Consistent progress towards sustainability

Resource conservation, sustainable production and recycled raw materials—REHAU has a clearly defined path towards circular products and is consistently working to offer customers sustainable alternatives to conventional edgebands. REHAU has therefore developed two product lines that approach this issue in different ways: RAUKANTEX eco und RAUKANTEX evo. While RAUKANTEX eco consists of 50 percent post-industrial recycled material, in the case of RAUKANTEX evo the company relies on polymers that are produced using non-fossil raw materials. “It’s important to us that our sustainable lines meet the same high quality standards,” says Daniel Elfe-Degel, Divisional Sustainability Officer and Product Management Team Leader at REHAU Interior Solutions. “Our customers shouldn’t have to compromise on appearance, hygiene or processing.”

The following practical examples show that REHAU meets this requirement. While Rotpunkt Küchen is currently converting an entire product line to RAUKANTEX eco, Denmark’s TCM Group is drawing attention to sustainable kitchens in the Scandinavian market for the first time under the Svane Køkkenet label—and using RAUKANTEX evo to do this. “In addition to our customer focus, it was important to us from the start that we are able to verify what we’re doing for the sustainable development of our company,” says Daniel Elfe-Degel. REHAU therefore completed ISCC PLUS certification for its RAUKANTEX evo edgeband last year. ISCC PLUS stands for International Sustainability and Carbon Certification and is a global certification program for the circular economy and bioeconomy. The aim is to make the source and flow of sustainable raw materials transparent along the entire value chain, in line with the mass balance approach. Certification facilitates traceability throughout the supply chain. An ISCC PLUS certificate also enables companies to verify, among other things, that their manufacturing processes conform to ISCC sustainability requirements and do not promote deforestation or the loss of biological diversity.

In order to maintain this high standard, the inspection must be repeated every year. RAUKANTEX evo was successfully recertified at the Rehau site in August. And just a month later, the ABS edgebands at the Visbek plant also received this coveted sustainability seal. Daniel Elfe-Degel: “This allows us to offer sustainable edgebands to a much broader customer base. In addition to industrial furniture manufacturers, carpenters and interior designers will soon be able to order small quantities via our standard collections. Given the increasing demand for sustainable furniture from end customers, this represents a clear competitive advantage for our partners. This certification also means they can be confident that we’re a clean part of the supply chain.”