The Intercell® Sustainability vision

"No matter what, in whatever shape or form the environment will survive. Which means that sustainability is not primarily about the environment but ultimately about ourselves and our survival as mankind"

Focus areas for Intercell® sustainability
1. Promote the Intercell® Product in sustainable building concepts
2. Intercell®-s recyclability
3. Intercell®-s recycled content
4. Process optimization
5. Cool Steel.........."closing the loop"

1. Promote the Intercell® Product in sustainable building concepts
The "low building concept".
The number one unique selling point of Intercell® is the low height of the system in combination with great characteristics on strength and non-flammability. The minimum height of our system is even 40mm! Following this unique combination of characteristics the Intercell® product enables the construction of buildings with a lower total height whilst offering the same amount of effective workspace. Just because you can minimize the height that you require for your office flexibility in power cabling, data cabling and more.
Even though the two towers (on the left) have the same number of floors the second tower is built much lower, following the use of a low profile raised access floor. Lower building with the same effective workspace saves substantial amounts of building materials and building days. During the economic lifecycle of the building it will also deliver important savings on energy use as there is less space in the building to be maintained climate wise.

The "underfloor heating concept".
General:

• Higher comfort for living/working;
• Increased Health and Safety in your living and working environment;
• More designer freedom without radiators;
• Lower energy usage....sustainability and cost efficiency go hand in hand.

Intercell® & Underfloor Heating:

• The underfloor heating system is accessible for repairs and maintenance;
• The structure of your underfloor heating can be adjusted to changes within your building;
• Quicker warming than with the underfloor heating system traditionally installed in the concrete structure.

For more information about Intercell® & Underfloor Heating, please click here

The "revitalize your old building concept".
Another unique sellingpoint of the Intercell® product is the light weight of the system (appr 23 kg/sqm). Originally this product was developed for the historical buildings in Paris. By using Intercell® these buildings could be given a "second lifetime". The light weight of the system in combination with strength and non-flammability characteristics made it possible to upgrade these historical buildings with the flexibility required for an office environment. Rather than demolition of older buildings and replacing them with new office blocks, it can be much more sustainable to revitalize the old building.
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2. Intercell®-s recyclability
Except for the accoustic layer on the pedestals the Intercell® product is made completely out of steel. Used steel is happily received by the steelsuppliers as raw material for new steel production. This means that Intercell® can be fully recycled back into itself.
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3. Intercell®-s recycled content

On a global level all steel that is offered for recycling is being used for the production of new steel. As the global demand for steel is structurally higher than the offer, the steel industry needs to add raw materials in the manufacturing process. The consequence of using more recycled steel in one place will just mean that more raw materials are used in another steel manufacturing location. For this reason the steel industry does not consider "certificates of recycled content" to be of value. As all steel offered for recycling is being used globally it may not even be sustainable to produce steel with a high recycled content as this will cause unnecessary transport of scrap. The LEED certification body recognized this and qualified all steel materials to have a recycled content of 25%.
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4. Process optimization
We continually try to optimize the product, our manufacturing and logistical processes to get our product on the floor in the most sustainable way possible. Even though we still have steps to make we have made important improvements already. We have changed the accoustic layer from a foil under the steelplate to using rubber crumbs from recycled truck tires on top of our pedestals. Intercell® pedestals are manufactured using electricity from renewable sources. All steel waste in the manufacturing process is offered for recycling. Last but not least our Interface transport organisation has a very high focus get our products to you in the most sustainable way possible.
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5. Cool Steel.........."closing the loop"

Even with our focus and commitment to sustainability we recognize that our product leaves an "environmental footprint". WIth "Cool Steel" we offer you the opportunity to offset this footprint. The offset necessary is calculated from our Intercell® Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), which includes the whole process from raw material acquisition to final disposal or recycling of the product. Our offset portfolio is being managed in Europe through a partnership with Climate Care. The offsets created will be used in energy saving projects and renewable energy projects. When you participate in the Cool Steel program you will receive information on the projects that have been funded on your behalf.

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Email for more information regarding Intercell® and how it can help you.

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Download here the Cool Steel brochure pdf

Click here for ClimateCare website

Click here for more information on InterfaceFLOR and sustainability