Sustainable natural stone cladding

always focused on respecting the environment

sustainability

"The company has always based its manufacturing process on the use of waste material from natural stone quarries, giving it a new life in products for the world of affordable luxury. Over the years, the responsibility and duty to be aware of the impact of our manufacturing process has continued to grow. This has represented a launching pad for us to set up an ambitious improvement program, transformed into concrete actions, in order to achieve all the objectives shared with our stakeholders. Ours is an important strategic choice which, we are sure, will lead us to make a difference in the sector."

David O’Loughlin, Chief Executive Officer

QUARELLA SHARES THE IMPORTANCE OF A LINK BETWEEN SUSTAINABILITY AND VALUE CREATION THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A BUSINESS MODEL THAT NOT ONLY ENABLES ITS LONG-TERM LIVELIHOOD, BUT IS ALSO CONSCIOUS AND FAIR ABOUT SOCIAL WELFARE, THUS CREATING A FORWARD-LOOKING GOVERNANCE IN LINE WITH ESG CRITERIA.

This concrete commitment is based on the identification of strategies and interventions aimed at managing the impact on its stakeholders, as well as the communication of the achievement of the various goals through the use of SDGs indicators. Quarella has defined clear objectives and a project that identifies and implements a concrete sustainability policy, through a detailed programme of activities called “Quarella 2020-2025”.

The first actions were taken in 2014, with the achievement of the first product certifications (GreenGuard and NSF). The path has continued with mapping activities within the frame of the international sustainable building ratings, such as LEED and WELL, in a process of growth towards the recognition of the product’s sustainability characteristics in the years 2018-2020. Between 2020-2022, Quarella increased its commitment to sustainability by promoting the transparency of the ingredients used by obtaining a label (Declare Label) to demonstrate its commitment to providing consumers with honest information for their product selection. A product lifecycle analysis and the drafting of two EPDs, specific to each type of production line, were then carried out, enabling a complete assessment of the environmental impacts of products considering all phases: extraction and processing of raw materials, manufacturing, transport, use and final destination. In 2023 the analysis of greenhouse gas emissions caused by the organisation will be carried out (Carbon Footprint), a parameter that, together with others, will allow by 2024 to identify a reference system on which structuring the data collection process with respect to GRI indicators and thus draw up the first Sustainability Report in 2025, demonstrating Quarella’s commitment to social, environmental and governance issues.

CERTIFICATIONS

EPD

Through the LCA study and subsequent preparation of EPDs (Environmental Product Declarations) of all the lines, Quarella decided to make its products travel with a clear description of their characteristics and the impacts they generate on resources and the planet, considering all phases: extraction and processing of raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, use and destination.

Leed

Quarella products can contribute to credits related to LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), an international system for evaluating environmentally sustainable buildings adopted in more than 165 countries that ensures, through third-party certification, that a building is designed and built by adopting strategies to improve performance in areas such as saving energy, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, indoor environmental quality and management resources.

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Greenguard Gold

The mission of the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) is to protect the health and ensure of the high living standards by improving indoor air quality and reducing people's exposure to chemicals and other pollutants. Quarella products are Greenguard Gold certified.

For more information, please check Certificate Greenguard Gold Flair, Tradizionale, Urban Grain and Certificate Greenguard Gold Living.

WELL BUILDING STANDARD

Quarella products can contribute to credits related to the WELL Building Standard™ certification, Performance-based system that considers how to optimize and improve health and well-being human of the places where we live, work, learn, and play through the design, operations, and behaviors within them. It is a reference to focus on the impact of buildings on human health and well-being. The spaces WELL certificates can help create an environment that can improve efficiency, mood and well-being greeting of the occupants.

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NSF

All Quarella products hold NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) certification, an organization independent nonprofit that evaluates and certifies the suitability of products and materials for contact with the food. The NSF mark is globally recognized as a symbol of high safety standards of the products.

For more information, please click here.

Declare

Since 2021, Quarella has been promoting transparency through the Declare label: its goal is to position il settore dei prodotti da costruzione all’interno di un’economia dei materiali trasparente, consentendo di demonstrate commitment and provide consumers with honest information for product selection.

For more information, please check Certificato DECLARE Certificate Flair, Tradizionale, Urban Grain and DECLARE Certificate Living.

QZERO

QUARELLA HAS DEVELOPED AN INNOVATIVE AND UNIQUE TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTION THAT INTEGRATES THE ENGINEERED MARBLE BLOCK PRODUCTION KNOWN AS QZERO. BY APPLYING THE QZERO PROCESS, QUARELLA FURTHER IMPROVES THE PERFORMANCE OF THE FINISHED PRODUCT.

Quarella has developed a specific production process for curing blocks whereby they are subjected to two separate storage phases in areas with different temperatures in order to control heating and cooling reaction curves.

The result of this innovative system is an optimally cured material demonstrating a lower environmental impact than products made using standard block production techniques.

This process reduces the residual content of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in the mass compared to normal production systems and ensures that the product releases extremely limited quantities of volatile substances into the environment, either through the atmosphere or through processing water. This procedure makes the product the most environmentally friendly in its category, also reducing the impact of additional processing by-products and facilitating the disposal of residual material at the end of the cycle.