ROCKWOOL Group Sustainability Report 2016

Welcome from our CEO Jens Birgersson on sustainability and modern life

How is sustainability linked to ROCKWOOL’s purpose?
Sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future. This is also true of the ROCKWOOL Purpose. We take a massively abundant natural resource and transform it into products that match the needs of our customers today and make the world a better place for future generations. We want our products to be at the heart of modern life by saving energy and water and reducing CO2 emissions. All issues that are high on the global agenda today. In addition, they protect people and buildings from the spread of fire; reduce waste in a building’s lifecycle; improve acoustic comfort and aesthetics; and raise the efficiency in fresh food production – in short, tackling resilience to the physical, social and economic challenges of our century.

What is your sustainability strategy?
Our sustainability and commercial strategy are one in the same. We are in the privileged position of creating a more positive impact on the planet by selling more of our product. That said, we need to continue working hard to produce even better products and leaving a smaller footprint in the process. This means that it is not sufficient to think sustainability into our products and our research and development, we also need to work on our operations and internal processes. Leveraging these efforts will not only strengthen our brand, it will support our efforts to attract and retain talented colleagues.

Why have you committed to meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals?
The SDG framework highlights the needs of billions of people. By aligning our work with the global need for development we can focus our attention on the business opportunities this represents, while acting responsibly. In fact, we have chosen to pursue and prioritise the 10 SDGs that are most strategically aligned with our business competencies and where we can have the greatest impact.

How are you progressing against your six sustainability 2030 goals?
We formally launched this effort in August 2016, so most of our performance last year reflects actions initiated before then. Nevertheless, we reduced our CO 2 emissions and the amount of production waste sent to landfill; and had zero fatalities in 2016. Less positively, we experienced a negative trend in terms of water efficiency, which we’ll be working on to improve.

An estimated one million people move to urban environments each week. What implications does this have for the future?
People spend up to 90 percent of their time indoors. This massive urbanisation presents many challenges in terms of people’s general health and wellbeing, safety, and overall quality of life. By building new and renovating existing buildings to be energy efficient, fire resilient, and acoustically comfortable, we can make cities healthier, safer, and more sustainable. And the good thing is, we have the means to do so with existing technology and products.