Munich/Rees, February 2015 - At the international BAU trade fair in Munich, the "Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V." (IBU) from Berlin awarded Novoferm, the renowned European system supplier of doors and gates, two important international environmental declarations for its steel multifunctional doors and its steel door frame. These independently tested environmental certificates, known as EPDs (Environmental Product Declarations), certify the environmental impact of a product in its entire life cycle assessment and also a company's sense of responsibility with regard to sustainable construction.
Sustainable building is in vogue. The requirements in the construction industry continue to increase. More and more properties are being built in accordance with the German government's "Assessment System for Sustainable Building" or are aiming for the DGNB's "German Sustainable Building Certificate". To obtain the desired certification for such a property, architects and contractors must provide detailed evidence of the use of low-emission building materials in each construction phase. EPDs help them to do this. Novoferm is building on a sustainable, ecological future.
Accordingly, the company has already received several awards for environmentally friendly products with EPDs in the past. Novoferm has now received two more EPD certificates from the "Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V." at the BAU trade fair in Munich. This time, the multifunctional interior doors and the steel door frame produced at the Werth site were honoured.
The requirements for EPD certification are high. The test procedure itself is voluntary. The entire life cycle assessment of a product is mapped, starting with the extraction of raw materials, the manufacturing process, the utilisation phase and the final recycling. To obtain an EPD, companies must have an excellent operational organisation and select their raw materials with particular care. This is because high-quality, sustainable products can only be created from high-quality materials.
With the newly awarded and existing EPD certifications, it will be even easier for architects, planners and fabricators to use Novoferm door, gate and frame solutions for sustainable building projects in future. The independent testing of the products once again confirms the high quality and environmental compatibility of Novoferm products. Behind this is a portfolio that effectively combines thermal insulation, sustainable materials, environmentally friendly components and energy-saving functions.
The resource-saving use of energy and materials at Novoferm has long characterised the entire value chain as well as product development. The company's voluntary certification in accordance with the ISO 14001 environmental management system also stands for this - for the protection of resources and the environment.
