Business North Novemer 2024

26 | saveBOARD T T Karen Phelps Kingspan partnership ‘a win-win’ Paul Charteris; “The success of saveBOARD and its partnerships demonstrates that sustainability and profitability can go hand-in-hand.” “The partnership not only recycles material that would otherwise head to landfill, but provides saveBOARD with a steady stream of raw materials and also offers increased visibility for our own brand. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT A partnership between saveBOARD and Kingspan/Thermakraft is set to further drive circular economy in construction towards sustainable practices. “We like to partner with likeminded businesses, and the partnership with Kingspan/ Thermakraft is the perfect example,” explains saveBOARD CEO Paul Charteris. “We will process the off-cuts of Thermakraft’s flexible underlays to make our multi-use construction board, creating a win-win. “The partnership not only recycles material that would otherwise head to landfill, but provides saveBOARD with a steady stream of raw materials and also offers increased visibility for our own brand,” Paul says. “The saveBOARD logo will also be on Thermakraft’s underlay product, which will be great exposure and hopefully lead to more partnerships with other businesses.” Founded with the mission to transform locally collected packaging waste into high-performance, low-carbon building materials, saveBOARD has been at the forefront of the circular economy movement in construction. The company’s innovative process upcycles materials, such as food and beverage cartons, soft plastics, and other composite packaging into sheet products that can replace traditional construction materials like plywood and gypsum board. The Kingspan/Thermakraft partnership is part of a larger growth story for saveBOARD. Since its inception, the company has been steadily expanding its operations and forging strategic alliances. Another notable partnership is with the Packaging Forum, further demonstrating saveBOARD’s commitment to working across industries to reduce waste and promote sustainability. saveBOARD now operates two manufacturing plants – one in Hamilton and another in Western Sydney, Australia. These facilities are capable of processing eight million kilograms of waste annually, diverting it from landfills and giving it new life as construction materials. Paul says the environmental benefits of saveBOARD’s products are significant. Each board saves more than 400 used food and beverage cartons from landfill and 1000 pieces of plastic, and the manufacturing process uses zero water, glues, chemicals, or formaldehyde. There are no VOC emissions or manufacturing waste with all off-cuts or reject boards shredded back to raw materials for reprocessing. saveBOARD also offers end-of-life recovery of used boards for reprocessing and recycling into future saveBOARD products. Paul says the products are an impact-resistant board product with a similar performance to plywood, OSB and particleboard, and similar pricing to comparable product segments. Builders can even save plastering and painting by using the saveBOARD pre-finished exposed internal lining. “Imagine schools built from their kids’ milk cartons or product packaging and communities built from valuable materials extracted from their everyday waste,” says Paul. “That’s what saveBOARD can offer.” Paul hopes that as the construction industry faces increasing pressure to reduce its environmental impact, partnerships like the one between saveBOARD and Kingspan/Thermakraft will become more common. “The success of saveBOARD and its partnerships demonstrates that sustainability and profitability can go hand-in-hand. As more companies recognise the value of circular economy principles, we may be witnessing the early stages of a fundamental shift in how the construction industry operates – one that could have far-reaching implications for our built environment and the planet as a whole. These collaborations not only help companies meet their sustainability goals, but also drive innovation in building materials and practices. We’re always looking for new opportunities to collaborate with businesses that share our vision for a circular economy.” The saveBOARD Te Rapa plant is now converting up to 4000 tonnes of waste per year into construction boards.

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