Green foundations with a blue core

In the region of 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions and 30 per cent of all resources used are related to the building sector. Building with relevant and sustainable solutions is one of the critical factors in order to combat ever decreasing resources in a world with an ever increasing population.

Whether it be a private or commercial property, sustainable building combines the interests of all involved under economic, environmental and social aspects. Wouldn‘t it make sense to take not only the building costs but also the running costs of a bathroom over its entire lifetime into consideration? Shouldn’t the wellbeing of the installer and every other partner coming in contact with building materials be as much of a concern as the end user’s? How can the service lives of construction materials be extended?

The protection of the environment and the world‘s natural resources is the basis for sustainable business development. wedi’s aim is to provide such solutions that not only meet our clients’ needs but also in keeping with our responsibility to deliver sustainable solutions that make sense for everyone.

Building materials will be present in buildings for decades meaning that the choice of material should be given careful consideration. Environmental Product Declarations show a product’s choice. The components of wedi products, the XPS foam core, the cement coating and the glass fibre reinforcement, already have their own EPDs.

wedi combines many aspects of sustainable building such as the most limited VOC emission levels in internal areas or energy efficiency thanks to effective heat insulation (0.036WmK), but the most important aspect is longevity: a guaranteed system safety provided through the unrivalled diversity of wedi’s product range, 100 per cent waterproof modular elements that interlock with one another and with wedi accessories forming the famous wedi system – a floor to ceiling one-step solution without the need for additional tanking. Hence the use of wedi systems results in significant reduction of running costs while also drastically reducing the amount of time needed for the project as well as the calculated costs through perfect handling.

The health of those working with our products is important to us here at wedi! Our products produce very low dust levels when worked on and thanks to being lightweight are easy on people’s back thus wedi contributes to a healthier and safer working environment.

wedi is ISO50001 certified and also certified as an EcoProfit operation since 2007. We are committed to the environment even during the manufacturing of our products and systems as well. wedi uses an environmentally-friendly propellant agent for the XPS hard foam, thanks to our granulation plant we have been constantly increasing the recycling rate of our manufacturing waste and today, the blue hard foam of wedi products contains 25 per cent of recycled material. Through the consistent modernisation of the entire machinery and plant as well as the heating and compressor systems, we effectively save energy and constantly improve the CO2 balance. Part of the power required for internal consumption is produced by the company’s own photovoltaic system and this is combined with green electricity from 100 per cent renewable sources.

Of course, when planners and contractors think about sustainable building, the terms energy efficiency, water consumption, heating-cost reductions or reduced environmental burden are what jump to mind. These are important topics obviously, but sustainability means more than just energy saving. Bathrooms for life, barrier-free living are just as important for wedi as the conservation of our resources or the continuous optimisation of our manufacturing process. Bathrooms with timeless design and quality excellence ensure that materials are used throughout the life of the building. wedi lasts for decades – our substructures provide fundamental basic requirements and also create enduring value as a result. When it comes to floor-level shower systems, wedi is the market leader in offering the highest flexibility when designing individual and barrier-free bathrooms.

wedi is flexible like life itself. Even with the most farsighted planning, the unexpected can happen. The versatility of wedi products allows for subsequent changes with little effort. The wedi building board allows new partitions, wash basins and shelf systems to be easily installed thus enrich wet rooms and bathroom areas with practical and stylish solutions. For the end user this means a sustainable quality-of-life each and every day!

For more information on wedi®, please call 0161 864 2336, email info(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)wedi.co.uk or visit www.wedi.co.uk.