E116 – Eco-Friendly Hard Materials from Cosentino – Sustainable Homes and Living Season E6

As part of the Sustainable Homes and Living Season, Frances welcomes Itay Shimony from Cosentino to chat through the environmental credentials of their hard surface materials produced in Spain. In particular, they chat about the Circular economy Cosentino has created in the company, and the production of minimal silica in their reconstituted stone products, along with carbon neutral Dekton. 

As a family business, Cosentino are also strong contributors to their local community in Spain, creating a sense of responsibility to the environment, and their people. 

Guest: Itay Shimony. Vice President Oceania, Cosentino  

I have been working with Cosentino for years now, with their products Dekton, Silestone and Sensa which we specify predominately for benchtops in all areas of the home. 

More recently there has been a lot of controversy around engineered stone (also known as reconstituted stone), the silica content of the material and the impact this has on the health for the stonemasons working with the stone.  

It was music to my ears when Cosentino announced earlier this year that they were reducing the amount of silica in their engineered stone (Silestone) and reducing the silica content far below the industry requirement.  

Then with the launch of Carbon Neutral Dekton earlier this year (along with some amazing new colours) – the sustainable credentials for Cosentino are certainly something to take note of. 

Importance of sustainability to Cosentino 

As a company, and as a family, Cosentino believes that “Any change we want to make, any difference needs to start with us”. They believe that their sustainable actions are not just towards the environment, but towards their community.  

2008 – started working based on ISO 14001 

2009 – published official CSR 

2011 – launched Silestone eco product – Hybriq 

2016 – Environmental Product Declaration for Dekton 

2018 – First time to join COMA  

Cosentino circular economy’s six main pillars: 

• Provisioning – starts with the Procurement Department 

• • approach to sustainable purchasing of raw materials and services 

• Designing – using recycled glass and materials, recycled water, and 100% renewable energy 

• • Redesign material (e.g. artificial quartz) that does not contain crystalline silica  

• Producing – the company invests in health and safety on the production lines. 

• • Silestone – through continuous research, the company considers this as a mineral surface 
  • Dekton – compressed minerals 

• Distribution – as a company committed in their carbon footprint, Cosentino built a port closest to their factory in Spain to minimise transport,  as well as ensuring that all of production facilities are in the same place so there’s no need to move raw materials.  By centralizing everything, it’s more cost efficient and minimises transportation and handling. 

• • Part of the agreement with carriers for transportation is to use biofuel as much as possible. By receiving accurate data from these carriers, Cosentino makes adjustments on other pillars to minimise and compensate their carbon footprint. 

• Recycling – process that comes from the factory to the raw materials 

• • Re-use raw materials made in Silestone Hybriq. 

• • In Europe, stones from renovations are brought back to the Cosentino plant and recycled 
  • An option for recycling the stones in Australia is to crush and use it as gravel 
  • Use of 100% recycled water in the manufacturing process. 
  • Use of 100% renewable energy to power Head office in Spain. 

What sets Cosentino apart from their competitors 

In the quartz industry, Cosentino is the only all-European country in the market today. All other competitors are moving production to the far east or Asia, 

Leaders in researching into alternative components in the production of their hard materials to minimise use of dangerous materials (eg, silica) and demonstrate to the industry what is possible. 

What Cosentino is doing to become a world leading sustainable company 

The 3 main levels: 

• Environmental actions 
• Social actions – equality in the company 
• Working with Government at different levels  

Useful Links: 

• Cosentino website: https://www.cosentino.com/  
• Cosentino and Sustainability: https://www.cosentino.com/journey-to-sustainability-en/index.html  
• Cosentino Sustainability and the Circular Economy – https://www.cosentino.com/news/sustainability-and-the-circular-economy-cosentinos-environmental-commitment/  
• Difference between reconstituted stone, natural stone (by Cosentino) and Dekton – https://www.whitepebbleinteriors.com.au/benchtops-part-1/  
• How to Choose the Right Benchtop – https://www.whitepebbleinteriors.com.au/how-to-choose-the-right-benchtop/

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