Sustainable Products

We are committed to minimising the environmental impact of our products throughout their lifecycle. Our use of recycled PVC provides low embodied carbon products for customers and prevents PVC waste from going to landfill. We also focus on developing thermally efficient products that help our customers minimise heat loss.

Recycling operation

We are proud to be the leading UK-based recycler of PVC windows. Our extensive recycling capacity sits at the heart of our operations, our sustainability strategy, and will be critical to our Net Zero ambitions.

Our recycling operations convert customer factory offcuts (post-industrial waste) and old windows that have been replaced (post-consumer waste) to brand new extruded products. Our advanced co-extrusion process delivers recycled material to the profile core, with external surfaces protected using virgin PVC compound, providing a high-quality, resilient finish. The key benefits of our recycling operation are set out below.

Commercial

We can leverage the sustainability aspects of our recycling operation with our customer base, consumers, and other stakeholders. Many of our customers, including large developers and house builders, are increasingly looking for sustainable, low carbon products that can support their own net zero ambitions. For example, most of the large house builders aiming to achieve ‘zero carbon homes’ classify products within the houses they sell as ‘sustainable’ if they help customers save energy whilst running their homes and/or because they are made with lower carbon processes or raw materials. This labelling could be a key competitive advantage for Eurocell.

Economic

Recycling also increases our profits, because the cost of recycled compound is typically lower through the cycle than the price of virgin material, and it reduces our exposure to volatile commodity prices

Carbon savings

An independent study by the University of Manchester found that displacing one tonne of virgin PVC with one tonne of recycled window PVC results in a reduction of approximately 1.7 tonnes of CO2 emissions. This calculation compares the full life cycle carbon emissions associated with the production of virgin PVC with emissions from the window recycling process. As a result, our recycling operation saves substantial amounts of carbon compared to the use of virgin PVC, and we therefore consider our products produced with recycled content to be low carbon.

In 2023, our two sites recycled 38.7k tonnes (equivalent to more than three million window frames) of post-consumer waste, which would have otherwise been sent to landfill, and 8.1k tonnes of post-industrial waste. Together, the two sites used this waste to produce 27.7k tonnes of recycled material. As much of the remaining by-product is scrap metal, which is sold to metal recyclers, with very little sent to landfill.

Of the recycled material produced, 17.5k tonnes was used alongside virgin resin in the manufacture of many of our rigid PVC profiles. The remaining 10.2k tonnes of recycled material produced is used either in products which are manufactured from 100% recycled material, including thermal inserts and cavity closer systems (which are almost exclusively derived from post-industrial waste), or sold to a range of trade extruders. Recycled PVC represented 32% of total raw material consumption in 2023, up from 29% in 2022.

We therefore estimate that, in total, our recycling operation saved approximately 47k tonnes of carbon in 2023 compared to the use of virgin PVC.

We have now set ourselves a more ambitious target to reach 40% recycled content across our product range by 2030. Achieving this target will be a critical component of our Net Zero transition plan, but also dependent on several factors, some of which may remain beyond our control. These include:

• Supply of recycled feedstock – we estimate that we currently take approximately one-third of the total recycled PVC available in the UK market. In order to reach our recycled content target of 40%, we will need to increase significantly our feedstock supply at acceptable purchase prices. This will require that we maintain and develop strong relationships with existing and potential new suppliers. Improving the yield at our recycling plants will also help increase supply of material for use in our manufacturing operations
• Legislative limitations – other than the current requirement for any rigid PVC profile that is externally exposed to have a virgin PVC exterior, recycled content of our products is not restricted by regulations. We will need to monitor any future changes in legislation and understand the potential impact on our targets (although we are not currently aware of any such planned changes)
• Operational capacity – increased recycled content requires further investment in co-extrusion capacity and tooling, although this is included in our ongoing investment plans
• Technological limitations – it is not currently commercially viable to use large quantities of recycled PVC in foam profile products, which represented 31% (by weight) of our extrusion output in 2023.

Thermally efficient products

Our window and door-related products are designed to deliver enhanced thermal efficiency via low thermal conductivity. This is measured through U-values, which determine how much heat is lost through the fabric of the building (surface heat loss through walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors). The lower the U-value the more thermally efficient the product.

All of our mainstream PVC fenestration products currently have U-values which meet the expected Future Homes Standard level of 1.2 W/m2 K. In many cases, our products perform even better than this, which can allow house builders more flexibility in their choice of material elsewhere in their builds. Our PVC profiles also deliver better U-values relative to alternatives such as wood and aluminium.

End of life

It is our aim to continue to recycle as much PVC as possible, moving where possible towards closed-loop recycling, whereby windows and other PVC profiles are continually recycled into new products. Our PVC profiles can be recycled up to ten times and have a life span of around 100 years.

Our main raw materials are sourced from manufacturers across the UK, Europe and the US, and traded goods are directly sourced in the UK from suppliers manufacturing around the world. We have a loyal supplier base, of which a significant majority have been suppliers to Eurocell for many years. We are committed to the continuous development of supplier relationships that support our ethical and sustainability expectations, and deliver a responsible value chain.

To support this we have established supplier pre-appointment checks. All supply and tender agreements include the following statement:

“The supplier advocates the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility and requires a serious approach to sustainability (including economic, social and environmental considerations) issues from its value chain and partners.”

In addition, all our suppliers are required to confirm their commitment to:

• Protecting the environment as it relates to these activities at a global and local level, including aspects such as energy, water and resource use, and emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants
• Respect for fundamental human rights, including safe working conditions, fair compensation at least in line with minimum wage, and fair working hours
• Enforce ethical and legal trading rules with regards to anti-bribery and corruption
• A system of internal and external reporting which matches espoused values
• A proactive approach to the innovation of sustainable practices and products
• Recognition that all businesses have a responsibility to be a good neighbour and accept their active role within the communities in which they operate
• An ethical approach to managing and maintaining all purchasing activities.

We subsequently review our suppliers periodically to assess ongoing compliance with these commitments. We also ensure that all relevant raw material suppliers are compliant with current regulatory and industrial standards and that they meet our quality and environmental standards. Failure to comply will result in the termination of the business relationship.

We are also committed to paying our suppliers on time in accordance with agreed terms of business.

Our Head of Procurement is tasked with overseeing and managing supplier relationships and a value chain that delivers shared value, in an ethical and sustainable manner.

Achieving the highest standards of product and service quality and safety is essential to our continuing success.

Our quality aim is simple: to totally satisfy our customers. Our vision for quality is to create an operation in which we get things right first time, every time.

In terms of product safety, we focus on providing products that comply with all relevant housing and building safety standards, with fire safety being the largest consideration. All our products are tested to ensure that they meet safety requirements, and information about safe use and disposal of our products is provided through warning labels, manuals and other documentation where appropriate.

We work continually to improve our performance and ensure compliance with ISO9001 and the other quality standards to which we are accredited.

We operate clearly defined systems and procedures and work closely with our customers to address concerns and resolve complaints. We also provide the necessary training and support to our colleagues so they are able to play their part in delivering high standards of product and service quality.