fermacell® gypsum fibreboards and fermacell® Therm25™ dry screed elements set new standards: as leading building materials in timber and drywall construction, they achieved C2C Certified® FullScope and C2C Certified® Material Health at Silver level in accordance with Version 4.1 at the first attempt.
“For our customers, this Silver-level certification represents tangible added value,” says Tobias Bennerscheidt, Director of Marketing & Segments at James Hardie Europe GmbH.
“Architects, installers, project developers and retailers are under increasing pressure to provide credible and independently verified proof of sustainability. With our certified solutions, they get exactly that – robust sustainability performance that is embedded in the product itself,” emphasises the manager.
The Cradle to Cradle Certified®product standard is based on the design principles of William McDonough and Michael Braungart. These principles revolutionise product development by fundamentally changing the way products are manufactured – with the aim of ensuring that materials continuously circulate within either the biological or technical loop. Furthermore, these principles promote the use of healthy, non-toxic materials, the use of renewable energy, and the conversion of waste into valuable resources. They also take social fairness and inclusion into account, thereby contributing to a future in which products benefit both people and the planet.
Founded in 2010 by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute has its headquarters in San Francisco and Amsterdam. A dedicated international team supports companies and manufacturers across all sectors in adopting the standard and offers a pathway to implementing circular business models and tackling global sustainability challenges.
The assessment requirements are constantly becoming more stringent. With each new version, the Cradle to Cradle Certified®standard is consistently tightened through stricter criteria, more rigorous testing and higher expectations regarding environmental and social responsibility. In addition to ambitious requirements for climate protection, resource efficiency and recyclability, a high level of concrete measures in the area of social fairness is demanded throughout the entire value chain.
Silver at the first attempt: an outstanding achievement
Against this backdrop, it is all the more commendable that fermacell®gypsum fibreboards and fermacell®Therm25™ dry screed elements – as leading building materials in timber and drywall construction, certified to the latest, significantly stricter standard – have achieved Silver status straight away. “The Silver certification, as achieved by our fermacell® gypsum fibreboards and fermacell® Therm25™ dry screed elements have already achieved as part of their initial certification under the demanding latest C2C Certified® standard in accordance with version 4.1, represents an outstanding accolade,” says Daniel Stegmann, Head of ESG and New Technologies Europe at James Hardie and responsible for corporate sustainability. “This demonstrates the above-average overall performance of our fermacell® gypsum fibreboards and fermacell® Therm25™ dry screed elements and demonstrates that they not only meet the basic requirements but also achieve a consistently high standard across all five assessment categories – material health, recyclability, protection of air and climate, water and soil, and social fairness,” explains the manager.
Clear competitive advantage
The certification also stands for a high degree of material transparency: for the Silver level, 95 per cent of the ingredients used, measured by total weight, must already be disclosed and assessed. At the same time, it documents an active commitment to climate protection, as the use of renewable energies in production and corresponding measures to reduce emissions must be demonstrated.
Not least, the award highlights the product’s holistic development approach. This means that products must be designed, right from their market launch, in such a way that they can be returned to technical or biological cycles. “In a competitive environment, the Silver certification gives our fermacell® gypsum fibreboards and fermacell® Therm25™ dry screed elements a clear advantage,” explains Daniel Stegmann. Many products would initially only achieve the bronze level due to the high requirements. “The silver certification thus signals to architects, project developers, retailers and installers, as well as building owners, a particularly forward-thinking and sustainable approach to product development.”
A year of intensive and focused development work
In addition to the existing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which provide transparent data on environmental impact, the C2C Certified® Silver certificate is another key component in the sustainability portfolio of fermacell® gypsum fibreboards and fermacell® Therm25™ dry screed elements. The path to this achievement was challenging: the successful certification is the result of more than a year of intensive and focused development work. “This award demonstrates the strength of our company,” emphasises Christian Claus, CEO & President of James Hardie Europe. “It shows that we are able to consistently translate our ambitious sustainability goals into tangible results. At the same time, it underlines fermacell®’s position as a brand that stands for substance rather than mere promises.”
Next step: Gold
For James Hardie, however, the award is not an end point, but another milestone: “We see the Cradle to Cradle Certified®Silver certification as a step on our journey to becoming Europe’s most sustainable building materials company,” promises Daniel Stegmann, adding: “Our aim is to continue meeting the requirements in the future and, in the long term, to achieve Gold certification.”
