Sustainable Construction
As early as 1982 Emilgroup became one of the first companies in the industry to install a closed water cycle. After undergoing chemical-physical treatment, all wastewater from the production plants is completely recycled without any industrial water discharged into the environment.
Emilgroup has recycled all of its processing waste since 1989, reusing all unfired reject tiles and ceramic sludge in its body mixes and limiting the generation of waste. It also recovers production waste from other ceramic companies in the district, as per a specific authorisation.
Emilgroup has also recycled fired waste since 2022.
Internal waste is carefully sorted and sent for recovery at authorised companies.
Atmospheric emissions are constantly monitored and well below the limits established by the authorisations thanks to the careful management of the plants.
The water-based inks used for digital decoration reduce odours and do not contain any harmful substances for operators.
LEED and CAM
LEED. Emilgroup promotes the principles of sustainable construction. For this reason it has been a member of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) since 2008 and the Green Building Council Italia (GBC Italia) since 2010, implementing and adopting their rules by manufacturing products in accordance with the principles of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. LEED certification assesses and certifies the environmental, social and economic sustainability of buildings from the design phase through to routine management. All Emilgroup products contribute to obtaining LEED credits in the Materials and resources (MR), Sustainable site (SS) and internal Environmental Quality (EQ) areas.
CAM. Emilgroup makes all of its products in accordance with the CAM (minimum environmental criteria) which define the sustainability characteristics of the construction materials used in public works. These parameters lay down threshold values which must be respected in order to reduce water consumption in the production cycle, increase the recovery of process water and waste connected with production activities, and reduce air and water emissions. Respect for these requirements is verified in the EPD.
EPD and Life Cycle Assessment
Over the years the company has sought to implement projects which reduce the environmental impact of its products and processes. Back in 2012 it implemented an LCA to evaluate environmental effects right throughout the entire life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to processing, the distribution of the product, its installation and maintenance, and through to its removal with recovery or disposal. The results obtained above all from the company’s primary data and not just from general databases were verified and published in the EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) which guarantees transparent communications to consumers. The EPD contributes to the attainment of LEED credits
Quarry Management
At Emilgroup environmental protection begins with selecting suppliers of raw materials, all of which come from authorised quarries with environmental remediation plans in line with international regulations for the protection of habitats. The internal recovery of process materials enables Emilgroup to reduce the extraction of virgin materials and reduce their transportation towards production sites.
Content of recycled material
With the aim of creating a circular economy, Emilgroup reuses production waste from other ceramic companies in the district in the majority of its products and chooses raw materials containing a certain quantity of recycled material. The percentage of recycled material in the products is rewarded with LEED credits.
HPD
Emilgroup develops its products using raw materials of natural origin like clays, feldspars, sands and inorganic pigments. To guarantee the transparency of its information, since 2016 the company has published an HPD (Health Product Declaration), a self-declaration on the chemical composition of the product which enables users to verify the level and type of danger associated with the individual components of construction products. The HPD is recognised by LEED credits.
Greenguard and Greenguard Gold
The healthiness of the environments in which we live and work is of the utmost importance. Emilgroup develops safe products, as certified by the stringent American Greenguard standard, which guarantees respect for very low emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC), and by Greenguard Gold, with more restrictive limits for sensitive environments, like schools. The Greenguard and Greenguard Gold brands contribute to LEED credits.
Recyclable Packaging
Emilgroup has been using fully recyclable packaging materials (paper, cardboard padding, pallet hood plastic and wooden pallets) since 2000.
