Sustainability in the Rockwool Group

Rockwool International A/S
Sustainability in the
ROCKWOOL Group
at a glance
The three pillars of sustainability in the ROCKWOOL Group
Prosperity
People
Planet
By providing durable energy
efficient products and system
solutions, we contribute to
better energy design and
performance for buildings and
processes. In this way, and in
line with our Corporate Social
Responsibility commitments,
we contribute to the prosperity
of our customers, our
communities and society in
general.
People’s health, safety and
quality of life are essential
aspects of what we do. With
care for our employees and
neighbours, we are committed
to making products that provide
durable, safe, reliable and highly
beneficial solutions for our
customers and stakeholders.
The solutions we create allow
our customers to improve the
performance of buildings and
other installations in terms of
comfort, energy savings, fire
safety, acoustic properties,
visual appeal, resource use and
structural robustness. The
dividends of our largest
shareholder, the ROCKWOOL
Foundation, finance research
and social projects to benefit
society.
Our products have positive
environmental benefits. They
are primarily made from rock
- an abundant raw material.
We are dedicated to using
natural and recycled raw
materials. We constantly seek
to reduce resource use and
emissions, including CO2, from
our production process and
supply chain, and from
buildings in general. We
provide solutions that improve
resource efficiency within key
areas for society such as
energy use, CO2 emissions and
recycling.
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Prosperity, people and planet
The ROCKWOOL Group business conduct is
governed by our core values of honesty, responsibility, efficiency, passion and entrepreneurship.
Based on these core values, we focus attention on
sustainability in all respects - a business where
prosperity, people and the planet go hand in hand.
The products and services sold by the ROCKWOOL
Group have a positive impact on the global
problems of climate change and diminishing
reserves of fossil energy. At the same time they
improve the living conditions for millions of people
by giving them thermal comfort, affordable heating
and cooling, reduced fire risk, a lower noise and
vibration level, and fewer chemicals in vegetables
from greenhouses. These basic, positive
contributions to the world are important for the
Group’s employees, for its management and Board
and for the spirit in which we all work.
This brochure presents our sustainability
practices at a glance. If you would like more
details, please go to our corporate website
where you can find a full sustainability
report:
> www.rockwool.com
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About the ROCKWOOL Group
The ROCKWOOL Group is one of the world’s leading
CO2 mitigating companies. It is the second largest
insulation producer in the world, and the No.1
company in stone wool markets.
Fire safe ROCKWOOL insulation is used for buildings,
industrial processes, and for the marine and offshore
sector. The ROCKWOOL Group also provides
ROCKFON acoustic ceilings, decorative ROCKPANEL
cladding boards, GRODAN root zone management
ROCKWOOL stone wool products and system solutions solutions for growing flowers and vegetables,
help to improve the quality of life for millions of people RockDelta vibration and noise insulation for rail tracks,
around the world. They create a more comfortable
and Lapinus engineered reinforcement fibres for
indoor environment both in cold and hot climates. They diverse specialist applications.
ensure lower energy bills, absorb noise, and can
provide vital fire protection. By lowering the amount of The ROCKWOOL Group has factories and sales offices
fuel required, ROCKWOOL insulation also reduces
in Europe, North America and Asia.
many air pollutants.
X
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ROCKWOOL
technical insulation
LAPINUS FIBRES
specialist engineered
materials
ROCKPANEL
facade panels
GRODAN
horticultural substrates
RockDelta
noise and vibration control
ROCKWOOL
building insulation
ROCKFON
acoustic ceilings
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Prosperity
An essential climate solution
Today, fossil fuels account for some 87% of the
world’s energy needs. With only a few countries
controlling most of the natural gas and oil reserves,
and millions of people aspiring for a better standard
of living, the security of energy supply is under
pressure. This is not sustainable. Something needs
to be done.
The ROCKWOOL Group provides one the most
essential solutions for stepping up to this challenge
worldwide - insulation - both for the construction of
new buildings and the renovation of older ones.
Creating green jobs
By making buildings energy efficient,
thousands of green growth jobs can be
created. According to a European study
"How many jobs?", every time EUR
1 million is invested in upgrading the
energy efficiency of the building stock, on
average 19 new jobs will be created.
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“By making the world’s buildings
energy efficient, massive savings
can be made – both in terms of
energy costs and in tonnes of CO2
emissions.”
In modern society, buildings account for
approximately 40% of energy consumption. This
makes buildings a crucial focus area in the efforts
to reduce the use of fossil fuels. By making the
world’s buildings energy efficient, massive savings
can be made – both in terms of energy costs and in
tonnes of CO2 emissions.
In cold climates ROCKWOOL insulation keeps
freezing outdoor temperatures at bay; conversely in
hot climates, it helps keep indoor temperatures
cool.
ROCKWOOL insulation helps societies prosper
because our products reduce dependence on fossil
fuels. They also improve people’s quality of life by
enabling lower energy bills and a better, more
stable, indoor environment.
Responsible business behaviour
We aim to run a transparent business at all
times based on honest and responsible
business practices. Bribery is unacceptable
to us, as is anti-competitive behaviour. The
ROCKWOOL Group has tools in place to
assist employees from different countries
and cultures in defining and making
responsible and honest decisions.
We seek to nourish a corporate culture of
trust and constructive criticism where
employees can support each other in being
responsible, open and transparent in their
conduct. Suppliers to Group Sourcing &
Procurement must subscribe to the Group’s
Code of Conduct. This includes responsible
environmental management and respect for
human rights.
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Contributing to society
The ROCKWOOL Foundation is the largest
shareholder of ROCKWOOL International A/S
holding 23% of the shares. This means that almost
a quarter of the Group’s dividend is used for
benevolent purposes.
The Foundation supports social entrepreneurship
and the principle of self-help. The goal is to achieve
lasting and sustainable improvements for food
security and poverty alleviation, social engagement,
economic development and international peace
building. The main benefactors are in Africa and the
Middle East.
“Almost a quarter of the Group’s
dividend is used for benevolent
purposes.”
Football for peace
The Cross Cultures Project Association
and the ROCKWOOL Foundation are
working together on the ‘Football for
peace’ project in Lebanon. Christian
and Moslem children play football
together, helping contribute to peace
and reconciliation in the country.
‘Fit for Kids’ is another example of a programme
run by the Foundation. It aims to improve the health
of Danish children.
The ROCKWOOL Foundation’s research unit initiates
empirically-based analyses related to current
problems faced by society. The aim is to improve the
knowledge base and the quality of public debate so
that politicians can make informed decisions.
> www.rockwoolfoundation.com
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People
The ROCKWOOL Way
The ROCKWOOL Group is a value based
organisation with a strong heritage and culture.
Our core values of honesty, responsibility,
efficiency, passion and entrepreneurship form a
strong foundation for the way we work together
internally, as well as with all our external
stakeholders. We have ‘Principles of Leadership’ to
guide us. We actively promote trust and
empowerment at all levels and maintain open
candid dialogue with our stakeholders.
It is our utmost desire to contribute positively to the
development of society and to the health and wellbeing of individuals, as stated in the Group’s Social
Charter.
For decades it has been a cornerstone of the
Group’s policy to provide all our employees with
good safe working conditions and the means for
personal and professional development. As a
result, many employees have shown great loyalty
with a record of long-term service.
“It is our utmost desire to
contribute positively to the
development of society and to
the health and well-being of
individuals.”
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Strong commitment
The ROCKWOOL Group generally experiences low
rates of both absenteeism and employee turnover.
Surveys show that employee engagement is very
high, and we are committed to the continuing
development of a supportive working environment
in a constantly changing world.
The ROCKWOOL Group enables careers to prosper
by offering a wide range of job opportunities,
including international projects. We actively
promote job rotation across our various companies,
both functionally and geographically. By creating a
strong sense of common goals and shared culture,
which increasingly involves interaction with
colleagues around the world, we foster personal
and professional growth.
Providing high quality training for the personal and
professional development of both our office and
production staff has been a key part of the
ROCKWOOL Group’s Human Resource practice for
decades.
“The ROCKWOOL Group enables
careers to prosper by offering a
wide range of job opportunities,
including international projects.”
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Part of our training takes place through the
ROCKWOOL University.
The ROCKWOOL Group is currently expanding into
a growing number of countries and embracing a
higher degree of diversity among our employees.
To unify these developments, we are intensifying
leadership training, as well as other areas such as
human rights and social principles.
Human and labour rights
The ROCKWOOL Group supports the
international principles on Human Rights and
standards for labour as defined by the United
Nations.
The Group is against any kind of
discrimination on the grounds of age, gender,
race, religion etc., and actively aims to
support internal diversity.
The ROCKWOOL Group Audit actively
monitors compliance, both of our own
companies and of our suppliers, with Group
policies, including compliance with human
and labour rights.
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Planet
The more insulation,
the less air pollution
ROCKWOOL insulation is a rare industrial product.
It saves far more energy when used in buildings and
industrial processes than is required for its
production and entire life cycle.
A traditional loft insulation product shows a positive
energy balance only five months after installation.
“ROCKWOOL insulation products
made in just one year will save
more than 4000 million tonnes of
CO2 emissions in their lifetime.”
Even more impressive is the environmental balance
of ROCKWOOL products that insulate hot pipes. In
power plants or industrial processes, the energy
payback time can be less than 24 hours.
The entire amount of ROCKWOOL insulation
products made in just one year will save more than
4000 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in their
lifetime. We expect to increase this positive net
carbon footprint to 7900 million tonnes of CO2 saved
by 2020.
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Air quality is vital to people’s health and well-being.
Particularly in cities, millions of people suffer from
the effects of air pollution and there is a dire need
for abatement technologies.
By reducing the need to burn fuel, ROCKWOOL
insulation helps reduce overall air pollution. The
result is less smog, less acid rain and less
eutrophication.
Four benefits of ROCKWOOL insulation
Fire safety
Because it is made of non-combustible rock,
ROCKWOOL stone wool insulation is naturally
fire resistant.
CO2 reduction
One of the simplest ways to help protect the
environment is to insulate buildings and
industrial processes.
Noise abatement
Installing ROCKWOOL products and
ROCKFON acoustic ceiling systems help to
reduce unwanted noise.
Profitable investment
ROCKWOOL insulation saves energy and
reduces energy bills.
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The environmental focus
The ROCKWOOL Group continually strives to make
improvements in the sustainability performance of
our production sites across the world.
Our target is to improve on the energy and CO2
emission efficiency at our factories by 15% within a
maximum of six years.
The platform for sustainable practice at all
ROCKWOOL production sites is threefold - a robust
environmental policy, meeting mandatory standards
and environmental management systems. Further,
many of our production units have certified
management systems like ISO 14001 or OHSAS
18001.
“Our target is to improve on
the energy and CO2 emissions
efficiency at our factories by 15%
within a maximum of six years.”
The ROCKWOOL Group has been engaged in
recycling for more than three decades. Every year
we take back tonnes of stone wool residue from our
customers to use as a raw material in the
production of new insulation. In addition, we recycle
several times more residue materials from other
industries than we deposit ourselves.
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The ROCKWOOL Group is among the leading climate
reporters within the Carbon Disclosure Project.
Being a good neighbour
Being a responsible and openly
communicative neighbour is essential for the
ROCKWOOL Group and our factories’
reputation. We engage in our local
communities and actively seek dialogue.
An example of this practice is the “open day”
events that a number of factories organise.
Here our neighbours can see the production
facilities, ask questions, air their requests,
and learn about our latest plans and their
possible environmental impact.
Every year the ROCKWOOL Group reports its
environmental performance within key areas
including energy, water, waste, emissions to
air and community relations.
The Group aims to be transparent about its
environmental achievements as well as its
challenges and potential for further
improvement.
“Being a responsible and
openly communicative
neighbour is essential for the
ROCKWOOL Group and our
factories’ reputation. ”
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ROCKWOOL®, ROCKFON®, GRODAN®, RockDelta®, LAPINUS FIBRES® and CREATE AND PROTECT®
are registered trademarks of the ROCKWOOL Group.
Photos: : (Cover) Kilden performing arts centre, Norway / ®Hufton+Crow; (3) Family from Stenløse South low-energy
village, Denmark / Steen Brogaard; (5) ROCKWOOL technical insulation / Behrendt & Rausch, ROCKPANEL facade
panels, Belgium, RockDelta noise and vibration control / iStockphoto, LAPINUS FIBRES engineered fibres / Polka
Design Roermond, GRODAN horticultural substrates / Gerard-Jan Vlekke, ROCKWOOL building insulation / Behrendt
& Rausch, ROCKFON acoustic ceilings / Naturvårdsverket in Stockholm, Sweden / Ola Österling; (6) Building insulation,
Germany / Behrendt & Rausch; (7) City by night / Konstantin Sutyagin, Shutterstock.com; (8) ROCKWOOL Foundation
project in Middle East; (9) ROCKWOOL factory; (10) ROCKWOOL employees / ROCKWOOL Croatia; (11) Chinese
employee / ROCKWOOL Asia; (12) ROCKWOOL Asia; (13) Herningsholm College / ROCKFON acoustic ceiling; (14)
ROCKWOOL employee / Niclas Jessen; (15) Family from Stenløse South low-energy village, Denmark / Steen Brogaard;
© ROCKWOOL International A/S 2013. All rights reserved.
Layout and production: KommunikationsKompagniet A/S. Released: June 2013. Print: KLS Grafisk Hus A/S.
Rockwool International A/S
Hovedgaden 584
DK-2640 Hedehusene
Denmark
CVR No. 54879415
T: +45 46 56 03 00
www.rockwool.com
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