Sustainability will define the UK window and door industry in the next decade. But ‘doing’ is a lot harder than discussing, or sprinkling the words sustainability and net zero throughout your marketing to imply that you take sustainability seriously, and you’re further down the journey than you actually are.

‘Doing’ is hard work, and from a business perspective it requires serious investment and a whole company integrated focus on the journey to net zero. That means measuring ourselves against clear, quantitative targets – and no greenwashing.

Consumers are ready to buy sustainable products now. Independent research we commissioned recently, conducted by YouGov, shows that more then two thirds of end users (68%) would choose windows and doors with a higher recycled content over products that don’t contain recycled content, or do at lower recycled content. Being able to lower their carbon footprint had an impact on the purchasing decisions of more than 70% of respondents. And it’s not just about recycled product or reducing carbon in manufacture. High energy prices have put home energy efficient front and centre.

Sustainability is as much about energy efficiency in the home as the pivotal part that collectively the industry can play in lowering UK energy consumption and homeowners bills. This is what we’re doing and how we aim to get there…

Deceuninck is doing this through our pioneering recycling programme and the commitment we’ve made to lower our operational carbon footprint through the Science Based Targets (SBTi) programme, making our approach to sustainability ‘real’ – and evidence based.

We’re also working to make UK homes more energy efficient in a new generation of products, including Elegant which includes the option for enhanced performance via our Linktrusion technology, and Phoenix, our 100% recycled window which we’ve developed for the future.

We aren’t as sustainable as we want to be, but we’re working to get there, and we’re determined to lead and support customers do the same. This includes products we supply, support to help them reduce their environmental impact, and dedicated resource and marketing support so they can tell their sustainability story.

We’re inviting the industry to join us on the sustainability journey, and spell out how in ’A guide to sustainability’ available at www.deceuninck.co.uk.