The future viability of a property investment is hugely dependent on the materials and systems used. Their ability to be recycled is decisive when it comes to grey emissions, i.e. the embodied carbon in the building. It is only when the material can be fed back fully into the recycling loop after building use ends without relevant quality loss that it meets one of the most important sustainability principles – Cradle to Cradle. Even the major certifications systems BREEAM, DGNB or LEED incorporate this. Schüco therefore offers materials and services that investors and operators can use to comply with the Cradle to Cradle principle:
- Schüco relies on aluminium and PVC: these materials can be returned into circulation almost completely and without loss of quality.
- 76 Schüco aluminum products and systems are Cradle to Cradle-certified as Gold or Silver.
- Many Schüco PVC-U systems have been awarded the VinylPlus certificate. Schüco is a pioneer in the construction sector here.
- Schüco prefers to produce PVC-U profiles containing a proportion of recycled material, but a formulation that conserves resources is also used as an alternative. Just last year, as much as 64% of the PVC-U profiles were made using recycled material, with the recycled content varying between 39 and 57 percent, depending on the geometry. The aim is for this use to continually increase.
- In addition, Schüco PVC-U profiles can also be manufactured using bio-attributed PVC, whereby the crude oil used for production is replaced with non-fossil tall oil (a by-product of the paper industry).
- As part of the new RE:CORE programme, Schüco collects PVC-U material from old windows and profile residues and returns it into circulation.
- As part of IoF (Internet of Façades), Schüco products are assigned a digital tag that documents their materials and therefore makes it possible to dismantle them into separate types.
“Around 50% of material consumption worldwide is in the building sector. We should take this as an opportunity for innovation and further drive forward the development of truly circular products.”
- Dr Michael Braungart, co-founder of the Cradle to Cradle design concept