Freudenberg Politex

The environmental profile of nonwovens for bituminous membranes is certified

After obtaining the EPD label for Ecozero®, the panels for thermal and acoustic insulation, the Freudenberg Politex Group continues with the commitment for a responsible development, which is based on the two pillars of innovation and environmental protection.
Also Texbond® R and Terbond® R, the nonwovens made of recycled polyester and mainly used as reinforcements for bituminous roofing membranes, have now the certified Environmental Product Declarations, based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) carried out in the Italian production sites of Novedrate and Pisticci by the Department of Engineering and Physics of the University of Basilicata.

It is well known that the construction industry is one of the sectors that can contribute more to the saving of natural resources, through improved energy efficiency of buildings and especially using products that can guarantee a reduced environmental impact all over their life cycle.

The EPD Environmental Declarations, certified by an independent organization, allow manufacturers of membranes to know the environmental impacts generated during the production of Freudenberg Politex nonwovens, divided into the different impact categories, and to draw the life cycle of their finished products accordingly. From the bottle to the roof!

Freudenberg Politex, through its integrated upstream processes with the internal production of fiber from PET bottles recycling, has been contributing to limit the consumption of natural resources for more than two decades. But the game is not over: we were pioneers in recycling at that time and we are pioneers in investigating the environmental issues today.

Together with the EPD Declarations, the Climate Declarations are now also available. Taken from the EPDs, the Climate Declarations easily show the Carbon Footprint of a product, showing the emissions of green-house gases expressed as CO₂ equivalents, based on verified results from LCA in accordance with ISO 14025. Even in this case Freudenberg Politex is the first nonwovens manufacturer to make public the results of the LCA done on its production processes.

Through the LCA, which will also soon be carried out also at other sites of the Group, the aim is to measure the environmental impacts in order to publish the results and also to further improve them, by reducing CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere and preserving natural resources where possible, favouring in this way a truly sustainable business development.

Not just a green label, but a clear, transparent and responsible path, to carry out the responsible behaviour demanded by the Management of the Group and applied with great determination by the team of experts at Freudenberg Politex.

Novedrate, February 2010