Thanks to the level of attention that has developed over the years for the environment, companies and sector associations, as well as the private sector, have started to adopt increasingly ethical and sustainable practices and behaviour.

Mapei's commitment to this issue has been such a constant over the years that Sustainability has now joined the three cornerstones of the Company's strategy: Research & Development, Specialisation and Internationalisation.

And the latest in a long list of recognitions of Mapei's commitment to develop and manufacture solutions that respect the environment is the award for Best Performer in 2019/2020 of the circular economy, created by the Italian industrial association Confindustria with the support of 4.Manager and the collaboration of Enel X. Now at its second edition with 210 companies taking part, the aim of the award was to recognise the value of projects presented by the member companies that promote and encourage sustainable practices and behaviour.

Within the framework of this initiative, Mapei came first in the “large manufacturing companies” category with its project for the MAPEI admixtures ACF-L1, ACF-L2 and ACF-L3, which are used to make new bituminous conglomerates containing significant proportions of recycled road chippings (RAP - Recycled Asphalt Pavement).

This innovative Mapei technology has two important functions: it allows the amount of virgin raw materials normally required for the production of new asphalt to be reduced and it also reduces the amount of waste chippings (wear layers, binders and base layers that, once demolished, would normally be treated as waste and sent for landfill if they could not be reused).

Bituminous conglomerates containing Mapei admixtures may be used in the construction of new roads with lower energy consumption, in which the special technology applied means the bituminous mix needs to be heated less than before, and for road surfaces that have asphalt chippings as part of their mix.

Mapei's efforts to promote and encourage an increasingly sustainable construction industry are not limited to the manufacture of products that last longer, have less impact on the environment and that take care of the health of users, or of developing solutions with the capacity to improve the level of comfort in our homes by reducing the dissipation of energy from buildings; it also means promoting a host of other good practices, such as using recycled materials where possible, recovering and recycling waste material, using renewable energy for manufacturing processes and adopting alternative forms of transport to lorries and trucks.