How we understand sustainability
Taking responsibility. In every detail.
With the Green Deal, the European Commission is aiming to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050. CO₂ emissions are set to fall by at least 55 per cent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels. The construction sector plays a particularly important role on the path to climate neutrality. It is set to become more efficient and sustainable. Construction chemicals are an indispensable key to achieving this. ENKE’s construction chemical products are already making a significant contribution when it comes to renovating existing buildings and ensuring new buildings are built to last.
For Enke, as a family-run business, sustainability has always meant thinking in the long term – economically, ecologically and socially. Reliably waterproofing buildings not only protects against damage but also actively helps to preserve value and conserve resources. Our products are designed to maintain their functionality for as long as possible, even under difficult conditions, thereby helping to avoid repeated refurbishments and thus minimising the cost of refurbishment.
True to our company founder’s high standards: “Renovating rather than building from scratch is only worthwhile if the result lasts a long time.” The fact that our renovation solutions are indeed durable and that we and our products deliver on our promises is demonstrated not only by satisfied customers worldwide: After more than 100 years in business, our products have undergone long-term stress tests in a completely natural way, and so the durability of buildings renovated by Enke is plain to see.
Sustainability requires transparency, not empty promises.
Not just a label,
but a mindset
We do not view sustainability as a mere promise regarding materials, but as a commitment: to our customers, partners, employees and future generations. And we know that sustainability is a process, not a final destination. That is why we are working, step by step, to further reduce our environmental footprint. We do this sensibly, responsibly and with a sense of proportion.
Through our involvement in the Sustainable Construction Working Group of the German Construction Chemicals Association, we aim to play an active role in shaping the future of our industry.
KBS
Steel Sheet Packaging Recycling System
We have always relied on steel for the packaging of our products. Steel packaging is particularly easy to recycle, and damage during transport is kept to a minimum, which saves resources.
How we document the sustainability of our products
Environmental Product Declarations (EPD)
Environmental Product Declarations have been introduced to ensure that environmental information relating to construction products is transparent and can be effectively communicated.
Environmental Product Declarations provide standardised, transparent environmental profiles of (construction) products across their entire life cycle. They contain quantified environmental impacts, from raw material extraction through to disposal. Environmental Product Declarations are based on neutral and objective data.
We currently make use of so-called model Environmental Product Declarations (model EPDs), which have been developed by Deutsche Bauchemie and verified by the Institute for Construction and the Environment (IBU).
Click here to view the Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) available for our products.
The SHI Product Passport
The SHI Product Passport from the Sentinel Holding Institute simplifies access to sustainability evidence in the construction industry. As a central, digital document, it brings together the most important product-related criteria and standards from:
DGNB, QNG, BNB, BREEAM, EU Taxonomy
The DGNB Navigator
Building products play a key role in a building’s sustainability. The DGNB Navigator provides you with a simple tool that supports everyone involved in the product selection process – including manufacturers, architects, planners, investors, tradespeople and DGNB auditors – and ensures the necessary transparency regarding building products.
BAUBOOK
The Austrian portal baubook.at simplifies eco-friendly and healthy building. baubook.at provides validated building material data for calculating energy and environmental performance indicators. baubook.at facilitates the provision of evidence in the context of eco-friendly tenders, building certifications and funding schemes.
ECOBAU
Ecobau simplifies sustainable planning and construction in Switzerland. To this end, it provides reference works, checklists and tools. The Ecobau standards are integrated into the Minergie-ECO and SNBS building labels. Building materials are certified according to health-related, recyclability and environmental criteria.