Unilin Invited by the European Commission

Last week, Unilin was invited to participate, along with 24 other leading European companies, in the Clean Industrial Stakeholder Dialogue on Circularity. This roundtable was organized by the European Commission and led by three European Commissioners: Stéphane Séjourné, Jessika Roswall and Teresa Ribera.

Division President Veronique Hoflack represented Unilin. She explained our circular business model and highlighted the challenges we, and other players in the sector, are experiencing to become truly circular businesses in Europe.

It is a recognition of our work and vision that we were invited to this top level to help think about the future of the European industry.

In her speech, Veronique emphasised that Unilin fully supports the ambitions of the Circular Economy Act. But to make circular innovation possible on a larger scale, she said three essential conditions are needed:

1. Wood should be reused as much as possible in materials and products, such as furniture panels, laminate flooring or decorative applications. Unfortunately, quality wood is too often burnt directly today, for example in the pellet industry. This is a missed opportunity. Only wood that is no longer recyclable should be used as an energy source.

2. There is a need for a clear and unambiguous definition of “recyclable wood waste”. Products such as chipboard, MDF, HDF and laminate flooring are fully recyclable. Yet in some cases today they are still incorrectly labelled as “non-recyclable”. This stands in the way of reuse and further circular applications.

3. Encourage the use of wood (products) in construction. Today, there are still too few financial or policy incentives that make the use of wood and recycled wood attractive in the construction sector. This hinders the transition to more circular construction.

Thanks to these consultation opportunities, we can help shape the European policy of tomorrow and help think about the future of the European industry.