At Houtwerf we take care of it, not only for your construction materials, but also for people and the environment. That is why we strive for continuous sustainable development of our product lines.
Wood itself is a sustainable product because it is renewable, as long as it is produced in a responsible way. That is why, where possible, we always choose FSC® or PEFC certified wood. In 2019 we formulated a new vision and mission and set ourselves the goal of having a fully circular product range by 2050. As you may be used to from us, we don’t just like to talk, but above all we like to dó. Therefore, we are proud that we have developed complete product lines with sustainable materials in just 5 years. By sustainable we mean biobased or circular materials.
Biobased product lines
Wood itself is of course a biobased product, but traditionally, plywood is assembled with glue that contains the toxic Formaldehyde. That makes the material less sustainable.
Our biobased plywood is glued with a completely biobased glue, free of toxic and carcinogenic substances. This ensures that our biobased product lines are even compostable after demolition if they are not reused. In addition, these products cause fewer health risks for the people who process the product and have used it in their home.
Circular product lines
Circular stands primarily for the conservation of raw materials and the use and reuse of existing materials, instead of constantly using new and raw materials in a one-time cycle. We work together with various partners on the development and production of circular wood products. Our mission is to migrate agro-residues by giving old, no longer productive trees from (food) plantations a second life and processing them into new products.
We currently have 3 categories of circular material in our product range:
Falcata: Powerplex Lite en Vederpanel
Rubberwood: Boeidelen, Kozijnhout en Panelen
Vezelplaten: ECOBoards
Environmental impact
To get a complete picture of the environmental impact of the products from our wood range and to be able to make them more sustainable, we let Greenhouse Marketeers perform a life cycle analysis (LCA) for each product. The environmental impact of (among other things) the production of the materials has been investigated, expressed in CO2 equivalents. Human toxicity was also examined: the impact on humans of the used toxic substances that are emitted into the environment. With this data we want to commit ourselves to keep reducing our environmental impact.
FSC® and PEFC
We have been FSC® certified since 2004 and PEFC certified since 2011. Both organizations ensure the conservation of forests worldwide through responsible forest management. Responsible forest management means, among other things, that the forests with its inhabitants are protected. A well-managed forest is less likely to be cut down for other purposes, such as palm oil or soy plantations and mining. By choosing certified wood, you contribute to a healthy living environment for people and animals worldwide.
For more information: www.fsc.nl and www.pefc.org
Would you like more advice about sustainable construction? Please contact us and one of our experts will be happy to assist you.
Energy savings
Besides the fact that we want to reduce the environmental impact of the products, we also want to reduce our own impact. Every year we have Greenhouse Sustainability calculate the environmental impact (footprint) of our company. This way we know exactly where there is room for improvement.
Since 2017, together with Energy Partners, we have been looking annually at how we can implement improvements to save energy. For example, in Zoeterwoude we have equipped our roofs with a total of 800 solar panels. Its capacity covered more than 100% of our energy consumption in 2020. In addition, all old lamps throughout the building have been replaced with energy-efficient LED lamps. Also we use alternative heating were we can, so not based on usage of gas. From 2017 until November 2020 we saved 207 ton CO2 emissions, which is equal to 780.421 km driving by car.
We have provided a charging station in the parking lot for our employees with an electric car.