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For many businesses, sustainability in the workplace is becoming a key part of the company strategy.
For larger corporations, encouraging greener practices including working with sustainable suppliers is key. In turn, the reliance on sustainable products is increasing.
But there is a lot more to working sustainably and eco-friendly building than meets the eye. It is not simply the ingredients of a product that defines whether it is a sustainable material.
Here at Intelligent Membranes, our philosophy of driving environmentally forward-thinking initiatives into the building sector is reflected in our products. But what is a sustainable product and how is one of our key lines – passive – promoting sustainability in the workplace?
Our Founder and CEO, Adam White explains below…
What is a Sustainable Product?
It’s really important to remember that a sustainable product isn’t just something that is made of wood or is biodegradable or is recyclable. It’s more complicated than that. It also comes down to the carbon footprint that is created by a product’s use and the process used to manufacture it.
A key factor to think about is the overall life cycle – how does a product perform over a long, long period of time? So, the question “How are you sustainable, are you linked with eco products?” has a lot more layers than people think.
How is Passive Sustainable?
There’s a misconception that polymer-based products like our passive range can’t be sustainable, which couldn’t be further from the truth. A competitor product using polyurethane may start to degrade after 10-15 years – the result is energy and heat loss, a huge increase in energy bills as well as carbon footprint.
Our products, including the passive range are different – the lifecycle is far, far longer – 80, 90, 100 years. That long life cycle means the building that the product is applied to retains its energy efficiency and limits its carbon footprint.
It’s true that we can’t have a biodegradable version of our passive range, because it simply wouldn’t work, but it is sustainable because it’s saving on carbon footprint year after year.
How are other Intelligent Membranes’ Products Sustainable?
It’s not just the passive range that is sustainable. Our protection products, for example, are made of plastics that are recycled. Our surface pro – a temporary indoor protection – is biodegradable – it’s a natural latex, that’s what it’s designed to do.
So, in terms of sustainable products and sustainability in the workplace, we have the polymer passive that reduces carbon footprint due to its lifecycle, the internal product which is biodegradable and the protection product that can be recycled. We cover sustainability in our products in a range of ways.
