MMFA to facilitate transition to a sustainable flooring sector: CISUFLO project receives EU funding
Brussels, 11 February 2021 – CISUFLO, a joint project of the European Floor Coverings Association (EuFCA) and other participants in the flooring industry, from research institutes, recycling companies and public authorities, was selected to receive funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme, the biggest EU innovation and research funding instrument. CISUFLO stands for CIrcular SUstainable FLOoring and aims to set up a systemic framework for circular floor coverings, covering resilient, laminate and carpets to minimise the environmental impact of the sector. A budget of 7.7 million Euros will be available for the project’s expected duration of 48 months.
The Multilayer Modular Flooring Association (MMFA) will contribute to the project through EuFCA, of which it is a founding member. Matthias Windmöller, president of the MMFA, explained: “Through CISUFLO, the flooring sector supports the European Union’s transition towards a circular economy. By driving innovation to develop circular solutions, the project will contribute to the objectives outlined in the Circular Economy Action Plan and the EU Industrial Strategy. The MMFA and its members are proud to be part of this vital project for our sector”. The project will notably include 6 pilots focusing on manufacturing, sorting, separation and the recycling of laminate, resilient and carpet floor coverings.
Assuming that the project impact reaches 30 % of the market, CISUFLO will help to shift a turnover of approximately 5 billion Euros or 12.000 jobs towards the circular economy sector with a potential to triple these numbers in the longer term. Throughout the project, the share of circular floor coverings within the market has the potential to grow quickly and could reach up to 15 % by 2024, up to 30 % by 2029 and up to 80 % by 2035.
The flooring industry faces several challenges in its transition towards circularity (complex value chain, different legislation and habits from country to country, numerous product types with various raw materials and additives, lifetime varying from a couple of days, for instance for carpets, to up to 20 years). CISUFLO will tackle each of these challenges and try to demonstrate the feasibility of adopting a circular approach in the flooring industry with a holistic concept considering logistics, technical, market and legislative aspects. In other words, it will seek to create the link between novel business models and the industrial transition towards circular manufacturing.
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About MMFA: The Multilayer Modular Flooring Association is an organisation representing the leading producers of flooring in Europe and their suppliers. The association was established in October 2012 in Munich, Germany, by seven European flooring producers. The management of MMFA has moved to Brussels since November 2019.
