Solarpark Azewijn
© Wienerberger B.V.

Green electricity for Wienerberger

SOLAR PARK AZEWIJN

Habitat for Humanity
© Habitat for Humanity International

Cooperation with Habitat for Humanity

SOCIAL HOUSING

Dutch field margin with varied types of flowering plants to promote biodiversity. The photo shows blue flowering common chicory, soft yellow flowering dill and purple flowering wild teasel plants.
© Ruud Morijn Photographer/Shutterstock.

On all Wienerberger sites

BIODIVERSITY ACTION PLAN

Sustainability - How we take action

We do not only talk about sustainability, we act on it in all areas - from our employees to flora and fauna, from our production processes to final products, from people in need to our clients. Our sustainability strategy constitutes an integral part of the wienerberger vision. 
 
Our actions taken lead to the achievement of the main targets of wienerberger 

  • 15% less CO2 emissions within 3 years
  • Biodiversity action plan at all sites worldwide
  • 100% reusable and recyclable new products
  • > 30% women in staff positions

View some of our best practices to see how we implement our ambitious targets.
For product-related actions, please check out the product pages.

Solarpark Azewijn
© Wienerberger B.V.
© Wienerberger B.V.
Solar park Azewijn

The new Solarpark Azewijn Montferland in the Netherlands supplies a large part of the energy needs of the adjacent wienerberger factories with 17,273 PV panels. The park was realized on a covered landfill site and supplies the factories via a direct electricity cable to its transformer building.

In normal use, the factories use 84% of the green energy generated, the remaining 16% will be supplied to the grid for approximately 1,500 households. A total of 4,750,000 kWh is generated, which corresponds to more than 2 million kg less CO2 emissions annually.

Stockyard employee scanning product codes
© Uwe Strasser
© Uwe Strasser
Local production & transportation

Clay is a renewable resource, infinitely and locally available. Our products are produced in close proximity to the market, as sustainable and energy-consciously as possible. The local sourcing and production help to keep the transportation distances short.

Broken brick and rubbish next to an old ruined building. Dump. Urban economy.
© Adobe Stock
© Adobe Stock
Urban mining

With urban mining, we can reclaim high-quality materials from demolished buildings. These materials can be provided as secondary raw materials for new products. As of now, we are able to produce a circular facing brick containing 20% of secondary raw materials from demolished bricks. We are working to increase the percentage of recycled material in the near future.

Local projects for people in need

Each year, our wienerberger country organizations support various local construction or renovation projects for people in need. Examples include the construction of a new Caritas residential home in Austria, support of the Maggie Program vzw in Belgium and the rebuilding of destroyed homes after a tornado in the Czech Republic in 2021. 

Kleiwinning in het Munnikenland door Wienerberger
© © 2012 Marcel Köppen fotografie
© © 2012 Marcel Köppen fotografie
Dutch river clay

Clay is the basis for our ceramic materials. Dutch river clay is a self-renewing raw material and therefore infinitely available. Over a large number of years, less clay will be extracted than deposited by the rivers in the floodplains. 

Symbolic image: Tennis court with ball and net, close-up
© Wienerberger GmbH
© Wienerberger GmbH
Re-use of bricks

It may sound surprising, but as soon as our products have done their duty, many of them are turned into filling materials, sand tennis courts, plant substrate, new bricks and more. 

People building a house
© Habitat for Humanity
© Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity

As an internationally active and successful company, we see it as our responsibility to contribute to society. Therefore, we have partnered up with the non-profit organization Habitat for Humanity to support people in need with sustainable, safe and affordable housing. Since 2012, we have not only donated various bricks and roof tiles but also provided expertise and voluntary work to help people in need. 

Biogas
© Klaas Mueller
© Klaas Mueller
Switching to more than 50% biogas in Denmark

It is a huge step to reduce the CO2 footprint: As of 2022, our country organization in Denkmark entered into a 5-year agreement with Denmark's largest biogas producer Nature Energy. Now, biogas accounts for more than half of the energy we use for brick production in Denmark. 

Megachile spp of bee on common fleabane (daisy family) (WBS Rumst)
© Wienerberger AG
© Wienerberger AG
Biodiversity Action Plans

By 2023, a Biodiversity Action Plan will be implemented at all wienerberger sites. What does that mean? With our biodiversity program, we want to foster the diversity of flora and fauna at urban production sites. We make old clay pits available for subsequent use and convert as much of our land as possible into high-quality habitats.

Thoughtful boy looking at stacked miniature bricks

For further information, please refer to the wienerberger sustainability reports.

Click here to read or download them.

© Uwe Strasser
Our products and services

For facade, roof, wall and landscaping - always with our sustainable goals in mind

© Marjolein den Hartog
wienerberger Sustainability Report 2023

Read more about the aims and measures of wienerberger

© Alan Williams
Looking for inspiration?

Browse our various reference projects, get inspired by the latest trends in brick architecture

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