Kaldewei sets new standards in Green Design

Kaldewei has been independently recognised as the first manufacturer in the sanitary sector to be certified under the IBU Environmental Declaration in accordance with ISO 14025.

This significant achievement is mainly due to three key factors: firstly that all Kaldewei 3.5mm steel enamel baths and shower trays are made from 100% natural raw materials, secondly that they have unsurpassed longevity - guaranteed for 30 years, and finally at the end of their lifetime they can be 100% recycled without the need for down-cycling, this means they can be directly re-used again as raw materials for steel production.

Comparison of a Kaldewei steel enamel 3.5 mm bath or shower tray with an average acrylic bath emphasises the exemplary environmental balance sheet of steel enamel. The evaluation of key measures such as consumption of primary energy, contribution to the greenhouse effect and acidification illustrates that, from a sustainability point of view, steel enamel has significant advantages over acrylic material.

The fact that Kaldewei products are certified as green makes them perfect for new commercial buildings wishing to be awarded green building status. Nowadays, most large co-operations want this certification because new portfolio items like buildings are expensive to construct and run so must be considered over their lifecycle as long-term investments. There are various countrywide organisations under the umbrella of the World Green Building Council who provide these environmental assessments and issue awards.

In contrast to the previously rather vague labelling of buildings "low energy" or "carbon neutral", the DGNB certificate opens up the possibility for the holistic balancing of construction projects from the point of view of sustainability. This requires that not only the energy consumption stemming from the use of the building, but also the consumption of resources and energy during the production of building materials, their durability, environmental and contamination effects, maintenance requirements, ability to be deconstructed, and recycling processes be considered holistically and over the whole lifecycle of the building. In order to be able to assess the sustainability of building projects in such a holistic way, the construction products used must be certified in accordance with the IBU (German Institute Construction and Environment IBU e.V.) ISO 14025 Environmental Declaration.

The pilot certification for the new scheme was launched this year at the German trade fair for the construction industry 'BAU 2009', where 28 buildings were the first to receive certification.

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