Raising the bar with 100% recyclable ceiling solutions

March 24, 2020

In a world with limited resources, it is important that the construction industry take some serious steps towards environmental responsibility. When Skanska, together with the architect company Tengbom, planned the Solna United office building the focus was on ensuring well-being and sustainability.

office with acoustic ceiling and plants

Maximum sustainability - minimum waste

Skanska set the ambition level high and wanted to reduce waste to a maximum of 2%. To achieve this Rockfon was selected as the ceiling provider because of the 100% recyclable products and sustainable profile, a perfect match in the project.

Transparency is becoming more and more important throughout the construction process to ensure sustainable practices - from material selection to handling and installation, and finally the recycling of materials. If the construction industry wants to get rid of the stamp as one of the biggest contributors to environmental issues, it will no longer be possible with half-measures. This has been addressed at Rockfon, but certainly also at the construction company Skanska where the environmental aspect is fundamental in procurement and selection of partners, suppliers, and materials. By being the first in Scandinavia to deliver a 100% recyclable solution Rockfon was selected and lived up to the high standards.

Zsofia Böör, Production Engineer and Return Manager at Skanska, confirms: “Of course we want to take our responsibility in regards to sustainability and it is crucial when we do our procurement. Skanska is constantly working to improve and towards reaching the UN sustainable development goal, no. 11 focusing on "Sustainable Cities and Communities", and Rockfon lived up to our high standards to do that”

Unifying interior and exterior sustainable design

It’s quite simple - if people are to thrive and be productive, there must be a balance. For this project, Skanska has submitted the application to get the green certification LEED platinum. But focusing on sustainability does not mean that you compromise on the comfort and details of the indoor space - more the contrary.

Zsofia Böör explains: “We have been working with green buildings for many years, but the sustainability concept also includes social responsibility - people have the right to feel good at their workplace and good acoustics and a good indoor climate is absolutely crucial”

At Rockfon we know that and it is time to make vital decisions that put the environment at the forefront.

Our Swedish Sales Director, Peter Fritzon sees an industry that is waking up: “It is clear in the construction industry that we are waking up and understand that we have to work hard to achieve a sustainable future. For us, it is important to have clean lines and clarity and when we made the decision to recycle the stonewool from our ceiling solutions it would - literally - be 100%. ROCKWOOL / Rockfon and Ragn-Sells have an agreement to fill containers or so-called “big bags” with the waste from our ceiling solutions, transport them to our factory where they are then recycled to new ceiling tiles. So-called closed-loop production. We are totally committed and we are working as hard as we can to reach the UN SDG’s”

Interested in more about Rockfon and sustainability?

Visit our sustainability page below, here you will find all the information you need, for example how we can ensure 100% closed-loop recycling of our products. You can also visit our case story and see the final outcome of the Solna United project.