Together, they are demonstrating their commitment to sustainability at a joint pavilion entitled "Let’s take care of our atmosphere!" in the Flooring Spaces section of DOMOTEX 2020.

The Uzin Utz Group's environmental conscience didn’t just pop up with Generation Greta; it’s been shaping the company's core values for four generations. "95 percent of our products are now classed as very low-emission and carry the EMICODE EC1PLUS label," board member Philipp Utz told the audience at the company's October 2019 press day on sustainability. "The first environmentally friendly adhesives were introduced by my father, H. Werner Utz, way back in the mid-1980s, and Uzin Utz AG completed the phase-out of solvents in its adhesives in 2011 – an absolutely pioneering achievement in the industry," he added. Uzin Utz is also reinventing its packaging along ecological lines, starting with Cube it simple, an eco-friendly alternative to conventional plastic canisters that consists of a readily stackable outer cardboard carton made of recycled paper and an inner bladder made of recyclable plastic. According to Uzin Utz, Cube it simple uses about 75 percent less polymer than its not-so-green predecessor. Some products will still require plastic canisters and buckets, but here, too, Uzin Utz is taking a new, green approach with a commitment to switch over to 100 percent recycled plastic (PCR). The company has set itself the bold target of increasing the share of recycled material in its overall packaging mix to about 500 metric tons by the end of 2020.

Partnership for sustainability in the building industry

Tarkett's circular-economy objectives are no less ambitious. The floor coverings manufacturer knows the value of having partners like Uzin Utz, because in the building industry, close cross-provider cooperation is the key to closing the loop and achieving maximum sustainability. Tarkett’s sustainability philosophy is built on cradle-to-cradle (C2C) design – the idea that, just as in nature, all products, buildings and even services should be designed to be part of a potentially endless cycle of re-use and recycling. For Tarkett, C2C means ensuring that its products are free of harmful and polluting materials so that at the end of their service life they can be composted or fed into closed technological cycles and put to further, high-value uses.

The name that Uzin Utz and Tarkett have given to their joint pavilion expresses their ambitious goals perfectly: "Let’s take care of the atmosphere!" But how exactly will they go about this? How does it relate to the ATMYSPHERE keynote theme? And what does the future hold? All will be revealed at this groundbreaking showcase in the Flooring Spaces section of Framing Trends at DOMOTEX 2020.