Our choice of Kleiberit did not come by chance. After all, in previous editions of Floor Forum, we briefly highlighted how the company strives to implement sustainability and 'green' thinking to the maximum in all areas. There are the adhesives themselves, of course, but there is so much more besides: using 'clean' energy, transport management, waste treatment, dealing with packaging materials, and so on.
Jens Fandrey, technical director Hot Coating & Surface Technology, and Lena Edinger, project manager wood and construction and technical sales assistant, provide further explanations at this company which, with 725 employees worldwide, achieves an annual production of about 60,000 tonnes of adhesives. In the process, it exports around 85% of its products, offers around 500 active products and relies on a network of 75 sales engineers worldwide, which clarifies that, in the case of Kleiberit, we are dealing with a world leader.

Comprehensive CCF analysis and PCF system
"It seems best to first clarify the company's efforts in general," Jens Fandrey opens. "Important to know, for example, is that we are currently conducting a comprehensive CCF (Corporate Carbon Footprint) analysis to assess all our processes, identify areas for improvement and initiate the necessary changes. Furthermore, we are developing a system to generate Product Carbon Footprints (PCF) to improve targeted collaboration with customers to promote the development of environmentally friendly products. Our company also has dedicated charging points for electric cars, with free charging for employees, for whom we even provide work bikes."
In terms of products, we already proposed a very innovative solution a few editions ago. Back then, we specifically talked about adhesive systems with bio-content and micro-emission (ME) PUR hot melt adhesives. It doesn't stop there, of course, Lena Edinger clarifies how far the company goes.

Bio-based raw materials
"One way we implement sustainable and green thinking is through the use of bio-based raw materials. Here it is good to know that all our adhesive groups are included in this programme and that the amount of bio-based raw materials varies from a minimum of 5% to 60%. Our goal for the near future is to make adhesives with 100% bio-based raw materials, while we currently already supply more than 20 adhesives with bio-content. A good example is the Kleiberit 380.3 PVCAc Dispersion with 60% bio-based raw materials, which can be used for parquet production."

"It doesn't stop there, of course. For example, we are also using recycled raw materials in adhesives, we are further developing ME or micro-emission products at the PUR Hotmelts (see Floor Forum 163), we are looking for a combination of ME + Bio and/or combination of ME + recycling, and we are going to certify the adhesives to the maximum extent. We went into the ME products earlier, but when it comes to using recycled raw materials, one of the things you see is that some of our materials are made from recycled PET bottles. Thereby, we take a cradle-to-cradle approach and apply current technology with recycled materials in adhesives for textile bonding. In fact, developments are already underway to use these recycled materials in other adhesives for furniture, flooring and window profile wrapping. For the combination of ME + BIO we already offer an edgebanding product with an amount of 35% bio-based raw materials and other products will follow. In terms of certification for sustainability and health, we can present certifications such as EMICODE. At present, 13 of our products already have the EMICODE label and 12 of them achieve the highest category EC 1 PLUS. Specifically for parquet installation, I can point to the certification of our Kleiberit 583.5."

Energy management, circularity and critical thinking
As we indicated above, sustainable and ecologically responsible business goes far beyond merely rethinking products down to the smallest detail. At Kleiberit, for instance, we notice a pronounced focus on its own energy management, an emphatic general commitment to moving as far as possible in the direction of a circular and sustainable economy, and an enormously critical approach to its own production.

"In energy management, our goal is to replace 100% of our electricity consumption with renewable sources by 2025. We plan to increase the share of renewable sources by 33% each year until we reach the target of 100% by 2025. As with electricity, we further aim to consume only Green Gas by 2025, albeit with the help of compensation certificates. As a company, we currently installed one solar power plant already, but have two more planned," Jens Fandrey picks up. "Our circular and sustainable thinking is illustrated, among other things, by our preparation for certification according to the ISCC+ standard. We also conduct annual sustainability reporting. Where evaluations in 2023 and 2024 are still informal and purely internal matters, things will be different in 2025, when official sustainability reporting begins."

"As it should be, we are simultaneously taking a close look at our various production methods. One and all, we are prioritising the use of regenerated solvents and have now implemented an in-house recovery system at the plant. Furthermore, we do not throw away Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs), but make them undergo a 'recycling process', thus recovering and reusing them. And of course, our packaging materials, including plastic and cardboard, contain recycled raw materials."

"To conclude, I backtrack briefly to our products. If I make the comparison with the competitors: when they state that they are committed to renewable materials, they are talking about 5%, and that while in the Hot Coating range we are already playing in the 50+% category. If you want to sum up Kleiberit in one sentence, you could say that renewable is the single most important thing we can offer!"