Future-proofing with circular materials and systems

The materials and systems used have a significant impact on the future proofing of buildings. A good investment is a building whose material can be fed back into the material cycle without any significant loss in quality. The circularity of the materials and systems used determines the so-called grey emissions, or the CO₂ enclosed in the building.

Bürogebäude PULSE in Berlin

The Cradle to Cradle sustainability principle plays a key role here. This certification confirms that all of the requirements stipulated by the EU with regard to the circular economy, reductions in carbon emissions and the conservation of resources are met. The major certification systems BREEAM, DGNB and LEED are also based on these. When it comes to property investments, it is therefore essential for investors to have a partner that uses sustainable materials and ecological construction methods in order to comply with the regulations. With Schüco, you're in safe hands.

“The building sector accounts for around half of material consumption worldwide. We should use this fact as an opportunity to innovate and drive forward the development of products that are truly recyclable.”

Professor Michael Braungart, co-founder of the “Cradle to Cradle” design concept.

Your buildings are the raw material reserves of the future

With Schüco products and services, buildings are becoming the raw material reserves of the future – and comply with all the relevant requirements of the circular economy.

  • Schüco opts for aluminium and PVC because these materials can be almost completely fed back into the material cycle with no loss of quality.
  • A total of 76 aluminium products and systems from Schüco are “Cradle to Cradle” Gold or Silver certified and are therefore ideal for sustainable building.
  • Many Schüco PVC-U systems have been awarded the VinylPlus certificate.
  • Schüco prefers to produce PVC-U profiles with a proportion of recycled material on the inside, but an inner core formulation that makes optimum use of resources is also used as an alternative. Just last year, as much as 64% of the PVC-U profiles were made using recycled material, with the recycled content varying between 39 and 57 percent, depending on the geometry. The aim is for this use to continually increase.
  • In addition, Schüco PVC-U profiles can also be manufactured using a particularly sustainable material, bio-attributed PVC, whereby the crude oil used for production is replaced with non-fossil tall oil (a by-product of the paper industry).
  • As part of the new RE:CORE programme, Schüco collects PVC material from old windows and profile offcuts and feeds it back into the material cycle.
  • As part of IoF  (Internet of Façades), Schüco products are fitted with a digital tag that documents the recyclability of the materials, making it easier to sort the materials by type when it comes to dismantling.