BRAUNGART EPEA and CLASSEN aim to further establish^{CERAMIN® and} other healthy building materials

Kaisersesch/Hamburg, August 9, 2023. "PVC is not a material of the future, and PVC production and use should be discontinued sooner rather than later." With this clear statement, Cradle-to-Cradle pioneer Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart introduces his interim report on the collaboration between BRAUNGART EPEA – Internationale Umweltforschung GmbH and the CLASSEN . Against the backdrop of the impending PVC ban under the European Union's Green Deal and REACH Regulation, the focus is shifting to materials, products, and processes that are suitable for the circular economy and are not harmful to humans or the environment. According to Braungart, the PVC-free material^CERAMIN® developed by the CLASSEN is of outstanding interest to the entire flooring industry due to its recyclability and healthiness, which to date still largely supplies the construction industry and the market with PVC in design and vinyl flooring on a large scale. As part of a broad alliance, which will include other companies that also refrain from using PVC in the future, the aim is to further establish polypropylene (PP) in particular as an equivalent, but above all healthy alternative to PVC. The Cradle to Cradle certification of^CERAMIN®, which has already been initiated, is a first step in this direction.

Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart was awarded the honorary German Sustainability Award just last autumn and has long been regarded as a pioneer in eco-design, waste prevention and the circular economy. Together with William McDonough, he founded the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA for short) more than 30 years ago and established the cradle-to-cradle concept. The concept involves continuous and consistent recycling management. It describes the safe and basically infinite circulation of materials and nutrients in cycles. For the biosphere, this means the biological decomposition of the individual product components that are returned to nature - as in the case of complete composting, for example - while for industry and the technosphere it means complete recycling into new products. As a result, products and production processes should not only be less harmful to people and nature, but also have a positive effect.

Foreseeable PVC ban fuels search for alternatives

Braungart has long been concerned about harmful PVC. In a preliminary interim conclusion on the collaboration with the CLASSEN , he refers to all the well-known facts about the toxicity to humans and the environment during production, use, and disposal, as well as the enormous consumption of energy and resources and the near impossibility of recycling PVC. At the EU level, a ban on PVC in indoor spaces has been under discussion since the publication of the Ramboll study in 2022 at the latest. This is not the only reason why the search for alternatives that are not only free of harmful substances but also completely recyclable is in full swing. The flooring industry is particularly affected by this. In Europe alone, approximately 190 million square meters of PVC-containing vinyl flooring were produced in 2022. That is equivalent to about 32,000 soccer fields – year after year. About half of the approximately 1.2 million tons of material comes from China. Material whose subsequent disposal poses a variety of environmental and health risks. This documents the urgency of establishing alternative materials.

For this reason, Braungart is promoting cooperation with the CLASSEN , which, with its polypropylene-based^CERAMIN® material, meets all the requirements for establishing a suitable alternative to harmful PVC floor and wall coverings. Not only are products made from^CERAMIN® at least equivalent in terms of material properties such as robustness, moisture resistance, design variety, and ease of processing, but unlike PVC, they are also completely harmless to health and the environment, fully recyclable, and consist of a high proportion of PP recyclates even during production. For this reason, the products also have a much smaller carbon footprint and reduce energy consumption many times over through the use of recycled materials in production.

Broad alliance to prevent PVC use and open up new sales markets

However, from the perspective of those involved, the aim of the strategic cooperation is not only to establish healthy^{CERAMIN® floor coverings} in the construction and flooring industry. To this end, the CLASSEN will continue to promote networking with other market partners, also with the support of Braungart EPEA. In addition, a broad alliance is to be forged, which other companies that have consciously decided against the use of PVC applications or are in the process of doing so are to join. Braungart demands "that a rethink regarding the use of PVC is necessary. The problems must be communicated and insights multiplied. Innovative solutions and alternatives, such as CLASSEN products, CLASSEN an important reference point in this regard." He is convinced that this requires "an alliance of players who are willing to ban PVC from their products, services, and processes." The focus is primarily on companies in the construction, electronics, and packaging industries. "Since supply chains and the spread of PVC are global in scope, it seems appropriate to also take global perspectives into account. With CLASSEN the initiator of such a network, opportunities for new sales markets will open up," concludes Braungart.

"With the development of^CERAMIN® flooring, we have not only created a sustainable future for our family business, but also, thanks to our licensing business, an alternative and completely new perspective for the entire flooring industry," says Céline Quervel, Head of Marketing at the CLASSEN , outlining the future possibilities. "Working with Braungart EPEA, other market partners, and environmental and consumer protection organizations is therefore a very high priority for us."

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About BRAUNGART EPEA - Internationale Umweltforschung GmbH:

Since it was founded in Hamburg in 1987 by Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart, EPEA GmbH has developed into an international innovation partner for environmentally friendly products, processes, buildings and urban districts. Our goal is to establish the Cradle to Cradle® design principle for the circular economy in all industrial sectors. In this way, we can help companies to get on the right track and be part of the change: from the molecular to the modular level, from the chemical to the city.