The journey that has seen Verosol transform from a trailblazing newcomer that disrupted the solar shading textile space to a global industry leader has been punctuated by the company’s unwavering commitment to sustainable innovation – and the unwillingness to accept the status quo. Verosol’s aspiration to create high performance textiles has now expanded to a razor-sharp focus on net-zero and decarbonisation and contributing to a carbon-positive future. Their cutting-edge manufacturing facility produces so much solar energy it has been registered as an accredited power station. And the same pioneering ethos that saw Verosol disrupt the solar shading material space all these years ago is now inspiring the brand’s efforts to uproot some of the industry’s most widely-accepted certifications, by creating completely new standards. So, what’s changed? And what’s next for the global leader in solar control fabrics?
“Our sustainability contributions have significantly increased in recent years,” explains Anthony Adamo, Operations Director at Verosol Australia. “We joined our owners, the Kvadrat Group, in adopting science-based targets (SBTi’s), which involve escalating levels of reporting and transparency. We’ve moved through Scope 1, 2, and 3 level reporting for SBTi’s. Scope 1 reporting is pretty straightforward and involves basic information, like how much energy you use and what you recycle. But as you move up to Scope 2, and especially Scope 3, things get more complex. Suddenly, you're looking at transport, the carbon footprint of your materials, waste management, even things like water usage and HR policies. It really covers everything your business does.”
Anthony explains that the brand’s steadfast focus on data collection and analysis has been crucial. “We have global portals that track and report all sorts of data every month,” he explains. “We're committed to continuous improvement, so we set a baseline in 2019 and track our progress toward SBTi’s. This data-driven approach keeps everyone in the group accountable and pushes us to do better. We meticulously measure everything from carbon emissions to the environmental impact of company vehicles and even the energy used in production. For example, when we report our electricity usage, we also consider the associated emissions. By tracking such detailed metrics, we can identify inefficiencies, set meaningful targets, and track our progress towards those SBTi’s. This ensures that our sustainability efforts are not just well-intentioned – they’re well-informed, effective and impactful.”
Speaking of impactful initiatives, the company has significantly expanded their solar power production in the last couple of years. “We upgraded from a 99-kilowatt to a 300-kilowatt system,” Anthony describes. “We produce so much solar power; we not only cover our own energy needs but also sell excess energy to the green energy sector.” In fact, Verosol’s NSW manufacturing facility is now officially registered as a power station – a genuinely impressive development.
“As we continue to reduce our energy consumption, we're exploring ways to utilise our excess solar power,” Anthony says. “Electrifying our vehicle fleet, and going fully electric with cars and vans, is most definitely on the agenda, and we already have the infrastructure in place to support electric vehicle charging stations. At the same time, we're evaluating the readiness of Australia's infrastructure to support a full transition to electric vehicles before committing to the significant investment a full switch will require.”
Waste management has been another crucial focus for Anthony and his team. “We now divert well over 95% of our total waste from landfill,” he says. "Our waste-to-energy program is really ramping up. We've installed large compactors and are now sorting our waste more carefully, which helps us better manage it and get more out of our waste-to-energy efforts. We're still doing the usual recycling, like aluminium and cardboard. In addition, we've started a take-back initiative for our blinds, an important part of our Product Stewardship Program. This is becoming part of our standard offering: when we install new blinds for a client, we'll take back their old ones. We can then disassemble and break them down for recycling or to fuel our waste-to-energy program. This means we're sending almost nothing to landfill, which is a huge win.”
Regarding materials, Anthony points out that selecting the right materials from the get-go has always been a fundamental consideration. "Our core product is PVC, and in recent years we've achieved the Best Environmental Practice PVC rating for the PVC-based metallised performance screen fabrics,” he adds that there is only one other fabric in the industry that’s registered with the Vinyl Council of Australia. “This was a difficult and expensive process, but it's incredibly important to us. We want to ensure our products not only perform well but also meet the highest sustainability standards,” he adds. “There's a stigma around PVC, but our products are incredibly durable and offer benefits in terms of building performance, occupant comfort, cost, and emissions reduction.”
That said, Verosol is developing polyester and other non-PVC products that can match PVC's performance. “We're not quite there yet,” Anthony smiles. “We're taking a balanced approach – we're focused on doing the best we can with the materials we have now, while planning for a more sustainable future. So, right now, that means using best-practice PVC and maximising waste diversion from landfills. In the long run, we're aiming for PVC-free and more recyclable or reusable products. There's a whole range of possibilities we can explore. For example, we aim to set benchmarks that exceed industry standards when it comes to recycled content. In Europe, a textile can be called recycled if it contains more than 30% of recycled content. We don’t think that’s good enough and are aiming for a minimum of 50% – or even more.”
All of these efforts are bound to be underpinned by 3rd party certifications, which – in Anthony’s eyes – are the best way to prove that you’re doing what you say you’re doing, especially in the context of increasing scrutiny around greenwashing. And even in this area, once again, Verosol is proving their leadership and pioneering ethos. “We’re planning to do some versions of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) that have never really been done before,” Anthony reveals. “We're collaborating with some agencies to create EPDs that meet incredibly strict standards — standards that don't even exist yet. This has never been done before in our industry, and if we succeed, it will set an entirely new benchmark. It could really change the way we measure sustainability."
This groundbreaking work demonstrates Verosol's dedication to not only meeting but exceeding existing sustainability benchmarks. “It's not enough anymore to just reduce our negative impact; we want to actively create a positive one,” Anthony says, listing circularity and close partnership with Global GreenTag as Verosol’s other crucial focus points. “Our ultimate goal is to decarbonise and reach net-zero emissions, and we're committed to making progress every step of the way."
There is one crucial consideration Anthony sees as fundamental to genuinely advancing the industry’s broader sustainability efforts – bridging the gap between minimum standards and best practice. "One thing we'd really like to see is a higher minimum standard in the industry,” he enthuses. “It's like the Building Code of Australia – it sets a baseline, but we have organisations like Global GreenTag and the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) setting the bar much higher. There's a huge gap between the bare minimum and where we think the industry should be. And we need to close that gap by educating the market and advocating for change.”
Anthony adds that Verosol wants to be the champion for the industry and raise the bar for everyone, but he makes one thing clear. “This isn't just about benefiting Verosol,” he says. “A stronger industry that prioritises sustainability is good for everyone. After all, it's a beautiful industry, and we want to make sure we're doing our part to protect it."
