CISUFLO

  This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101003893.  

Title

CIrcular SUstainable FLOor coverings

Concept

CISUFLO aims to set up a systemic framework for circular and sustainable floor coverings (carpets, resilient floor coverings and laminates) and minimise the sector’s total environmental impact. Several challenges exist within flooring to make the transition to a circular economy: (i) complex value chain, varying from country to country; (ii) link to various sectors (construction & building, plastics, textiles & wood); (iii) products cover various raw materials, plus numerous additives; (iv) product lifetimes range from over 20 years (commercial flooring) to 3-4 days (event carpet).

CISUFLO provides systemic innovations at the technical, information and socio-economic level and performs 6 pilots to demonstrate their feasibility and value (future flooring, sorting, separation, laminate, vinyl and textile flooring recycling). The basis for circularity is realising circular material streams. Therefore, we focus on the main flooring material streams: wood (laminates), PA (carpets) and PVC (resilient).

We aim to realise circularisation via innovations that deliver value along the chain: (i) manufacturing flooring that is easier to remove, re-use, repair & recycle, as a competitive advantage to the manufacturer, and beneficial to several players along the value chain; (ii) integrated product information system enables sorting, but also offers extra functionalities for installation, cleaning and maintenance, and sustainability info for customer at purchasing phase.

To engage a broader range of stakeholders and ensure uptake beyond the project we have established a Transition Support Group (TSG) with over 30 members covering technology providers, retailers and collectors.

Assuming our impact reaches 30% of the market, CISUFLO will help to shift a turnover of ca. 5 billion to the circular economy, which will significantly help to secure ca 12.000 jobs in the sector and create additionally ca 2500 jobs in collection and recycling.

Participants

• Centre Scientifique et Technique de l’Industrie Textile Belge Asbl, Belgium (Coordinator)
• TFI Aachen – Institut für Bodensysteme an der RWTH Aachen e.V., Germany  
• Teknologian Tutkimuskeskus Vtt Oy, Finland
• Institut Technologique FCBA (Forêt Cellulose Bois-construction Ameublement), France
• Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek TNO, Netherlands
• UNILIN, Belgium
• Beaulieu International Group NV, Belgium
• Edel Carpets BV, Netherlands
• Aquafil S.p.A., Italy
• Deceuninck, Belgium
• RINA Consulting S.p.A., Italy
• CWS Hygiene International GmbH, Germany
• Mogu Srl, Italy
• Enco Srl, Italy
• Contract Flooring Association Limited, United Kingdom
• Fédération Européenne de Panneaux à Base de Bois, Belgium
• European Plastics Converters, Belgium
• European Floor Coverings Association, Belgium