More than two-thirds of UK homeowners (68%) would choose windows and doors with a higher recycled content over and above products which don’t, or which do so at a lower level, according to analysis released by Deceuninck. Analysis of a YouGov survey commissioned by Deceuninck found that 63% of homeowners said that they would be more likely to purchase home improvement products that they saw as being more sustainable.*
The study also found that 38% would be prepared to pay more for home improvement products that had higher recycled content and reduced impact on the environment. Rob McGlennon, Deceuninck’s managing director, said: “Sustainability is going to top the agenda for the next decade – it has to.
“That growing awareness about climate change and the negative impact we’re having as a global society on the planet, is filtering into each purchasing decision that we’re making as consumers. This includes windows and doors. Products which are seen as being more energy efficient, more recyclable and which have a lower impact in manufacture, are increasingly important in driving the purchasing decisions of end users.”
When asked to rank the importance of factors that would impact their decision to buy windows and doors, ‘security’ topped respondents’ lists, rated as important by 91%. Energy efficiency was the next biggest driver, cited by 89% of those polled. This was followed by appearance and the match/fit to their existing property (86%). Sustainability was cited as important by 67% of those surveyed.
Deceuninck has invested more the €15m in one of the world’s most advanced PVC-U recycling and compounding facilities, giving the business the capability to reprocess up to 45,000 tonnes of post-consumer and post-manufacturing PVC-U per year – the equivalent of preventing three million windows from going to landfill annually. The business’ use of recycled material delivers a reduction in CO2 emissions of 90,000 tonnes compared to virgin feedstocks, as well as a 90% energy saving.
Rob continued: “There are big environmental benefits here, which every fabricator and installer should take notice of. The co-extrusion technologies which we employ to bring product back into use isolate recycled content in areas away from the surface of the product and guarantee finish and performance – it’s a leading-edge process.
“That directly benefits the environment, which for us is reason enough to do it. There are, however, commercial benefits right through the window and door supply chain, for fabricators – and for installers.
“It’s not a question of ‘do homeowners place a value on sustainability?’ – they do. They will choose products which are more sustainable over those that are less so and many of them are also prepared to pay more. We need to wake up and smell the coffee!”
*For the purpose of the questionnaire, sustainability is defined as a how much energy a product or service uses in manufacturing or delivery, or if it includes recycled material or can be recycled.
