Innovation & Sustainability
Sustainability as part of Recticel’s strategy and company values
In 2016, Recticel carefully redefined its core values to enable the organisation to fully align its actions and attitudes towards internal and external stakeholders. Today, the Group’s core values can be summarised as follows:
- We strive for results
- We innovate to create value
- We act with respect and integrity
- We cooperate to win
- We take ownership and feel accountable
The Recticel Group’s sustainability strategy was developed to respond to key challenges such as energy conservation, CO2 reduction, and an aging and increasing population. Sustainability is also deeply embedded in the Group’s DNA. This is evident in the company’s core values, one of which is “We act with respect and integrity”. Recticel Insulation adheres to this value by showing respect for all of society, particularly our employees, partners, the planet and legislation. We expect our core values to be applied not just by our colleagues, but also by our partners.
Read more about the Sustainability & Innovation of Recticel
Sustainable innovation is the driver behind all our research and development efforts. It is at the heart of our strategy and a key deciding factor in everything we do. Every day, we renew our commitment to finding responsible solutions to the various challenges and needs of our customers and the planet.
If you'd like to read more about the Sustainability & Innovation of Recticel, please click here.
Modern Slavery statement
Recticel has a policy of operating with a high level of business ethics and integrity and has created a number of codes and policies to ensure this is the case.
- Avoidance of slavery and human trafficking in our own business as well as in our supply chains
- The Recticel Supplier Sustainability Requirements
> Download the Recticel Insulation Modern Slavery statement
Polyurethane: The sustainable insulation material
Recticel Insulation products offer significant environmental benefits. Efficient insulation means that less energy is needed for heating and cooling. As a result, CO2 emissions are reduced, which means that our insulation products contribute significantly to the fight against global warming.
The durability of our products is another important environmental advantage. Polyurethane insulation boards have a 50-year lifespan. Their insulation performance remains consistent throughout the lifetime of the product, making them a very sustainable solution.
We want to create a “Feel good inside” experience for ourselves and for future generations through excellent solutions and services.
Environmental certifications
- BREEAM score
BREEAM is Europe’s most widely-used evaluation and certification method for buildings. It supports constructors, architects, contractors and other stakeholders in the successful implementation of sustainable building practices.
- Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
The results of an LCA are summarised in an EPD. This document expresses the environmental impact of a product in figures, sorted into various impact categories. It is not designed to be used for comparison between products but makes it possible to calculate the overall environmental impact of a building.
- Program for the endorsement of forest certification (PEFC)
This label stands for the responsible management of forests worldwide. At Recticel, it means that the multilayer facings of our Eurowall®, Eurothane® Silver, Eurothane® Silver A, Eurofloor en Euroroof® insulation solutions, contain paper that comes from a sustainably managed, certified forest.
Our new products: Driven by sustainable innovation
The Recticel Group is determined to continually reduce the negative impact of its activities, and thus optimise Recticel’s positive impact throughout the value chain. This is achieved through the work of the Sustainable Innovation Department (SID), which leads all the Group’s innovations and initiated the corporate sustainability programme.
This has led to the development of ‘low lambda’ insulation materials (with a lambda value reduced from 22 to 19). Xentro® achieves higher insulation performance. This product has a thermal conductivity coefficient (ƛ value) that is 13% lower than the market reference product.
Minimising our CO2 footprint
We make constant efforts to minimise our CO2 footprint by reducing the negative impact of our operations while significantly increasing the positive impact of our products. We estimate that the CO2 emissions prevented by our insulation solutions in 2017 totalled over 30 times our carbon impact throughout the value chain.
We also try to reduce energy use in our factories. Most of our production plants are certified to ISO 14001 standards of environmental care.
When developing or launching new production plants, we choose green energy sources where possible in order to reduce our CO2 footprint.
Waste management and recycling
We seek out new ways to avoid waste during the production process, as well as possibilities to reuse or recycle production waste and products that have reached the End-Of-Life (EOL) phase. We also try to minimise the use of finite natural resources.