From silver to gold
Cradle to Cradle
The vision behind Cradle to Cradle is a world in which manufacturers design their products for a circular economy.
Advancing to Gold level is primarily the result of Troldtekt introducing new paint recipes in production.
After ten years of Cradle to Cradle certification at Silver level, the entire range of Troldtekt cement-bonded wood wool acoustic solutions has now advanced to Gold level. The vision behind Cradle to Cradle is a world in which manufacturers design their products for a circular economy – in other words where the materials can be reintroduced in new cycles.
Advancing to Gold level is primarily the result of Troldtekt introducing new paint recipes in production.
The switch to the new paint type means that Troldtekt is moving up two levels – from Silver to Platinum – within material health, which is one of the five categories of criteria counting towards Cradle to Cradle certification. And as Troldtekt is already at Gold or Platinum level in the other four categories, it triggers overall certification at Gold level. The certification is officially valid from 1 March 2022.
“It’s not just a small corner of our range that is now Cradle to Cradle-certified at Gold level – it is the entire range of Troldtekt cement-bonded wood wool products.”
Tina Snedker Kristensen
“More than a decade ago, we chose to base our business strategy on the Cradle to Cradle principles. Since then, we have optimised our production by switching to renewable energy, by systematically recycling waste and much more. Material health, and specifically the preservatives in the paint, have been the only barrier to achieving Gold certification. Therefore, the new paint recipes represent quite a milestone for us,” says Tina Snedker Kristensen, Head of Sustainability and Communications at Troldtekt A/S.
“It’s not just a small corner of our range that is now Cradle to Cradle-certified at Gold level – it is the entire range of Troldtekt cement-bonded wood wool products in either natural wood or painted in our standard colours white, grey and black. The certification also covers our design series and our brand new carbon-negative acoustic panels based on the cement type FUTURECEM™,” she adds.
In practice, the systematic work with Cradle to Cradle means that Troldtekt possesses in-depth knowledge of all the ingredients in the acoustic panels, right down to 100 parts per million. Analyses have shown that the panels do not contain any substances which are harmful to humans or the environment. Healthy ingredients are a prerequisite for being able to reintroduce products into new biological and technical cycles. And healthy cycles are the backbone of the circular economy.
“After lengthy discussions with our paint suppliers, we’ve now arrived at a new and durable paint recipe which contains no harmful biocides.”
Vibeke Pedersen
The preservatives – biocides – in the paint for the acoustic panels have so far stood in the way of achieving Cradle to Cradle certification at Gold level. However, recipes have now been successfully developed that use newer and more sustainable preservation technology.
“Preservatives are necessary to avoid having to discard large quantities of paint due to spoiling and frequent colour changes in production.” explains Vibeke Pedersen, Head of Engineering Department at Troldtekt A/S.
“Since installing our new paint facility in 2016, we have collected and recycled excess paint – or ‘overspray’ as it is called – from our spray booths, which has cut the amount of paint we waste by 70 per cent.”
“If we removed the preservatives, we would no longer be able to use the overspray due to microbial attacks. And this would result in total waste of approx. 200,000 litres of paint a year.”
“After lengthy discussions with our paint suppliers, we’ve now arrived at a new and durable paint recipe which contains no harmful biocides. However, the new paint is still sufficiently durable for the overspray to be recycled. This has required product development and extensive testing of the recipes in our production. So, a lot of hard work has paved the way for our certification at Gold level,” she says.
