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Count on us for sustainability
How sustainable is a product really? Environmental certificates issued by independent third parties can help to answer this question. They can be used, for example, to demonstrate the major effects of sustainable products in construction.
What we are doing:
Evonik is already generating some 50 percent of its revenues with products that are known to contribute to improved resource efficiency in applications. The company is contracting with independent third parties to have its own calculations certified for a growing number of products. Environmental declarations and certificates provide guidance for customers and consumers to properly assess the sustainability of products.
In the construction industry, the effect of particularly environmentally friendly products is enormous – especially when we consider that some 28 percent of global energy consumption is caused by buildings. Energy-saving renovation measures can reduce the primary energy demand of buildings by up to 90 percent. The high-performance insulation material CALOSTAT® offers one option to do this. It insulates better than non-circulating air, is non-combustible and can be recycled. The material was recognized with the Gold certificate by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute for its outstanding environmental properties. A comprehensive Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which has been tested by the Building and Environmental Institute, offers many more data. For example, homeowners can calculate the “gray energy” of their building for a more precise assessment of sustainability properties.
Another example is the water repelling agent Protectosil® BHN. The silane-based molecules penetrate the inside of mineral structures and protect concrete and other materials reliably against penetrating water and dissolved pollutants. For example, this effect extended the service life of the quay wall in the Belgian port of Zeebrugge by over 100 years. The ecotoxicological properties of the utilized raw materials and process chemicals, as well as the recycling characteristics of Protectosil® BHN, are so good that the product was recognized as particularly sustainable with the silver-level “Cradle To Cradle Material Health Certificate”.
However, Evonik certifies more than its own products. The company goes one step further when it comes to pursuing sustainability. It supports its customers in their efforts to have products with Evonik’s ingredients certified. Thus, the Coating Additives Business Line makes important lifecycle data for a number of its products freely available on the Internet. When manufacturers use TEGO® coating additives to extend the service life of, e.g., facade paints, they can directly access the corresponding environmental data of the additive and incorporate the information in their own application documents for an environmental certificate.