A requirement to submit detailed product lifecycle assessments and sustainability statements for a major tender nine years ago started ASP Access Floors on a sustainability journey that would become a driving force in their business. They were able to provide 300,000m2 of access floors completely carbon neutral for that tender, and they have since expanded that lens of carbon impact across their business - starting with their core products, the Icon Series & the Urban Series.
“There's three types of access floor systems. There's a steel cementitious system, which we provide as our Icon Panel,” says Scott Zlatar, Director of ASP Access Floors. “There's a timber core system, our Origin panel, which uses wood chip, and there's a calcium sulphate system, our Urban Panel, which uses recycled paper, grey water, and gypsum.
“There were a lot of myths floating around the industry, and we were getting a lot of conflicting advice. So we contracted our sustainability consultant, Catalyst, to complete a full assessment of each panel type, covering every component from logistics to manufacture to raw materials, and the steel cementitious Icon Panel came out on top.
ASP Access Floors reviewed (and continues to review) its operations and processes for efficiencies that would make the company not only more sustainable, but more profitable too. “When you're looking at trying to reduce your footprint, it actually brings up a number of financial and operational advantages for the company.” says Angela Zlatar, Marketing and Sustainability Manager. “I think that’s an advantage that a lot of people don't realise when they first start exploring their footprint - they don't realise that it's going to reveal all these other avenues through which they could actually improve as a company.
In addition to making the most sustainable (and sustainably manufactured) products possible, ASP is coming up with new, innovative solutions to improve environmental outcomes. Its Magnes system is a magnetic-backed engineered timber plank that works with the steel of the access floor to create an easy-to-install, easy-to-remove finished timber floor. It means that single planks can be lifted up and placed back down, allowing access to the sub floor - but most importantly - without damaging the other planks. This means the floors can simply be packed up and relaid during refits, significantly extending their lifespan.
Their future focus is two-pronged. “Firstly, we're looking at different product compositions,” says Angela. “We're looking at the various different compositions of our materials and products and finding ways to lower their environmental impact. And secondly, we’re offering fully carbon neutral products to our clients, and working on educating the wider industry so they can do the same.”
Find out more about ASP Access Floors here.
