First Sustainability Report published by Paroc Group

The indicators presented in the report are tools for measuring and following Paroc’s sustainable progress in all its production facilities in Finland, Sweden, Poland, and Lithuania.

Sustainability policy is a part of Paroc strategy. In the future, the report describing the company’s economic, social and environmental effects will be published annually.

Sustainability is a factor which strongly influences the development and renewal of our business because our products play a significant role in improving the energy efficiency of buildings”, states Paroc Group CEO, Kari Lehtinen. “We operate in an energy-intensive industry so the ecological efficiency and waste recyclability provide additional savings while minimising the burden on the environment and thus contributing to our common well-being.”

Paroc’s most important goals for the coming years involve increasing the energy efficiency of its production facilities and reaching the occupational safety target of zero accidents by the year 2020.

At all Paroc production plants, processes operate according to the current regulations and standards. Beatrice Rantanen, Paroc Group’s Sustainability Manager, emphasises that Paroc production facilities in Finland and Sweden depend almost solely on green energy, and 75 percent of Paroc waste is recycled.

Key role of energy efficiency in buildings

Paroc is considered a pioneer in energy efficient building as it develops environmentally considerate solutions for building and renovating. Paroc experts have taken part in creating nationwide passive house standards and solutions with VTT (Technical Research Center of Finland), which has also certified the Paroc Passive House concept.

”High-quality heat insulation is the most effective and inexpensive way to affect the energy efficiency of new buildings. The benefits will be emphasised even more when Europe shifts to zero-energy building by the year 2020”, adds Lehtinen.

The energy balance of Paroc stone wool products is positive because the amount of energy needed to produce them is only a fraction of the amount of energy the insulation saves during its lifespan.
Paroc was internationally acknowledged this year for its attention to environmental effects and received the Global Insulation Company of the Year 2012- award. In addition to focusing on sustainability factors the panel also praised Paroc's innovative insulation solutions for renovation projects.

For more details, please contact:

Kari Lehtinen, CEO, Paroc Group Oy, tel. +358 46 876 8902

or

Anne-Maarit Sepling, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Paroc Group, tel. +358 46 876 8000, anne-maarit.sepling@paroc.com

Paroc is the leading manufacturer of energy-efficient insulation solutions in the Baltic Sea region. Our operations are based on customer and staff orientation, continuous innovation, profitable growth and sustainable development. The Paroc product range includes building insulation, technical insulation, marine insulation, sandwich elements and acoustic products. Products are made in Finland, Sweden, Lithuania and Poland, and also (starting from 2013) in Russia. Paroc has sales offices and representatives in 13 European countries. Paroc Group is owned by a group of banks and other institutional investors, and as a minority owner, the staff of Paroc. Our turnover in 2011 was EUR 405 million, and the average number of staff was 1,990.