Sustainability at ROCKWOOL

We are committed to reducing the environmental footprint of our operations, and have robust environmental management systems in place in all our manufacturing facilities.

The water we use at the majority of our sites is recycled and evaporates. We have a sustainability goal to reduce the water use intensity. Our production process is designed for zero waste water discharge to the environment.

Utilising proprietary ROCKWOOL technology, we have developed ways to increase the circularity of our factories.

Utilising proprietary ROCKWOOL technology, we have developed ways to increase the circularity of our factories. Firstly, the fact that stone wool is 100 percent recyclable presents us with a significant opportunity to have fully closed loop stone wool systems at all our factories. This means we can recycle waste wool generated during the production process and take back our products from construction and demolition sites. Secondly, we have developed ways to use waste from other industries. Thanks to these processes, we are confident we will fulfil our ambitious 2030 goal of 85 percent reduction in waste to landfill.

Manufacturing any product requires using resources – particularly in our case, that means energy. And that means carbon emissions as well.

We are confident that our products are some of the most powerful solutions to global environmental challenges. But we want our solutions to leave the smallest negative footprint possible, which is why we continuously work to improve the sustainability of our operations.

We have a goal to reduce the CO₂ intensity of our manufacturing facilities. We will drive this amongst others through an increased focus on energy efficiency. We’ve relaxed our standard internal payback timeframe on sustainability-related investments to ensure we give this work the resources it needs.

We also want to show leadership and set the standard in the field of energy-efficient buildings. That is why we have an ambitious goal to improve energy efficiency in the Group’s non-renovated office building stock and to build new offices with ultra-low energy demand.

As a part of our production process, we generate air emissions.

Our production facilities are subject to strict air quality regulations that are in place to protect sensitive groups of the population, animals and the environment. Many of our factories are located close to residential neighbourhoods, schools, businesses, parks and protected greenspaces, and we have successfully operated in these neighbourhoods for decades. This is the case, for example, at Flechtingen in Germany, where we have been located for more than two decades and worked with the town to achieve a clean air resort status.

We have developed a culture that puts the safety of colleagues first, promotes equal opportunities, supports diversity and acts against discrimination.

We strive to create safe and healthy environments and conditions for all employees and people working with us globally. As an industrial company, there is potentially a high level of safety risk for our employees and we take the management of that risk extremely seriously. We have a goal of zero fatalities for people working with and for us, and have an ambition to incrementally reduce the Lost Time Incident (LTI) rate by 10 percent every year.

Our industry is traditionally a male-dominated one – something ROCKWOOL would like to help change.

We have focused on increasing the number of women in different levels of management. In 2018, Group Management set a new 2020 target of 25–35 percent female leaders in executive and middle management positions. One way we maintain the gender composition is ensuring a higher proportion of women among new line managers for middle management positions.

And as a company with manufacturing facilities, we know that our ability to operate depends on the benefits we bring to communities.

We provide taxes and job creation in the communities we are located. In addition, we also focus on benefits to society through the impacts of our products, our responsible supply chain management, our work against corruption and in the other ways we operate a responsible business.

Our Code of Conduct serves as our most important instrument to communicate and provide guidance on the ROCKWOOL Group’s way of doing business with integrity. The Code of Conduct includes Group policies related to anti-corruption, gifts and hospitality, conflict of interest, competition law, data privacy, human rights and labour rights, health and safety, and environment.

ROCKWOOL’s Supplier Code of Conduct (Supplier Code) explains in detail our expectations of all our suppliers and of their suppliers. Accepting the ROCKWOOL Supplier Code or having the supplier’s own equivalent code of conduct approved is a prerequisite for becoming a ROCKWOOL supplier.