5 Top Sustainable Brands at kbb Birmingham 2022

Sustainability is at the heart of kbb Birmingham; like all industries we are looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and the amount of waste our event produces. By implementing new measures, we hope to become a more responsible member of the KBB community.

A number of exhibitors at our 2022 event put eco practices first, discover what sustainable brands and products appeared at our show from 6-9 March.

1.       REHAU

Marking 50 years since the launch of its popular RAUKANTEX polymer edgebanding range, REHAU has unveiled two new additions with sustainability at their heart.

RAUKANTEX eco and RAUKANTEX evo form part of REHAU’s holistic sustainability strategy and impressively demonstrate how sustainability can be applied to furniture edgebands.

Composed of 50 per cent post-industrial recycled material, RAUKANTEX eco offers a green solution, while maintaining high quality levels. The product is available as the RAUKANTEX pure primer edgeband or RAUKANTEX pro invisible joint edgeband and is a straightforward replacement for conventional edgebands, as no change in machine parameters is needed. 

2.       Quooker

The Quooker tap is a sustainable purchase for several reasons. Although it might feel like luxury to have filtered boiling, chilled and sparkling water on tap, a Quooker in the kitchen helps to save water and energy. Their CUBE also helps to reduce the use of disposable plastic bottles. With a kettle, people often boil more water than needed or re-boil it because the water has cooled down, which wastes a huge amount of energy. Whereas a Quooker tap ensures you use the exact amount of water you need, as it comes at the right temperature upon use.

Quooker's patented vaccum tank allows for water to be kept at 110 degrees under pressure. This technology keeps the water hot without needing to use much energy. The water only boils when it exits the tap - so it is not constantly boiling inside the vessel. Their COMBI reservoir has also been awarded Energy Label A. This reservoir not only supplies boiling water, but also hot water for washing up. Quooker will be showcasing all of their sustainably focused products at kbb Birmingham from 6-9 March.

3.       Rotpunkt Küchen

Rotpunkt Küchen are constantly looking at how to optimise old manufacturing processes, how to reduce the amount of fresh wood used in chipboard, how to use production waste and how to offer employees a healthy working environment.

They purposefull produce their materials in batch size 1 at the Getmold site and thus significantly reduce the amount of material waste. Rotpunkt Küchen’s products are certified according to JIS F**** (F4Star). This is the emission class of the Japan Industrial Standard (as an equivalent to the DIN standard), which sets the world's highest requirements for formaldehyde emissions. In practical terms, this means that products that are certified according to F4Star, such as their greenline BioBoard Gen2 chipboard, release around 50% less formaldehyde into the room air than conventional products. 

4.       Multipanel

As one of the leading KBB manufacturers in the country, Multipanel recognise their responsibility to protect the environment and the health and safety of their employees, customers and the wider community.

Their wall panels are a more eco-friendly decorating solution than tiles. Unlike tiles, which are largely imported, Multipanel shower panels in the Linda Barker, Classic and Heritage collections are manufactured in the UK using sustainable Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) C128180 certified materials.

Every step in the supply chain is tracked, providing you with the confidence and assurance that you are purchasing a sustainably sourced product, and one that is subject to stringent quality control. Panels in these collections are also backed by a 30-year guarantee. It’s also good to know that they are 100% recyclable.

5.       Novy

As a world-class leader in cooker hoods vented induction hobs, Novy has put sustainability first with its Pure 3.0 recirculation technology. Manufacturing appliances that can be used with an exhaust to an outside vent or in recirculation mode, Novy has also developed a range of technologically advanced and ultra-quiet products that are purely recirculation models.

Novy’s Pure 3.0 recirculation technology works by capturing and then purifying cooking fumes within the appliance itself and then reintroducing pure air into the kitchen. This is a much more energy and cost-efficient process than the electricity required to force warm air and cooking fumes through metres of ducting out to an external exhaust. The vapours are extracted due to a high-performance silent motor straight towards a multilayer grease filter and then through a natural carbon monoblock filter, exclusively manufactured by Novy. 

kbb Birmingham’s Commitment to Sustainability

In 2022, kbb Birmingham have introduced several new measures to ensure the event is running more sustainably. With paperless tickets for visitors, which are scanned upon entry, and digital a show guide, the amount of printed collateral has been significantly reduced. Meanwhile, our ‘Better Stands’ scheme pushes our exhibitors to avoid disposable, single-use stands and opt for higher-quality reusable structures made with sustainable materials. 

The Used Kitchen Company will be back in 2022 as the show’s sustainability partner, encouraging exhibitors to think about their environmental and social impact through kitchen recycling by helping exhibitors to sell off their displays and find new homes for displays on show.