Building a Sustainable Future: MAPEI’s Carbon-Neutral Product Family

In a significant stride toward sustainability, MAPEI North America proudly introduces the Zero line of products as part of MAPEI Group’s global sustainable initiative. With a commitment to reducing carbon emissions, MAPEI is now offering a range of products that are fully offset throughout their entire life cycle. This move empowers specifiers, contractors and homeowners to make environmentally conscious choices without compromising on performance.

Sustainable innovation: The Zero line

MAPEI’s Research & Development team, the driving force behind the company’s success, has meticulously examined and optimized every formula in the Zero line. The goal is to find formulations with a reduced environmental impact while maintaining or even enhancing product performance. These environmentally enhanced products contribute to the construction of new buildings and the restoration of old structures, providing long-lasting durability for current and future generations while being mindful of the environment.

The family of carbon-neutral products from MAPEI includes:

• Keraflex Super: Premium, extra smooth, large-and-heavy-tile mortar with polymer.
• Large Tile & Stone Mortar (white and gray): Premium, polymer-enriched, large-and-heavy-tile and thin-set mortar.
• Light Mortar for Tile & Stone: Lightweight, polymer-enriched mortar for floors and walls (available at select retail locations in Canada only).
• Mapecem Quickpatch: High-performance, fast-setting, cementitious material for patching concrete.
• Mapefer 1K [NA]: Corrosion-inhibiting coating for reinforcing steel.
• MAPEI Ultralite Mortar: Premium, lightweight mortar with polymer for large and heavy tile.
• Planitop XS: One-component, fast-setting, extended-working-time, vertical and overhead repair mortar.
• Ultracolor Plus FA: Rapid-setting, “all-in-one” grout replacement for sanded and unsanded grouts.
• Ultraflex LFT (white and gray): Premium, large-and-heavy-tile mortar with polymer.

Lower emissions and full offsetting

The journey toward carbon neutrality begins with optimizing formulas and production processes. MAPEI prioritizes sustainability at every stage, from formulation to packaging. The company has successfully substantially reduced CO₂ emissions. Remaining emissions are fully offset through investments in renewable energy and reforestation projects, aligning with MAPEI’s commitment to environmental stewardship.

MAPEI ensures careful consideration when choosing projects to support through the purchase of carbon credits. These projects go beyond reducing CO₂ emissions and align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations. MAPEI contributes to projects in several nations, including Nicaragua, Uruguay, Brazil and Mexico.

MAPEI’s dedication to health and environmental responsibility is evident in its products. Each product, at a minimum, holds an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). Additionally, products in the Zero line carry the SCS Global Services Indoor Advantage Gold certification, ensuring low VOC emissions and compliance with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Standard Method v1.2-2017.

Brittany Storm, Sustainability Manager for MAPEI Corporation, emphasizes that having carbon-neutral products is just the beginning. “For MAPEI, our carbon-neutral status is achieved by calculating the product’s carbon footprint and reducing it to zero through a combination of efficiency measures in-house, as well as through the acquisition of certified carbon credits in support of renewable energy and forestry protection projects,” she said. “We understand that being carbon-neutral is not enough. This is just the start. We’re looking at our products and in our facilities themselves to reduce our carbon emissions.”

The analysis of a product’s life cycle is an evaluation of its impact on the environment during every stage of its life.

A comprehensive sustainable approach

MAPEI employs standardized Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to measure CO₂ emissions from its products. The analysis encompasses the entire life cycle of a product, from raw material extraction to disposal. This thorough evaluation ensures that every phase, “from cradle to grave,” is accounted for in assessing environmental impact.

MAPEI acknowledges that being carbon-neutral is an ongoing commitment. The company consistently examines products and processes to further reduce environmental impacts. Regular assessments in addition to LCAs include Global Warming Potentials (GWPs) and are used to guide efforts to continuously improve the company’s environmental footprint.

“We know carbon-neutral isn’t enough and that we need to continually examine our products and processes to further reduce our impacts. Close attention is paid to our LCAs, GWPs and how we can further improve our impacts on the environment,” Storm explained.

Luigi Di Geso, President and CEO of MAPEI Corporation, highlights that the carbon-neutral product family is part of a broader sustainable initiative extending beyond mortars and grouts. “MAPEI’s carbon-neutral product family is one of many of our sustainable offerings, which include a variety of health and environmental certifications, and is the latest offering in our long-ranging efforts to be good shepherds of the environment,” Di Geso explained. “These products join our CUBE System and Re-Con line of cement admixtures, which reduce the carbon levels of the concrete mix itself and turn waste concrete into usable material, respectively. Now, by using CO₂ offsets through renewable energy and reforestation projects, the MAPEI family of carbon-neutral products offers our customers a way to make a contribution to the well-being of the environment, the planet and the future, while still providing the strength and durability for which MAPEI is so well known. That is our commitment, and it crosses all of our product lines – not just our commercial and residential mortars and grouts, but also our materials for industry as well.”

MAPEI’s carbon-neutral product family represents a significant step toward a sustainable future. With a comprehensive approach to reducing environmental impact, MAPEI showcases its dedication to innovation, performance and environmental responsibility. The Zero line not only meets the stringent standards of health and environmental certifications but also reflects a commitment to ongoing improvement. As the company continues its journey toward sustainability, MAPEI invites customers to join them in building a better, greener future.

“At MAPEI we like to say that sustainability is built into everything that we do,” Di Geso continued. “These enhanced products with optimized formulas are the result of that ongoing innovative drive and join our larger initiative to reduce our carbon footprint.”