Cradle to Cradle Certified Bronze v4.0 for our chipboard

Fantastic news: last month, our entire range of brute and melaminated particleboards achieved the label Cradle to Cradle Certified® Bronze v4.0! A mouthful, but the message is clear: our sustainability efforts are being recognized. A nice reward for the hard work of our employees, suppliers and organization!

What is Cradle to Cradle Certified®?

There are several independent bodies that assess companies' sustainability efforts. Unlike many other labels, Cradle to Cradle Certified® looks at the total picture of products: the certificate focuses on performance in categories such as environmental policy, material health, product circularity, air quality and climate protection, water and land management, and social justice. Logical, because sustainability is an overall story that requires a broad view and deep responsibility on the part of companies.

Pioneer in the industry

Last year, our chip and fiberboards were already awarded Cradle to Cradle Certified® Material Health Bronze v4.0 certification. This category of the label looks at the safety and health of the materials used for a product. Since last month, our particleboards have also met the strict requirements in the other categories, giving us full certification. And the icing on the cake? We are the first in the industry To obtain that certificate in version 4.0!

On to gold

Sustainability is a work in progress. And Cradle to Cradle Certified® recognizes that all too well. That's why the certificate is only for a while, and not for life. Cristian Delaere, Sustainability manager, Unilin Panels: "Once you achieve a label, you get 3 to 6 years to upgrade your certificate to a higher level. For us, this means we have to upgrade our bronze label to silver and eventually gold by 2027 to 2030. Otherwise, we will lose the certificate. That approach encourages us to always do better."

Group Work

The road to certification is a joint effort in which everyone helped pull the cart. External partners have also done their bit, including sharing specific information about the composition of raw materials. This ties in nicely with the whole idea of our sustainability strategy One Home: if we want to integrate sustainability into all layers of our organization, everyone must stand behind that story as one.

You get the label from an independent party, who objectively judges whether we are doing a good job. That is an important signal not only for us, but for the whole sector."

- Cristian Delaere, Sustainability manager, Unilin Panels