Committing to sustainable practice

Martin Hitchin, CEO of Rehau UK, examines how suppliers can assist window companies in adopting greener operations and appeal to an ever more eco-conscious market.

Eliminating waste has firmly established itself as a priority for consumers across multiple markets.

While this attitude can be prominently seen in areas such as sustainable product packaging and the move against so-called ‘fast’ fashion, all industries are under pressure to make their operations greener and more sustainable, including the windows sector.

While there are many ways of demonstrating sustainable operations in the windows sector, being able to show the proportion of recycled materials in frames is among the most eye-catching.

The topic of reducing wasteful plastic production is nothing new to consumers and has long been a national focus, with initiatives already announced to tax plastic packaging featuring less than 30% recycled plastic from April 2022. However, seeing these recycling practices adopted in other industries, including window-manufacture, is a much less familiar concept.

Despite this, we should not mistake ‘unfamiliar’ for ‘less welcome’. Educating homeowners on smart, forward-thinking technologies and more efficient installation options that extend a window’s original lifecycle is key both for individual sales and for the wider circular economy. Collaboration across the entire supply chain is key to this effort, so fenestration professionals should hold suppliers to account on the sustainability of their own operations.

With in mind, Rehau recently published its Sustainability Report 2020, which was delayed until August 2021 due to the pandemic. In it, the organisation explains the steps taken to further solidify closed supply loops of PVC that can be derived from a single source.

Considering high energy costs for extraction and production of raw materials, through to transport and fuel costs, the environmental impact of PVC is demonstrably lower than its counterparts. This is why enhancing PVC recycling infrastructure is essential to ensuring a more sustainable fenestration sector, and further explains why Rehau has invested substantially in this area.

Due to these efforts, the company was able to achieve a recycling share of 54% in 2020, with 97,000 tonnes of CO₂ saved via the use of recyclates passing through the company’s polymer processing facilities. This includes opening and upscaling production lines at its Runcorn-based PVCR facility, which turns discarded PVC content into high-quality granulate for use in new window profiles.

The document goes on to show that Rehau has increased the proportion of recyclates used in all its products from 13.9% to 15.2%, exceeding the target of 15% by 2025. Additionally, carbon emissions fell by 33.9% between 2018 and 2020 – ahead of ambitions for a 30% cut by 2025 – and the proportion of reused recycling material remained over 90% across all Rehau divisions.

Beyond showcasing past sustainability successes that can be passed on to prospective customers, window professionals should also enquire about tools being developed to continue this upward trajectory. In Rehau’s case, the commitment to further strengthening the circular economy of resources can be seen in its Connect platform and new Window.ID solution.

Specifically, the Window.ID solution uses a tag to provide installers and fabricators with data about the window’s assembly and whole lifetime even after it is recycled into another frame. Alongside further encouraging the recovery and reuse of other materials, this data can be provided to prospective customers to further demonstrate sustainable practices.

Digital tools, such as Rehau Connect, allow installers and fabricators to send and receive documentation electronically. In turn, material waste can be reduced while allowing homeowner demand and supply chain solutions to be aligned more quickly and conveniently for both sides. Identifying these ways of making a previously material-heavy process more efficient and sustainable will be vital if we are to further improve the sustainability of the fenestration sector.

It cannot be doubted that the sustainability of all operations, from suppliers, to fabricators, to installers and beyond, can be further improved; awareness must be raised and more ambitious targets hit.

This is why Rehau is looking to further increase its recycling share from 54% to 65% by 2025. None of us can stand still, and action must be taken.