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CLIMATE-FRIENDLY AND SUSTAINABLE ARTIFICIAL TURF CHALLENGES, GOALS, APPROACHES AND SOLUTIONS Author
Rolf Haas, Deputy Chairperson of IAKS Germany
The climate neutrality of an artificial turf depends essentially on the raw material. Nowadays, the standard material for artificial turf fibre is polyethylene (PE) derived from petroleum. While the associated product costs are relatively low, the disadvantage is that petroleum is a fossil resource and the CO2 emissions are high. At first glance, obtaining the PE from renewable raw materials such as sugar cane or palm oil would appear to be much climate-friendlier. Unfortunately, however, rainforests are felled in Brazil and Asia, for example, in order to obtain more and more arable land for these renewable raw materials. This white paper provides an overview of the current international climate protection targets and presents possible solutions for a climate-friendly and sustainable artificial turf. Sustainability Development Goals of the Agenda 2030 In 2015, in its Agenda 2030, the United Nations agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).1 The SDGs cover all areas of sustainable development from marine and climate protection to decent work and the rule of law. Of particular interest to the artificial turf industry are goals 12 to 15: Sustainable Consumption, Sustainable Production, Sustainable Procurement, Combating Climate Change, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Protecting Oceans, and Protecting Terrestrial Ecosystems. 46
European climate law In December 2020, the EU heads of state and government agreed on a new EU climate target. The EU‘s internal greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced by at least 55% by 2030 over 1990. Greenhouse gas neutrality is to be achieved by 2050. To implement this, the European Commission will present a series of proposals to adjust existing EU climate and energy legislation by June 2021. 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals
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