Cosentino, the Spanish multinational that makes Dekton sintered stone and Silestone quartz at a site covering more than a million square metres in Almería, Spain, is asserting that Dekton is carbon neutral.
Dekton is mostly used for worktops. It is made by sintering (compressing) a mixture of 20 or so materials together in presses that exert a force of 25,000tonnes. The material then goes through 200m long ovens at temperatures of up to 1,200ºC. In 2017 Cosentino told this magazine it was spending €20,000 a day on gas it bought from Algeria. Extra production capacity has been added since.
It had at that time 50 x 25tonne truck loads of quartz (mostly from Turkey, Brazil and Belgium) delivered to its factory each day and 80 truck loads of finished product going out.
The company says it takes its fight against climate change extremely seriously and it is constantly striving to achieve greater efficiency in energy use and consumption of resources. It says it uses renewable electricity and has sustainable mobility policies.
It says Dekton is carbon neutral from extraction of the raw material, during its use, and after use, taking into account direct and indirect emissions throughout its lifecycle.
Cosentino has spent €3million on an emissions reduction plan that it says has resulted in a 7% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. It says Dekton’s carbon neutrality is achieved by offsetting its emissions through investments in greenhouse gas emission reduction projects that are not only 'climate responsible' but also have strong social components, supporting the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (sdgs.un.org/2030agenda)
Antonio Urdiales, Environment Director of Cosentino Group, says: “At Cosentino we are progressing alongside the international momentum in the transition to a low-carbon economy, promoting energy efficiency, emissions reduction and sustainable mobility.
“This approach enhances our character and allows us to improve processes with a vision of the future and, ultimately, combines our performance with strategic goals such as innovation, sustainable production and climate action.
“This achievement, which encompasses the whole life cycle of Dekton, fills us with pride as it recognises the work done over the years towards carbon neutrality, circular economy and the fight against climate change.”
Dekton is promoted for use as exterior and interior wall cladding as well as for worktops and flooring.