Sika uses raw materials such as polymers, additives, resins, colors, plastic articles, sand, cement, and packaging materials corresponding to a total volume of 8.8 million tons, excluding trading goods and water (previous year: 7 million tons).
The company uses only a small amount of renewable raw materials from plant-based sources, such as castor oil or alcohols. This is mainly due to unavailability, economic viability, or ineffective application of formulation as compared to non-renewable feedstock. However, the company is constantly exploring ways in its R&D of using non-petroleum-derived materials for Sika products.
Input materials are converted to value-added products from which customer value and ultimately commercial value are derived. Sika strives to convert as much of the input materials as possible into commercial products. However, waste results from cleaning, trials, colour changes, repair and maintenance, and other non-continuous operations as reported in the section on waste.
Sika strives to use input materials efficiently. Research and development are governed by the principles of sustainable development and enhanced customer utility, such as the demand for resource-saving construction methods, energy-efficient construction materials, or lighter and safer vehicles. Sika’s goal is to assess all new product developments in respect of their sustainability characteristics, using a comprehensive internally standardised methodology. As a result, these projects are geared towards a higher inherent sustainability profile in raw material consumption, production, marketing, use phase, and disposal / recycling. Through its sustainable solutions, Sika strives to reduce the resource consumption in downstream industries, such as the construction, automotive, or cement industry, where Sika solutions enable customers to increase the use of recycled input materials.