Two adhesive manufacturers, H.B. Fuller and Covestro, have partnered to deliver an adhesive with a reduced climate impact for the woodworking, composites, textiles, and automotive industries. According to H.B. Fuller, the new solution represents an evolution of previous sustainable product development and will likely extend into other products and areas of production.
The new ingredient used in H.B. Fuller’s adhesive is a bio-attributed raw material created via a mass balance approach and will replace a proportion of previous fossil raw materials. Renewable raw materials are used as feedstock at the very beginning of the value chain and processed together with fossil-based ingredients in the same production units. The characteristic of the renewable feedstock process is then attributed to the end product.
The use of an equivalent amount of the alternative feedstock is guaranteed by Covestro through a third-party verified certification method. By gradually converting its production to alternative raw materials and working with reliable partners, who in turn collaborate with many certified suppliers, Covestro aims to replace fossil materials and make its value chains more sustainable.
H.B. Fuller is able to use the new drop-in solution immediately in its existing manufacturing processes without any technical conversion, and no adjustments are required at its customers’ facilities. Product quality is reportedly in no way inferior to conventional counterparts, but the lower attributed CO2 footprint makes products more sustainable. H.B. Fuller reports that it has made sure that its customers’ own products and processes will not be compromised in any way. The “reformulation” of the reactive hot-melt adhesive has no impact on its performance, nor on the customers’ own manufacturing, and can be treated in exactly the same way as the product it replaces.