Waste is a significant environmental challenge in the building and construction industry, and Protan is now taking an important step in reducing the amount of waste through a collaboration with one of our insulation suppliers, Rockwool.
According to figures from Statistics Norway (SSB), building and construction activities make up as much as 25 % of the waste in Norway, with 30 % of the weight of the materials brought to the construction sites ending up as waste*. Protan, a leading player in the industry, has identified insulation as a significant source of waste on their construction sites.
«We have ambitious sustainability goals, and in order to succeed in achieving these, it is crucial for us to collaborate with our suppliers. Collaboration is also important to ensure innovation and efficiency, while at the same time ensuring responsible use of resources throughout the value chain». Line Brødremoen Brevig, Sustainability Manager, Protan
Protan's main supplier of stone wool is Rockwool. The insulation is delivered on environmentally friendly pallets, but changes in design have made it difficult to use the environmental pallets as part of the roof solution. This has led to large amounts of waste on construction sites. As an example: Approximately 9,500 m³ of stone wool + environmentally friendly stone wool pallets were delivered to the IKEA Vestby project. This project has a waste quantity of 250 m3 insulation residues and approximately 500 wooden pallets.
As an initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the amount of waste, Protan and Rockwool have initiated a project at Rockwool where the possibility of changing the pallet's design will be investigated, so that the substrate on the pallet can also be used as insulation material. This initiative not only has the potential to significantly minimize the amount of waste, but it will also lead to cost savings, improved work ergonomics and reduced additional workload on the roof.
In addition to Rockwool's internal project, Protan will explore the possibility of participating in Rockwool's "Rockcycle" scheme, which focuses on recycling stone wool, rather than discarding fully usable material as waste. By disposing of the rock wool via Rockcycle, Protan will help to "close the circle" so that the rock wool can be reborn into new, robust ROCKWOOL products. The pallet feet mentioned above, which are not used directly as roof insulation, will also be able to be recycled.
This collaboration underlines the importance of good partnerships and collaboration to identify and implement effective and sustainable solutions. Protan's focus on involving internal resources, including colleagues from purchasing, HSEQ and Protan Entreprenør AS (roofers), together with Rockwool, illustrates the commitment to finding innovative and sustainable answers to waste challenges in the construction sector. This is not only an important step for Protan and Rockwool, but an inspiring model for the entire industry when it comes to tackling environmental challenges through collaboration and process optimization.
Protan - Futureproofing Waterproofing
*(source for 30% https://www.sciencedirect.com /topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/construction-waste).
