This Carbon-Neutral Collection by Silestone Could Revolutionize Countertops

The manufacturer’s new mineral surface collection, Sunlit Days, uses innovative technology to create a material that’s healthier than pure quartz.

By: Kelly Beamon

SUNLIT DAYS

Silestone describes its latest product as “mineral surfacing,” a unique category owing to its new proprietary chemistry. Its innovative manufacturing technology creates a material that’s healthier to cut and fabricate than pure quartz. Here, Metropolis gets granular about the collection’s attributes.

 01 REDUCED SILICA 

An improved formula called HybriQ+ technology—a mix of minerals including quartz and 20 percent recycled materials—is said to reduce Sunlit Days’ level of silica (harmful in dust form to fabricators) to 50 percent or less, compared with industry averages of 80 to 100 percent.

02 WATER-CONSERVING 

Parent company Cosentino operates its plants under a “zero discharge” policy, meaning water used for production is constantly reused to the tune of 99 percent.

03 ENERGY-EFFICIENT 

Power for production is entirely electric and from 100 percent renewable sources.

04 CARBON NEUTRAL 

The manufacturer offsets embodied carbon by investing in multiple greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in the United States and Chile, one of which is certified by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

05 GREENGUARD GOLD 

This certifies that Silestone’s surfaces exceed indoor air quality standards for chemical emissions, achieving a level low enough for use around children.

06 ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT DECLARATION

Verified by the International Code Council Evaluation Service Inc. (ICC-ES), the building product industry’s evaluation service, this declaration proves Silestone’s environmental impact has been assessed throughout its life—from production to end stage.

07 MINDFUL MATERIALS 

By participating in the mindful MATERIALS certification library, where registrants can view a third-party declaration for products, the company is practicing a high level of transparency about its ingredients.