Page 68 - CFA_SG25

ADHESIVES AND ACCESSORIES MANUFACTURERS’ VIEW

Collaboration is key to progress
on sustainability

According to Matthew Brown, Managing
Director of UZIN UTZ UK Ltd, the
requirement to collaborate between
manufacturers and across sectors is
becoming increasingly clear as the way
forward on sustainability.
Matthew Brown says that many
manufacturers have tended to be reluctant
to collaborate on sustainability because they
view their own efforts in this area as a USP
for their product offer. But that is changing,
and more and more people are realising
that collaboration is a good thing and that
it can help us tackle the key issues around
sustainability in our industry, such as waste of
all types.
“I have suggested that we should have
more of a collaborative approach on this, not
necessarily just for our benefit as a company,
but for the benefit of the industry as a whole,”
says Matthew Brown. “I think the industry
sometimes needs to recognise that it must where adhesive-free flooring is not the ideal at things like legacy waste, what happens to
take a less commercial standpoint, but should option for the end-user. a building when we take it down, where the
work together to solve this problem.” However, sometimes customers may need waste material goes, what happens with the
Matthew Brown explains that, although in to fully adhere flooring while also having packaging and what happens with the offcuts
Holland the company operates a take-back the ability to remove it. Therefore another from new installations.”
scheme, it does not manufacture in the UK possibility is dry adhesive tapes. These work EPR is now common throughout Europe,
but sells through wholesalers, so unless they very well in areas like retail flooring, where although one of the problems is that the
have some form of take-back scheme, it is the end-user needs to avoid the downtime, schemes are different and lack consistency in
quite tricky to put into practice. A couple dust and disturbance involved with changing different countries.
of the leading wholesalers have had trial or upgrading a floor finish. The solvent-free Something else the UK market has to look
68 schemes, but it really requires all wholesalers tape leaves no residue on the substrate or the forward to is the full adoption of EPDs.
to collaborate with their suppliers and support flooring. “Most of our products have them for the
the wider flooring industry with the recycling An example in the commercial market European market, including Ireland,” says
of floor coverings and packaging. where this technology is particularly useful is Matthew Brown. “But it is yet to arrive in
“Collaboration would be key to making where retailers have shop-in-shop concession the UK in full force. It will, and architects,
this work,” he says. “The whole supply chain areas. These quite often have a different type specifiers and building owners will be
needs to collaborate. This means proactively of floor covering compared to the rest of the increasingly looking for these. In reality
trying to resolve a situation before it becomes store. By using a tape system, a new floor when they are looking at the sustainability
a problem. covering can be installed without removing credentials of their projects, smoothing
“Legislation drives change quicker than the floor that’s already in place. If the end- compounds and adhesives are not top of
anything else, but the only person who is ever user wants to refresh an area, they can pull it the list. There are easier ways for architects
going to pay for that is the end-user. Despite up, and it leaves no residue on the substrate. to achieve their environmental points on a
greater awareness, we still need more pro- A new floor can then be installed. building than worrying about adhesives. For
activity to drive things forward and avoid the Looking back over the last year, Matthew the time being LEED and BREEAM are the
requirement for legislation where possible. Brown says EPR has been an interesting standards that architects are most interested
This will hit the industry financially, costing development. The industry has had to think in and there is not yet as great an awareness
everyone money and inflating prices because more about packaging waste and work with on EPDs.”
manufacturers can’t absorb all the costs. DEFRA on how it is managed. There has been Finally, like all businesses, UZIN UTZ
Regarding more sustainable new product a lot of lobbying to encourage DEFRA to has been looking at the sustainability of its
development, UZIN has been working across realise that flooring businesses are B2B, and manufacturing operations. It has switched to
Europe to develop products containing larger because of the way the product is distributed, running its business on sustainable energy,
proportions of renewable raw materials. the waste does not end up in the domestic driven by the fact that it is the right thing to do
Another interesting area is the waste stream. Distributors manage their waste and also the fact that the cost of energy has
development of release agents for flooring through commercial waste streams. rapidly escalated in recent years.
applications. Although an adhesive is used to “In trying to change DEFRA’s mind, I think “Both of UZIN UTZ’s buildings in the UK
adhere the flooring to the substrate, a release we have made some headway, which benefits use sustainable energy sources, with solar
primer can be used, which will release the the industry as a whole,” says Matthew Brown. panels on the roof and vehicle fleets which
floor covering, leaving no residue on the floor “These regulations can mean hundreds are either hybrid or fully electric. We have
itself, making it easier to recycle. of thousands of extra costs for businesses managed to reduce our carbon footprint by
Although adhesive-free flooring is an without necessarily achieving what the over 25% over the last five years. Our main
option in some cases, certain types of flooring Government wants to achieve. This is an factory in Holland is carbon neutral and, by
have to be fully adhered and there is no way ongoing situation – if we have managed to moving one of our facilities from Poland to
around that. Dry-back LVT, for example, has delay full EPR, I’m sure it will come back in a France, we have saved 300 tonnes of carbon
to be stuck down because of the thermal few years. dioxide a year due to reduced transport
cycling of the product and because it is “This is a perfect example of why we need impact.
unstable in that respect. Also, where you to be more proactive and collaborative. We “These are among the things that we have
have high-load wheeled traffic, adhesive-free need to consider how we develop a take-back been working on. Our competitors have been
flooring generally doesn’t work because of scheme, how we recycle our waste, how we doing similar things, of course, because they
the movement of the material, causing it to manage all these aspects and develop a clear want to have a greener footprint – and that
become unstable. So there are circumstances scheme within the industry. We need to look bodes well for the future of our industry.”

CFA Guide to Sustainability 2025/26