Product stewardship and customer health
Customer health and safety phases of products are crucial to us: for example, by avoiding harmful ingredients, solvents, and emissions into the interior.
At UZIN UTZ, protecting the health of product users and end consumers is a key focus. This approach is not only reflected in the fulfilment of legal requirements, but is also an expression of our own commitment to develop products that are both environmentally friendly and safe in the application and use phase. This commitment is a central component of our development and quality processes and is implemented consistently and with foresight at all our production sites and across all brands.
In the manufacture of construction chemical products, the use of certain ingredients, which may be subject to labelling requirements, is often unavoidable. Close cooperation between the product development teams and the regulatory specialists in our product safety department enables us to identify potentially problematic ingredients at an early stage and substitute them if necessary. This strategy not only enables us to continuously improve the safety and health of our customers, but also to fulfil our responsibility towards the environment. Furthermore, our efforts are not limited to product development, but also include comprehensive training and information programs for our customers and employees. These measures ensure that everyone involved is fully informed about the safe and effective use of our products.
Focus on healthy living and sustainability
While the absence of labelling or, at best, only minor hazard labelling of building products is an important aspect for installers, it is crucial for the end user that the installation of these products in the living area is completely safe and harmless. For example, volatile (harmful) substances (VOC emissions) must not be emitted from the products into the interior or formed and released by secondary chemical reactions either during or after processing. The development of installation materials that meet these strict requirements has been a basic requirement for our development teams at all locations for many years.
ECO₂ CHOICE LABEL
The cross-brand sustainability label from UZIN UTZ
The brands UZIN, PALLMANN, Arturo and codex have selected products with formulations that represent sustainable solutions for floor installation in a specific area. Via the QR code on the packaging or via the overview page on our website, the user or customer immediately receives all relevant information on the CO2 footprint of the product. In addition, all background information and the CO2 savings can be read.
Only products with more sustainable raw materials, for example, regional products or those produced using biomass balance raw materials are considered. "With the new sustainability label, we want to make it easier to choose construction products that generate less CO2," explains Board Member Julian Utz. "Users can choose for themselves whether they want to give preference to a more sustainable product variant in the range."
Sustainable construction and building certification systems
Sustainable construction means focusing on protecting the environment and resources, as well as the benefits for people and society, during the planning, construction and lifecycle of a building. Economic potential should also be exploited in sustainable construction. Sustainable building certification systems implement the principles of sustainable construction in an overall concept and quantitatively assess the ecological, social and economic quality of buildings. The most common building certification systems include the assessment system of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), the American system LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and the British building certification system BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method).
What all systems have in common is that they require a series of defined ecological, economic and social aspects. The more criteria are met, the higher the overall score achieved by the building and the better the award for the building.
The building products used in particular also make a relevant contribution to the assessment of the building. For installation materials, emissions into the interior generally play a decisive role in building certification. Products with EMICODE EC 1 Plus or the Blue Angel qualify for all common building certification systems.
Product information and safety data sheets
UZIN UTZ provides comprehensive product information such as technical data sheets and safety data sheets to ensure our products are used correctly. Around 8,000 safety data sheets are managed across all brands in up to 20 different languages and kept up to date on our websites and in various product databases. In addition, a range of other documents for our products are made available on our brand websites. In addition to evidence required by regulations, these include emission certificates (e.g. EMICODE EC 1 Plus, Blue Angel, M1, building authority approvals), as well as increasingly important environmental product information such as environmental product declarations and sustainability data sheets (SDS). These documents can be downloaded from our brand homepages for the respective product by all interested parties without prior registration.
Redesign of our sustainability data sheets
In order to make it easier for customers and partners to evaluate products for sustainable construction projects, the provision of sustainability information was improved in the year. The sustainability data sheets (SDS) were completely revised and are now presented in a new, clear design that matches the company's corporate design.
One major improvement is the focus on the key content. For example, the suitability of a product for common building certification systems can now be seen at a glance. Furthermore, this key sustainability information has also been integrated directly into the regular product data sheets (PDS). This step increases transparency and efficiency, as customers can find all relevant data for their project planning in one place.
