Optima Glass Partitions manufactured with Hydro CIRCAL aluminium
Innovation overview and development
An overview of the sustainable innovation
We have adopted Hydro CIRCAL aluminium in our glass partitions and door systems. The lowest embodied carbon aluminium product currently available on the market, Hydro CIRCAL has significantly reduced the carbon impact of our products. Renowned for containing a minimum of 75% post-consumer scrap this low-carbon aluminium is a testament to the sustainable future of manufacturing.
With an embodied carbon of 2.3kg per 1kg of aluminium, Hydro CIRCAL has the lowest carbon footprint of any aluminium commercially available today. By adopting Hydro CIRCAL into our systems, we are inherently engraining the circular economy into our glass partitioning solutions.
We are continuously striving to be at the forefront of the sustainable and environmental agenda within the partitioning industry and the adoption of Hydro CIRCAL is another way we are leading the Circular Revolution and driving decarbonisation in our industry. At Optima, we are committed to backing up our claims with hard evidence. This is especially important at a time when greenwashing has become commonplace across industries, leading to serious false claims and environmental impacts. As a result, we have developed individual Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for our entire product range which are freely available to download on our website. Since the adoption of Hydro CIRCAL we have also now created Carbon Calculation Reports which set the lower embodied carbon aluminium forecast values and can be found at the end of each EPD.
How the innovation was developed, including effective collaboration, knowledge transfer and partnership along the project team
We have been using recycled aluminium in our products for a while now, but this move to Hydro CIRCAL allows us to increase this amount even further and reinforce our commitment to discovering the most sustainable solutions. Until now we have been using Hydro Restore which has an embodied carbon of 6.12KG per Co2 per KG of aluminium. With an embodied carbon of only 2.3 KG per 1KG of aluminium we have made a massive 60% reduction by moving to Hydro CIRCAL.
We have worked closely with Hydro to ensure that we are manufacturing our products with the highest recycled content of aluminium available and the lowest carbon footprint. This pioneering move to this low-carbon aluminium product has been the result of hard work and collaboration between ourselves, Hydro and our carbon consultants Tunley Environmental. For over two years we pushed to use Hydro CIRCAL in our systems, now as one of the only manufacturers in the UK using this low-carbon aluminium, we are leading the Circular Revolution in the built environment.
Now, after over a year of manufacturing our glass partitions with this unique, low-carbon aluminium product, our relationship with Hydro continues to thrive. We recently came together to share our ground-breaking move to Hydro CIRCAL at the UK Metals Expo. During our panel discussion, we shared our journey to sustainable development with Hydro CIRCAL from the start to where we are today.
At Optima, respect is one of our core values. We respect the environment; we respect our clients, and we respect each other. It is therefore a priority for us to ensure that we are reducing our impact on the environment with all the measures we are taking as a business. When faced with the question from specifiers “why use aluminium instead of timber?” we decided to investigate the claims being made about timber against aluminium and thus started us on our journey to adopting Hydro CIRCAL in our glass partitioning solutions. The move to Hydro CIRCAL means we can guarantee our clients the high-quality glass partitions they expect made with low-carbon aluminium.
As this was such a historic move, we wanted to ensure that our entire workforce was not only aware of the adoption of Hydro CIRCAL in our glass partitions but also how it would affect them in their individual role. We held a company day at our head office which was also broadcast virtually for all our colleagues in the different regions to communicate the move across the business. The day consisted of presentations and workshops from our board members, members of the Hydro UK team and our carbon consultants Tunley Environmental. These were followed by in-depth Q&A sessions which gave our colleagues the opportunity to gain a full understanding of why we were moving to Hydro CIRCAL, how it would affect our business in the future and many more important aspects. All material and information from the company day was then shared with staff for them to digest further and we encouraged the team to come to the Marketing Team or the Board with any concerns or further questions they may have.
The use of new technologies, processes products or techniques or novel uses of existing ones
Aluminium plays a huge part in all our award-winning glazed partition and door systems. The move to Hydro CIRCAL is a historic step on our journey toward sustainable development. As a UK manufacturer, we are constantly considering the future and our role in it and that is why we are focusing more and more on how we produce and consume as a business.
We pride ourselves on the strong relationships we build with our clients. These relationships are developed through a deep understanding of their needs. By listening to our clients, we can meet their changing design requirements and offer them bespoke solutions. The decision to move to Hydro CIRCAL is one that comes in part from listening and reacting to the concerns and aspirations of our clients. We recognise that our clients are looking for more sustainable solutions which can adapt and evolve as they do. As a market leader, we are developing several innovations that will support our clients as well as the environment moving forward, and Hydro CIRCAL is another of these advances.
The sustainability of products and processes have become more key during the specification process over the last couple of years. The fact we have adopted Hydro CIRCAL in our glass partitions, allowing us to significantly reduce the carbon impact of our product and thus the carbon impact of our client’s projects, we have seen significant commercial interest and success because of making this pioneering adoption of the lowest embodied carbon aluminium available.
How does the innovation provide a more environmentally friendly approach for the industry
Made with a minimum of 75% post-consumer recycled content, we can guarantee the majority of the aluminium used in our products has reached its end of life as a previous product and brought back into the supply chain. Recycled aluminium requires only 5% of the energy needed to produce primary aluminium. Therefore, by using recycled content in our systems this significantly reduces the amount of energy required to create our glass partitions and doors.
By introducing Hydro CIRCAL, we are proactively minimising the carbon emissions associated with our products, highlighting just one of the ways we are leading the Circular Revolution. With the addition of our circular initiatives, the Optima Resue and Take Back Services, we are closing the loop of our products, sending back any recyclable aluminium waste from our projects to Hydro, where the materials are sorted, cleaned and reclaimed before re-entering the supply chain as Hydro CIRCAL product.
Driving sustainability and decarbonisation is part of our business strategy and utilising the most sustainable materials and processes is key for us to achieve our sustainability goals. By promoting circular principles within our glass partitions, we are promoting a more sustainable built environment. The decision to move to Hydro CIRCAL in our glass partitioning systems highlights not only our commitment to continual product innovation but also to discovering and developing the most sustainable solutions.
At a time when the call for sustainability resounds globally, we are not just listening, we are acting. The groundbreaking adoption of Hydro CIRCAL in our glass partitioning systems reflects our deep-rooted commitment to utilising circular principles to drive sustainable change within our industry.
How does the innovation provide an improvement in social value
The innovation of using Hydro CIRCAL in our glass partitions provides an improvement in social value through various means. Firstly, by using a minimum of 75% post-consumer recycled content, we can ensure that the majority of the aluminium used in our products has reached its end of life as a previous product and has been brought back into the supply chain. This promotes a circular economy significantly reducing the demand for primary aluminium production and utilises responsibly sourced materials. Additionally, recycled aluminium requires only 5% of the energy needed to produce primary aluminium, reducing the amount of energy required to create this low-carbon product and thus manufacture our glass partitions and doors.
The decision to adopt Hydro CIRCAL aligns with our Sustainable Procurement Policy which outlines our commitment to delivering sustainable outcomes through procurement activities in the UK. We recognise our responsibility to carry out procurement in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, as well as encouraging our supply chain to do the same. As part of our continuing progress towards more sustainable procurement, we operate a supplier Code of Conduct to promote an ethical supply chain. Furthermore, our Environmental Policy promotes the procurement of products and materials from suppliers such as Hydro who can demonstrate aligned environmental responsibility through certification.
The adoption of Hydro CIRCAL represents a commitment to sustainable development within our supply chain. It highlights our focus on designing reusable and circular products and processes. By utilising the most sustainable materials and processes, we are driving sustainability and decarbonization as part of our business strategy. This not only showcases their commitment to continual product innovation but also their dedication to discovering and developing the most sustainable materials and solutions.
Moreover, any recyclable aluminium waste from our projects is sent back to Hydro, where the materials are sorted, cleaned, and reclaimed before re-entering the supply chain as Hydro CIRCAL products. This reduces waste and promotes responsible waste management practices.
Overall, the introduction of Hydro CIRCAL in Optima’s glass partitions provides an improvement in social value by promoting circular principles, reducing energy consumption, and minimising carbon emissions associated with their products.
How does this innovation influence future specifications to improve sustainability
The decision to adopt Hydro CIRCAL, low-carbon aluminium has significantly reduced the embodied carbon of our glass partitions and doors. Fully traceable and certified by independent third parties Hydro CIRCAL offers the highest recycled aluminum content currently achievable. With both these benefits in mind, the innovative move to Hydro CIRCAL in our glass partitions will not only influence future specifications but has already changed the way specifiers are thinking when it comes to designing the built environment. By using Hydro CIRCAL, we are promoting the circular economy, reducing energy consumption, and minimising the environmental impact of our glass partition.
Completely modular and designed with reusability in mind, the very nature of our glass partitions and doors will also have a significant influence on future specifications. The adoption of Hydro CIRCAL combined with the modular and reusable design of our glass partitions offers our clients a truly circular solution and shapes more sustainable and circular specifications.
At Optima, promoting sustainability and decarbonisation is part of our business culture and we believe it is our responsibility as an ethical manufacturer to develop and offer the most sustainable materials and processes to our clients. We are so committed to the enhancement of our and our client’s environmental performance that we made the decision as a business to absorb the increase in price for Hydro CIRCAL. Our clients may think that recycling and reusing aluminium is the cheaper option but this is only true in terms of carbon emissions savings rather than monetary savings. This allows us to provide the high-quality glass partitions our clients expect from Optima, now manufactured with the lowest-embodied carbon aluminium on the market.
As one of our most historic innovations, the ground-breaking move to Hydro CIRCAL has already seen a fantastic response from our clients. With sustainability at the top of most specifiers’ design requirements today, our clients are keen to improve the environmental performance of their projects however they can. The move to Hydro CIRCAL will play a crucial part in our journey to sustainable development by minimising the carbon footprint associated with our products whilst still delivering the high-quality solutions our clients expect from Optima. It is these key benefits of our pioneering move to Hydro CIRCAL which has and will continue to influence future specifications for manufacturers to improve sustainability in the industry.