Sustainability is at the core of everything we do. Our corporate ecological commitment is summed up by the MISSION: TOGETHER. RESPONSIBLE. As we also apply and comply with this mission in regard to our products, we have created a classification system. The five different categories in our FIVE-DOT-MISSION system indicate the factors with the greatest impact on sustainability. Our intention is to offer our partners guidance with their purchasing decision-making and to provide a transparent system. A system which focusses on the use of materials, the CO2 content, the product life cycle and, of course, recycling, a topic of particular relevance for our products. Our FIVE-DOT-MISSION makes an assessment of a product on the basis of the five categories and awards points per category, the product is then assigned to one of the five coloured DOTs. By this means we achieve a transparent, quick valuation logic which we can also use to gauge product innovation and improvement at 3A Composites.
THE FIVE-DOT CATEGORIES ARE:
Depending on the product, different raw materials are used to manufacture our panels. In this case, we look at the percentage of renewable raw materials used in our products. Our aim is to increase the percentage whenever possible and appropriate.
The industry selects recycled raw materials for use in the manufacture of new products which also fulfil requirements such as fire ratings, processing prerequisites and customer expectations in terms of functionality and appearance. This category is where we gauge the proportion of high quality recycled raw material in our products’ total material input.
This category shows the weight of fossil CO2 embedded in our panels. Differences here are principally due to the raw material type and origin, the density, the composition and the proportion of recycled content.
The plastic sheets and composite panels we produce are used by our customers for a longer period of time. In contrast to products used in the short term, these longer-term alternatives make an active contribution to saving resources. In this category we show our panels’ average service life. Material properties result in disparities, so life cycles range from <1 year to even >30 years.
One of the most important aspects of sustainability is contributing to environmental protection by saving valuable raw materials and avoiding waste. Unlike the second category "recycled content", in this assessment category, we show options for recycling the panels after they have been in use. There are already, for instance, established recycling loops for paper and metals. At some production sites, the material can already be returned, so that material for new panels can be created from it. As a company, we came to the conclusion that thermal recycling does not seem sustainable enough, so it is not included in our FIVE-DOT classification. Instead, we are actively working with partner companies to establish a closed-loop, sustainable and future-oriented recycling economy.
As many as 3 points can be achieved in each of the categories presented, totalling a maximum of 15 points. According to the total number of points achieved (1-15), the FIVE-DOT classification is conducted using the following colour gradation.
Transparency is important to us! We will review the product assessment annually to see in which areas the product can be improved. We have set ourselves the goal of achieving the majority of our sales with products which achieve a rating of ≥ 7 points in the FIVE-DOT classification by 2030.
