Sustainability

What sustainability means to us

Making simplicity a principle to avoid the superfluous

Designing naturally beautiful for healthy living and durable buildings

Offering perspective in a cycle of customer wishes and climate protection

Acting transparently because fair trade is important to us

Taking a stand out of conviction

offer information to make the building turnaround possible

„

Reason for the world - The scientific evidence that mankind is responsible for climate change is irrefutable. The temperature of the earth’s biosphere has risen perceptibly over the past one hundred years. Extreme weather conditions are an ever more frequent phenomenon. If we fail to change our attitudes and lifestyles, global warming will have a devastating effect on our lives and those of future generations.

– From the preamble of the BDA Manifesto

Think future

Change · Transform

re:think

Change is everywhere. New ideas are needed, but also determination and courage to drive change.

re:use

Recycling is deeply rooted in our ceramic DNA: We consistently close material loops and develop resource-efficient product innovations.

re:duce

"Less is more" has many manifestations. And every millimeter of material counts in minimizing the carbon footprint of buildings.

Do you still have questions? Click here for our frequently asked questions and answers on the subject of sustainability.

Show FAQ

FAQ

What you should know

What is the_{carbon footprint of} a tile?

In short: 16.3 kg_{CO2 equivalent} per square meter calculated over the entire life cycle. This is 50 years for a ceramic tile. Other floor coverings such as carpet, laminate, PVC or even parquet usually have to be replaced or extensively renovated several times over the same period and have a much higher value calculated over 50 years. According to a study by the DNV German Natural Stone Association, carpet pollutes the environment with 223.2 kg of_{CO2 equivalent}, followed by laminate (122.7) and PVC (114.3).

Does sustainability equal environmental protection?

Environmental protection is an essential component of sustainable products. At Agrob Buchtal, the life cycle of a tile looks like this:

80% of Agrob Buchtal's tiles are created from domestic natural raw materials such as clay, feldspar, quartz, kaolin.
The environment is already protected during raw material extraction. Clay pits are recultivated in the landscape. For example, nature conservation zones with a great wealth of species are created.
We recycle water. In our production, 90% of our products are manufactured completely without wastewater. One of our plants even has its own wastewater treatment plant.
Production waste is systematically collected, processed and returned to the production cycle.
We use cardboard boxes made from recycled materials for packaging. As far as logistically possible, we use reusable pallets.

How much energy is in one tile?

For firing, we can currently only use natural gas to heat the kilns to 1,200 degrees in some cases. Every year, our four plants consume around 400 GWh of gas and 55 GWh of electricity. This is roughly equivalent to the energy consumption of a small town with 30,000 inhabitants. The energy consumption of the individual tile depends on the format, tile thickness and weight, so it cannot be expressed in a general figure. At Agrob Buchtal, we operate a kind of energy recycling and feed the waste heat from the kilns back into various production steps.

Are renewable energies used in production?

We use 40% renewable energies in our electricity mix. Next, we will go the photovoltaic route and reduce another 8 to 10% electricity per year.

Are tiles recyclable or even recyclable?

Yes, our products can be recycled by type. With the Drytile tile for dry laying and KeraTwin® for ventilated curtain walls (VHF), we offer systems for deconstruction and reuse.

What does EPD mean?

The abbreviation EPD is derived from the English term "Environmental Product Declaration". In German, EPD is usually translated as Environmental Product Declaration.

Why an EPD?

An EPD contains information verified according to a uniform standard. This enables anyone who wants to construct a building to draw up a comparable life cycle assessment for the entire structure.

Is a product with an EPD a sustainable product?

An EPD does not provide information about the sustainability of a product, but is used for ecological building assessment. In one document, the EPD maps environmentally relevant information of a product. This neutral and objective data provides experts such as architects and planners with information about the impact the product can have on the environment in the various phases of a building's life cycle.

What is the difference between an average EPD and a product-specific EPD?

An average EPD collects data from a variety of companies that reflect a typical cross-section of the industry. The average values collected from this are used in a common data pool. Agrob Buchtal has an EPD from the Bundesverband Keramische Fliese e.V. (German Ceramic Tile Association) for its entire product range. The creation of a product-specific EPD, in which all data must be collected and evaluated on a company-specific basis, is more complex than the average EPD. However, the specific EPD enables a detailed and representative description of the specific product or system, in which special qualities for the life cycle can be described and highlighted, such as data on manufacturing, energy use, supply chains, degradability or particularly low maintenance. Agrob Buchtal is currently in the process of a product-specific EPD for the KeraTwin ceramic facade system. KeraTwin offers special technical solutions for VHF façades (curtain wall and ventilated façades), which in their evaluation go far beyond the normal tile and contribute in a special way to the sustainability of a building.

Think future

Interviews

Die Auswirkungen von Klimawandel und schwindenden Ressourcen sind gravierend und geben eine sich schnell verändernde Welt vor. Wandel findet sich überall: in neuen Wohn- und Lebensformen, Arbeitswelten, Mobilitätslösungen. Neue Ideen sind gefragt, aber auch Entschlossenheit und Mut, um Veränderung voranzutreiben, ohne Unternehmen oder Industrien zu verlieren. In dem geforderten hohen Innovationstempo wollen wir kurz innehalten und Fragen, Denken, Gesprächen Raum geben: Was kann man lassen, besser machen und beitragen, um die gesteckten Klimaziele zu erreichen? Setzen wir die Festplatten in unseren Köpfen also zurück und denken gemeinsam um.

Less for more

Werner Sobek, founder of the Institute for Lightweight Design and Construction (ILEK) on the future of architecture

Breaking with traditional rules

Annabelle von Reutern, Head of Business Development, Concular, on resource-efficient construction

Unthinking desired

Anh-Linh Ngo, architect, author, curator German Pavilion of the Architecture Biennale '23, about his understanding of sustainable building

The four pillars of sustainability

Jasmin Dieterle-Proesel and Lennaart Sirag on the MVRDV DNA.

No management without measurement

Christian Donath, Managing Director of ECO Platform, on the latest EPD developments and what manufacturers should prepare for.

Building transformation with energy. A report from the crisis.

“Scotty, energy!”, Captain Kirk calls on the bridge as a signal to his chief engineer to power up the engines and carry the USS Enterprise at the speed...

Application technology

Proper planning and clean processing

EPD Environmental Product Declaration

The seal for sustainable reason

ISO 50001

Energy Management Certificate

Green Building Fact Sheets

BREEAM, LEED and DGNB

Good cooperation

Our partners

What sustainability means to us

Making simplicity a principle to avoid the superfluous

Designing naturally beautiful for healthy living and durable buildings

Offering perspective in a cycle of customer wishes and climate protection

Acting transparently because fair trade is important to us

Taking a stand out of conviction

offer information to make the building turnaround possible

– From the preamble of the BDA Manifesto

Think future

Change · Transform

re:think

re:use

re:duce

Do you still have questions? Click here for our frequently asked questions and answers on the subject of sustainability.

FAQ

What you should know

What is thecarbon footprint of a tile?

Does sustainability equal environmental protection?

How much energy is in one tile?

Are renewable energies used in production?

Are tiles recyclable or even recyclable?

What does EPD mean?

Why an EPD?

Is a product with an EPD a sustainable product?

What is the difference between an average EPD and a product-specific EPD?

Think future

Interviews

Less for more

Breaking with traditional rules

Unthinking desired

The four pillars of sustainability

No management without measurement

Building transformation with energy. A report from the crisis.

Application technology

Proper planning and clean processing

EPD Environmental Product Declaration

ISO 50001

Green Building Fact Sheets

Good cooperation

Our partners

What is the_{carbon footprint of} a tile?