How sustainability goals are driving product innovation

Aligning with suppliers that are committed to UN SDGs is an opportunity filled with potential for window and door manufacturers and fabricators. Far from just a corporate exercise, in doing so, it offers them the chance to be part of positive global change but also enables them to access some of the most innovative solutions available on the market. Suppliers that are signed up to help achieve UN SDGs are doing things differently and that mindset is breaking new ground in many areas – including the product solutions that they are bringing to the window and door industry.

In the case of hardware suppliers like ERA, this is helping to deliver greater value to window and door manufacturers and their customers, by providing access to more intelligent, secure, and sustainable solutions that make homes safer, better connected, and future-facing.

So, what does this look like in practice?

More on UN SDGs

Striving to address five critical global areas, including people, the planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership, the UN’s 17 SDGs are objectives providing a framework for governments, individuals and businesses to tackle poverty, gender inequality, world health, economic growth, and climate action, amongst others. Established in 2015, the UN SDGs are part of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Fostering cross-industry collaboration

While 70% of construction projects are incorporating sustainability targets according to the Sustainable Futures Report from NBS, the Climate Change Committee outlined in its 2024 Progress in reducing emissions report, that the industry’s emissions reduction rate needs to triple to achieve the government’s 2030 legally-binding greenhouse gas target.

Given this sobering news, it is clear that a collaborative effort is required to achieve a more sustainability-conscious sector.

Alignment with UN SDGs can inspire this more joined-up approach, given that to achieve these goals companies often need to work in partnership with external bodies and organisations, across industries.

When this collaboration takes place, a breadth of knowledge is shared between parties, which can lead to the development of ground-breaking products and services, not only from a sustainable perspective, but more broadly too.

Some of today’s most innovative solutions and technologies are a result of combined expertise and collective resources.

In introducing innovative smart home technology to a wide audience, ERA set out to contribute to two of the UN SDGs - SDG 9 and SDG 11 – with its TouchKey solution.

First, SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – which aims to build resilient infrastructure; promote inclusive, sustainable industrialisation; and foster innovation.

Secondly, SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities – which strives to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, by improving urban living standards and enhancing security.

TouchKey supports SDG 9 and SDG 11 by combining a smarter security door handle, an auto-firing multi-point lock, and an anti-bump security cylinder with one single door security system – an innovation that helps to create more sustainable, secure and resilient homes and communities

 To ensure that TouchKey was able to achieve its intended purpose to the highest standard, ERA worked in conjunction with the British Standards Institution (BSI) to develop an all-new certification – BSI’s Smart Residential Locking Device Standard.

Established in 2022, it combines the BSI Internet of Things (IoT) Kitemark with TS 621 for mechanical security with smart locking.  ERA’s TouchKey was the first product to achieve the standard.

This new certification is a significant advancement, providing a benchmark for safety, performance and cybersecurity, at a time when smart security solutions continue to develop at pace. The standard instils customer confidence in systems, such as TouchKey, not only by ensuring physical resilience but cyber security too. 

Driving revolutionary design

In many ways, companies focusing on sustainability initiatives, like UN SDGs, are inherently challenged to think of new ways to develop products in line with the goals they are setting out to achieve.

These organisations are essentially pushed to consider alternative methods to achieve innovative, yet ethical product design. This, in turn, inspires industry-leading advancements, offering consumers not only revolutionary new products, but ethical and environmentally conscious ones too.

This can be evidenced, for example, in SDG 9 referring to Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; one of the UN SDGs ERA considered when creating TouchKey, which specifically promotes the use of innovation for good.

Advancing material innovation

Similarly, businesses aligned with UN SDGs are expected to come up with innovative solutions that prioritise sustainable sourcing.

In fact, SDG 12 is specifically concerned with Responsible Consumption and Production, which promotes the reduction of waste through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.

A commitment to this specific SDG, for example, can result in the discovery of novel material choices, from packaging to product, driving innovation.

An example of this is ERA’s pledge to achieve 100% sustainable packaging and eliminate waste to landfill by 2026 in alignment with SDG 12, which is inspiring the company to look at new and unique ways of reducing waste.

This not only supports sustainability, but delivers commercial benefits too, as manufacturers working with companies investing in alternative, energy-efficient resources are going to appeal to the modern consumer, who is increasingly concerned with ethics and sustainability.

Working together

Prioritising sustainability is high on ERA’s agenda, which is why the business has been aligning its products, packaging and wider operations with the UN’s SDGs for some time - including its most innovative smart security solution to date, TouchKey.

Manufacturers seeking out partnerships with suppliers that are embracing UN SDGs, such as ERA, are not only demonstrating their commitment to the environment, but they are also unlocking access to industry-first products and the opportunity to provide a smarter, safer, and more sustainable customer experience.