Sustainability
Protecting the environment and constantly improving energy efficiency are key corporate goals and part of our business strategy. Our certified integrated management system based on ISO 14001 underlines our environmental commitment and ensures that environmental responsibility is delivered in all areas, operative functions and levels.
In developing, procuring and manufacturing our products and in providing our services, we pay attention to environmental sustainability and endeavour to reduce our impact on the environment, conserving resources and avoiding/reducing waste and emissions.
We are aware of the statutory requirements and use appropriate controls to ensure that the legal specifications of the environment standards are respected. Ongoing improvements to the company’s processes optimise our ecological performance and reduce our negative impact on the environment.
Waste and by-products are minimised and recycled wherever possible. Our primary raw material aluminium, for example, is sent to be recycled in both coated and uncoated form. The aluminium we use has a minimum recycled content of 75%.
The powder coating used on our profiles is among the most ecologically acceptable and cutting-edge paint systems currently available. The pigments in our powder coatings are free of heavy metals. The coatings are also solvent-free. Furthermore, the procedures used by our suppliers are very economical with resources and the expert recovery of powder results in a higher efficiency factor.
Our internal recycling management ensures that all materials that are no longer in use on site are retrieved and expertly assessed for potential recyclables. We are also increasing the rate at which we repair rather than automatically replace and attempting, wherever possible and judicious, to buy, produce and install locally.
Our fleet of several hundred vehicles is regularly updated and complies with the latest exhaust emission regulations. To further lower CO2 emissions, we use electric vehicles where possible and provide charging stations for visitors and employees at our headquarters.
The decentralised nature of our customer service means we have regional representatives on the ground, reducing travel for call outs.
We avoid and reduce CO2 emissions by carefully calculating and evaluating transport routes in procurement and by coordinating transport plans for the delivery of our products.
In cooperation with the Institut Bauen und Umwelt (IBU), we draw up environmental product declarations (EPDs) for our products, based on the international standard ISO 14025.
Ecologically optimal products and systems, manufactured and operated with minimal environmental impact, are designed to comply with the highest environmental standards throughout their lifecycle. We achieve this by replacing old technologies and investing in new ones. We are committed to providing the means, structures and services necessary in order to manufacture and operate ecologically optimal products and systems as greenly as possible.
Digitalisation of our processes and documentation is increasing the paperless aspects of our business.
Our increasing use of returnable packaging is reducing the consumption of packaging materials.
Our solar modules on the roof of our headquarters supply 10% of on-site electricity requirements, making a valuable contribution to sustainability. Many other small measures, consistently implemented in-house, are also playing their part – including the use of our Gilgen mugs and bottles instead of paper cups at coffee machines or water dispensers.
We are committed to top-level compliance with all relevant legal environmental specifications and to fulfilling customer requirements at the highest level.