The wienerberger Sustainability Program 2023

Climate change is threatening our survival on this planet. The building sector alone accounts for more than one third of worldwide energy consumption and almost 40% of CO2 emissions. With our innovative products and systems we are providing solutions for decarbonization. In doing so, we are supporting the European Green Deal and preparing the ground for the future.

Decarbonization and adaptation to climate change are important topics for wienerberger. We address these challenges by providing solutions that are fit for the future.

Group-wide commitment: Within wienerberger, we are committed to decarbonization along the entire value chain – from product design to sourcing to production and the end use of our products.

Positive climate balance of buildings: In the future, buildings ought to store more CO2 than they emit over their entire life cycle. With our products and building material solutions, we are actively contributing to the achievement of this target.

Plastic pipe systems that meet the future demands of energy supply: We are working on the development and supply of plastic-based pipeline systems for hydrogen and biogas. Such high-pressure systems are used in transport and industry.

Climate-resilient habitats, energy-efficient products: Global trends, such as climate change, are creating new requirements, for instance in water management. They are acting as drivers in the development of holistic and smart products and solutions.

15 %
less CO2 emissions (scope 1 and 2) by 2023 as compared to 2020 

This target includes reductions of our:

• Scope 1 emissions: direct CO₂ emissions from primary energy sources and from raw materials (of special relevance in ceramic production).
• Scope 2 emission: indirect CO₂ emissions from wienerberger's electricity consumption; emissions from electricity generation. For further information and the definitions of Scope 1 and 2, please refer to the following chapter “Climate Change & Decarbonization”.

• In our sourcing, we promote circularity by increasing the amount of secondary raw materials used. Group-wide supply management facilitates the optimization of transport. Moreover, we have decided to convert fully to green electricity.
• In production and product design, we are minimizing CO₂ emissions through technological innovations. The remaining greenhouse gas emissions are offset by climate protection programs.
• Through ongoing optimization programs, such as the Plant Improvement Program (PIP) and the Production Excellence Program (PEP), as well as the Lean Six Sigma management approach, we are improving our production procedures and optimizing our processes.
• We are advancing the decarbonization of our product portfolio through innovations and novel product designs. Examples include climate-neutral bricks and solar panels integrated into roof surfaces.
• Our products and solutions represent our response to climate change. Examples include our smart pumping stations, rainwater management systems, and the greening of roofs and facades to improve the micro-climate.

• Our decarbonization effort has been particularly successful in the clay block and roof tile segments. In recent years, we outperformed our targets in terms of efficiency enhancement.
• However, genuine decarbonization will take more than mere process optimization. New ways will have to be found and new processes developed.
• wienerberger will spend EUR 60 million per year on decarbonization. These investments comprise research and development, innovative processes and novel products.

The circular economy is a central pillar of wienerberger’s Sustainability Program 2023: It enables us to ensure the long-term availability of raw materials. In the future, all new wienerberger products will be 100% recyclable or re-usable. At the same time, we are continuously increasing the amount of secondary or recycled raw materials used in production.

The circular economy is the only meaningful alternative to the linear economic model. It has the potential to reduce the burden on the environment, ensure a secure supply of raw materials, trigger intensified competition, and promote innovation. If resources are reused or recycled, raw materials are saved and emissions reduced.

Secure raw material supply: For wienerberger, as an industrial company, the secure, long-term supply of raw materials is essential. We aim at securing our raw material reserves for a period of at least 20 years through targeted raw materials management.

Reduced consumption of resources: We save resources by reducing the consumption of raw materials. At the same time, we are continuously increasing the amount of secondary and recycled materials used in our production.

Design for a second life: In product design, attention is focused on reusability and recyclability. The possibility of sorting and separating the materials used is taken into account in the design process.

100 % of our new products are designed so as to be re-usable or recyclable.

• We are focusing on innovation, research, and development. Through R&D projects, we are improving the reusability and recyclability of our products.
• We are continuously optimizing our processes and facilities, which results in sustainable savings of resources and costs.
• Wherever possible, we use secondary raw materials in production. We also use production waste (scrap) from our own production processes.
• We are involved in organizations and working groups promoting a circular economy. For example, our subsidiary Pipelife, a member of TEPPFA (The European Plastic Pipes and Fittings Association), signed the Circular Plastics Alliance.
• When designing new products, we take the properties essential for their reusability and recyclability into account, including post-use separability of the materials used for our products and solutions.

• In the plastic pipe segment, we outperformed our targets, having achieved them two years earlier than planned: Between 2014 and 2020, the amount of internal and external secondary raw materials used was increased from 59 kg to 83 kg per ton of products.
• The use of secondary raw materials as a substitute for primary raw materials, for instance in ceramic production, is not always economically viable. To obtain material of the required quality, construction debris must be sorted and processed.
• The key to products for the circular economy lies in product design. We are therefore stepping up our efforts to develop reusable and recyclable products and solutions.

The protection and preservation of our environment is firmly embedded in wienerberger’s perception of its corporate mission: We respect nature reserves, use resources sparingly, and foster biodiversity at our production sites. Over the past 40 years, the world has seen an unprecedented loss of biodiversity – a development we must counteract.

For wienerberger as a producing company, natural resources are indispensable. Our commitment is to supply top-quality products and, at the same time, protect the environment to the best of our abilities.

Value creation: Half of the global gross domestic product (GDP), i.e. EUR 40 trillion, is dependent on nature. For wienerberger, the preservation of the environment is an essential factor of sustainable business management. Environmental protection plays a crucial role along our entire value chain.

Biodiversity: All over the world, the natural balance has been profoundly upset. The main causes relate to the classic environmental problems, including climate change due to the emission of greenhouse gases, the sealing of surfaces, and nutrient and pollutant input in ecosystems. Over the past 40 years, 60% of the global wildlife population has been lost. A million species are at risk of extinction. By fostering biodiversity at all our sites, we improve land use and provide valuable habitat for flora and fauna in terms of quality and quantity.

Climate change: Biodiversity loss and the climate crisis are two phenomena that are closely connected and reinforce one another. The efforts necessary to contain climate change by 2030 therefore also involve measures such as soil rehabilitation, the restoration of wetlands, or the creation of green oases in cities. 

100 %

Biodiversity program for all our sites until 2023

We have set ourselves a clear goal: By 2023, we will implement a biodiversity action plan based on the wienerberger Biodiversity Program at all wienerberger production and office sites.

• We are doing our utmost to minimize the impacts of raw material extraction and production on the environment. We are committed to nature conservation and the improvement of biodiversity.
• We are recultivating and renaturing depleted clay extraction sites or making them available for subsequent use. Depleted clay pits provide ideal conditions to attract rare plants and animals. We are implementing appropriate measures in cooperation with local partners from agriculture or with local residents.
• We avoid and substitute hazardous waste, especially in raw materials.
• Climate action and biodiversity are taken into account in the design of products and system solutions. 

We are convinced that businesses create a stronger impact by joining their forces together for positive change. In addition to our own commitments, we take part in unified initiatives working for the preservation of nature and have signed Business for Nature’s Call to Action. This initiative calls on governments to adopt ambitious policies to reverse biodiversity loss in this decade and engage to positively influence them on international agreements for nature and climate change. Meetings of the UN Convention on Biodiversity and UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) will be particularly targeted. wienerberger strongly supports this opportunity to become more resilient and thrive within, not beyond nature’s limits. Building collective movements are key for evolving towards a world where nature is preserved.

• Our clay pits provide an environment conducive to biodiversity. The Biodiversity Action Plan is being adapted to the local conditions at our sites. Take the example of Orchard Farm in Kent, in the southeast of England, where wienerberger is converting clay extraction sites step by step into habitat for animals and plants that are at risk of extinction.
• Our product range for roofs and facades includes nesting boxes for birds and bats. Ceramic products can be fitted with insect hotels and nesting options for small mammals.
• In our efforts to promote biodiversity, we are drawing on best-practice examples. These include renaturing projects at depleted clay pits and beehives on the roof of the wienerberger headquarters in Vienna.
• Our objective is to ensure that land use by wienerberger has a positive long-term impact on biodiversity. To this end, we will upgrade existing surfaces and enter into new partnerships for compensatory measures.

wienerberger’s employees are the company’s most important success factor. Thanks to their know-how and their dedication, we are able to improve people’s quality of life. We promote the development of the full potential of our employees and offer them a safe and motivating work environment.

Strategic human resources management is a central lever of our corporate success. The shortage of skilled labor, demographic change, and our demanding safety requirements are essential aspects to be addressed, alongside many other important topics.

Managing our demand for skilled labor: The identification, development and retention of high-potential employees is a central topic for wienerberger. The shortage of skilled labor, a problem faced by many companies, calls for a new approach to talent management.

Human resources development: We support the development of our employees. To this end, we are increasing the amount of training provided for internal career planning. We also care about the satisfaction of our employees.

Safety and health: Health and safety at the workplace is a matter of particular importance to us. The group-wide Safety Initiative and the new Health & Safety Policy underline our commitment.

Diversity: At wienerberger, we want to achieve a high level of diversity. Our recruiting strategy, our human resources development, and our succession planning, as well as our talent management, have been adjusted to our ambitious targets. 

≥ 15 %
women in senior management until 2023

≥ 30 % 
women in staff positions until 2023

10 %
more training hours per employee until 2023

• In new appointments, especially to senior management and executive positions, we give preference to women when male and female candidates are equally qualified. Indicators (such as gender KPIs) are measured by way of internal reporting and summarized in an HR report.
• We are fostering internal talents through competence development and further training programs, such as Ready4Expertise and Ready4Excellence. We will further extend our internal reporting on training.
• Employee surveys and measures taken on the basis of the results obtained ensure the satisfaction of our employees.
• Safety experts and safety officers in all country organizations and plants ensure that all health & safety rules are observed. We have safety systems in place at our production sites and continuously invest in occupational safety. Examples include our Health & Safety Policy, the safety app, safety training programs, awareness-building campaigns, and safety portals.

• The percentage of women in executive positions, especially in top management, has increased significantly. Recruiting women for engineering positions remains our greatest challenge.
• In 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we met our target of providing an average of 16 training hours per employee. All safety and health rules were complied with.
• The frequency of accidents declined by 3% in 2020 compared to the previous year. However, we regret to report an increase in accident severity and one fatal accident. We always thoroughly examine the circumstances of any accident and are stepping up our health & safety measures.

wienerberger’s employees are an important factor of success for the company. And more than ever it is crucial that our people have the possibility to be heard and to voice their opinions. This is our corporate responsibility – to make sure that there’s room for everyone’s view. The opinions thus gathered create our basis for discussing business improvements and increasing employee satisfaction. For this reason, an employee survey is carried out every other year at wienerberger, where we ask all to tell it like it is!

Nearly 12,000 team members from 29 countries of wienerberger participated in the employee survey of spring 2021, which resulted in a participation rate of 80%. This high participation strengthens the significance and importance of the feedback received, which is essential for the analysis of the status quo and the definition of improvement measures. Because finally, this feedback is positively impacting the working environment of all our colleagues and our common success of our organization of tomorrow.

Areas of strength within wienerberger are, for example, employee engagement and enablement, our quality and customer focus, colleagues who feel empowered and respected in the job and value the collaboration within their teams, as well as the very clear and promising direction wienerberger is aiming at.

And as a company, we are glad we got valuable feedback that also gives us the opportunity for improvement in some areas. With an action plan and focus groups we are working on topics like better communication with our blue collar-colleagues in the plants, various internship programs and trainings or the establishment of a winning culture to increase commitment, as well as a learning and development focus for mental health. All to be even better in the coming employee survey, which we will run in 2023.