From the natural choice to the sustainable fire retardant solution for wooden and other water absorbing materials.
Burnblock® has now raised the bar for sustainability in the industry. The Cradle to Cradle certification broadens the company’s commitment beyond material health, safety and the environment, but also how consume water and energy and our commitment to social justice.
We are born natural, so for us it was equally natural to have the product certified with these rigorous standards. In our Mission Statement we say that we want to contribute to sustainable development around the world. We are already present in 10 European countries, and are now truly going global. Our Cradle to Cradle provides assurance to our suppliers, our customers, and their customers that we are part of a sustainable fire retardant solution.
The difference between Natural and Sustainable
The company teamed up with an Accredited Assessment Body for the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
The Assessment Body had a structured approach that carried us through the process. This is important when you are a growth company where the focus is on generating new solutions and sales. During the process, it became clear to us that being “Natural” is only a part of being Sustainable. Now we also need to look at our suppliers to find out how their energy is produced and where it comes from as well as auditing for human rights and anti-corruption measures.
Buenblock® is already well on the way. It takes very little energy to produce the Fire Retardant. The company intends to ensure that both suppliers and Burnblock® use sustainable / renewable energy. In the production process, water is used almost exclusively for hand-washing and flushing toilets, so there is little that can be changed here.
Environmental Product Declaration
Our product has been enriched with an important certificate – EPD® (Environmental Product Declaration). Our EPD has the “cradle-to-gate” approach and thus covers the Product stage, meaning the environmental impact of raw materials, transport and manufacturing.
More than just Global Compact
Burnblock® already performs well in the area of social justice but need to document this in a better way. Burnblock® and most of its business partners have joined UN Global Compact where demands for leadership in areas such as management of the environment, anti-corruption and human rights are high on the agenda. But whereas Global Compact is based on self-auditing, the Cradle to Cradle certification includes audits by the independent Assessment Body to ensure that the company lives up to these demands.
There are many issues that we and our international suppliers need to cover, and this can of course be challenging. One thing is to say we have no knowledge of any corruption taking place, but do we have procedures in place to be certain that this does not happen? Not really – so how do we do that?
Our value chain
Burnblock® is typically involved very early in the value adding process: before or at the same time as the basic products are manufactured – and impregnated with Burnblock.
As Burnblock’s products primarily are impregnated in wood, the tree has been chosen also to illustrate the value chain, we are part of.
