who buy our products, and creating a sustainable working environment for our employees.” Clarke explains that the company’s approach is based on three overarching principles: Planet Home, Your Home and Our Home
“In the manufacturing industry, we are still burning too many fossil fuels. And that while the science community agrees on what needs to be done: to minimise the effects of climate change, the EU Green Deal wants to cut the global emissions of greenhouse gases by almost half by 2030 and reduce them to zero by 2050,” he says.
“As a group, we conduct all our activities within the framework of the Paris Agreement’s objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. That means that by 2030, we want to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by more than 42% compared to 2020. To achieve this, we want to scale back the use of fossil fuels from all our activities, in our energy mix as well as transport.
Planet Home Across the Unilin Group, energy consumption is approximately 43% renewable. In the manufacturing plants in Chesterfield and Navan, that number rises to 100%; the facilities in Ballyconnell and Ross on Wye, are now targeted with achieving this as well. “We have also invested significantly in biomass plants. in addition to wind and solar
34
power. We currently have more than 5,500 solar panels at our production plants, including almost 1,500 in Chesterfield and 2,820 at Navan,” Clarke adds. “Our car fleet is tracking to be all electric by 2025. In addition, we are currently trialing biomethane adoption with our transportation fleet, which could significantly increase our C02 savings.
Your Home
The group is also committed to reducing the carbon footprint beyond its own boundaries. Clarke says: “We have determined the impacts of our raw materials and are working actively on systematically reducing them. Furthermore, we are raising awareness among our customers, by offering more sustainable products and while providing clear information so to enable them to make their own comparisons and thus more sustainable choices. “Customers remain at the core of our business and our commitment to working with our industry partners is stronger than ever. We are working to bolster these alliances with increased security of supply, reinforcing our offering and further improving on our customer experiences.”
He adds: “The Technical Team at Unilin A supplement to builders merchants journal June 2024
Insulation have published research on the reduction of embodied carbon on projects alongside advice on how to minimise embodied carbon while building using traditional or standard construction methods. So that our customers, suppliers and end users are equipped to make decisions on materials that impact through the entire project lifecycle.” The company has also revamped its Discovery Hub centres in the UK and Ireland, to more clearly show and explain sustainability targets, and a best practice application of building materials to meet these targets. The centres are offered free of charge to the construction industry as a meeting, networking, learning and sharing space for professionals and students.
Our Home
This drive to educate and inform extends to our staff who are actively encouraged to upskill and to our community who are supported and invited to participate in efforts like World Skills where the focus is on developing future talent.
Clarke adds: “Our ethos of ‘More than Insulation’ is shared across the Unilin brand and at every touchpoint of our business, our commitment to go beyond standard practices is stronger than ever. We remain committed to working with our industry partners to develop products and solutions to improve circularity, to help fuel business growth and to help you work towards creating a truly sustainable business.” n
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78
