Furnishing the home means primarily designing emotions: the relationship that is established between an individual and the environment (considered as both the living space and the natural ecosystem) is the element that represents the real difference in the selection of the materials and technology available for decorating everyday living spaces.
There is a wide choice of surfaces and furniture items, and so it is important to be able to identify materials manufactured in a truly responsible manner, according to an approach based on CERTIFIED sustainability. This “empathetic” manufacturing perspective is perfectly expressed by Cosmolite® slabs made by Stone Italiana, a company for whom sustainability is a mission applied to the entire supply chain, in order to meet both design requirements and environmental issues.
Sustainability is certified every year by the principal international independent organizations, making it possible to furnish the home following a green approach, with high standards of quality and reliability.
Stone Italiana holds at least four (in actual fact we could list others as well!) certifications for Cosmolite®, contributing to the creation of designs with low environmental impact: let’s examine them one by one.
100% Recycled Material
Cosmolite® is a “Materia Nuova” (New Material) both in name and in its physical identity. This innovative high-tech slab design has a granular mixture comprised to 100% of pre-consumer non-quartz recycled aggregates, ensuring a unique appearance and perfect workability.
A mesmerizing new material that can reduce environmental impact by contributing to industrial innovation. In fact, while on one hand Cosmolite® enhances, ennobles and inserts the recycled product into a new production process, it also proposes an exclusive “quartz-free” formula, an expression of sustainable architecture.
Available in four different ranges, including the brand new K-Star collection which has recently been launched on the market, Cosmolite® slabs are ideal for all those large surfaces for which a strong environmental sensitivity is required.
Carbon Footprint, familiar but mysterious
Manufacturing sustainably means having an objective awareness of the impact of the production processes involved. We often hear about carbon footprint, but how can its impact actually be measured?
As part of the EPD (Environmental Product Declaration), Stone Italiana has voluntarily conducted a specific study on Cosmolite®, compiling the Carbon Footprint Communication specifically for this product, with a surprising result: almost 45% percent lower emissions than for other products in the sector.
Obtaining a Carbon Footprint Communication means completely mapping the supply chain, from “cradle” to “grave”, in order to quantify the CO2 emissions of 1 m2 of product across its entire life cycle.
This important document therefore allows Stone Italiana to further expand its strategies and areas of intervention aimed at reducing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, while at the same time enabling those who use Cosmolite® in their furnishing projects to back an approach of sustainable architecture.
Eco-Sustainable Projects: EPD & LEED
When discussing environmentally sustainable design, it is essential to mention EPD -Environmental Product Declaration and LEED certification.
The EPD is an important independent international certification compiled by auditors outside the company, analyzing the environmental impact of 1 m2 of product. It is one of the most coveted and internationally-recognized tools of assessment in architecture, and it contributes to LEED credits. In the respective environmental product declaration (EPD), Cosmolite® is certified as compliant with the minimum environmental criteria for green building projects.
LEED V4certification, which is used in over160 countries worldwide, also looks at building construction with a view to sustainability and CO2 reduction.
Stone Italiana has performed a comprehensive LEED mapping of the materials comprised in the product range, identifying the four macro areas in which all the collections, in addition to Cosmolite®, can contribute to obtaining credits for sustainable building projects: integrated processes, materials and resources, interior air quality, and innovation.
We are what we eat: Cosmolite® and the kitchen interior
While LEED V4 assesses a building’s overall sustainability, NSF certification attests to the safety of materials in a specific environment, the kitchen or cafeteria space, guaranteeing the health and safety of materials that come into contact with foods.
As a result of its intrinsic composition, Cosmolite® is naturally bacteriostatic and “food contact proof”, and therefore it is suitable for contact with food and food liquids not only for surfacing backsplashes and kitchen cladding, but also for the kitchen worktop.
This material holds the NSF/ANSI Std.51 FOOD ZONE quality mark, thus guaranteeing its suitability for contact with food, liquids and detergents, and its resistance to accidental impacts, vapours and temperature excursions. Cosmolite®‘s suitability for food contact is also a result of its formulation, which comprises just substances listed in the European EC Regulation No. 1935/2004, according to an EU directive that requires compliance with certain objectives regarding the food suitability of surfaces and the principle of traceability of the materials used.
Stone Italiana is committed to manufacturing and operating in harmony with Nature, while also endeavouring to create products in compliance with the principles of beauty and originality that hallmark Italian enterprise.
Choosing Stone Italiana products means working with a business partner that dedicates attention to the increasingly demanding requirements in terms of sustainability, technical specifications and product certification.
