Technoform Bautec receives eco-smart design award

At Fensterbau Frontale 2016, Technform Bautec's polyamide insulating strips were awarded the Cradle to Cradle® certificate by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute in San Francisco for their environmentally-intelligent design.The C2C certificate certifies the use of environmentally safe, healthy and recyclable materials (technical recycling or composting), the use of solar energy and other renewable forms of energy, the responsible use of water and the strategies adopted to fulfil corporate social responsibility.Technoform Bautec ensures that no banned chemicals are used during production and that final consumers are not exposed to fumes.The company also guarantees that all the materials used are recyclable and separable. In addition, the electricity used during production must be 100 percent green, the resulting carbon emissions offset by reforestation projects, the consumption of water kept as low as possible and treated internally, and fair working conditions guaranteed.The polyamide insulating strips made by Technoform Bautec have reached gold, the highest achievement level, in all five quality categories (material safety, recyclability, renewable energy, water stewardship and social fairness). Worldwide there are about 3,000 C2C certified products, 70 of them in gold.Technoform Bautec is the first company in the field of windows, doors and façades that has ever reached such an achievement level for a product. The certificate is valid for two years.In a ceremony held at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, the certificate was presented by Prof Dr Michael Braungart from Hamburg who developed the Cradle to Cradle® design concept in the 1990s. Prof Dr Braungart is the founder and director of EPEA Internationale Umweltforschung GmbH in Hamburg, the co-founder and director of McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) in Charlottesville, Virginia (USA) and the scientific director of Hamburger Umweltinstitut (HUI).It was Dr Mathias Behrens, Managing Director of Technoform Bautec Kunststoffprodukte GmbH, who received the certificate. To us, sustainability is not a fashion trend, but has always been one of our core beliefs, he said at the ceremony. Sustainability is not a limitation, but an attitude on the quest for the right path. We fulfil our environmental responsibility through our products and our processes. The right innovations will have a real positive impact in the future, they will improve our quality of life in a holistic way.Dr Mathias Behrens also pointed out that the industry and its products significantly contributed to protecting the environment and the climate across the globe. After all, more than 30 percent of the energy consumed worldwide is for heating buildings. In addition to renewable energy, intelligent energy use is the second pillar of sustainability in our modern lifestyle.