It's no secret that the Earth needs our help. That's why at VELUX, we're committed to sustainability, both in the process of making our skylights and by improving the energy efficiency of homes through skylights.
Our Sustainability Report
The VELUX Sustainability Report is structured around four focus areas. These are the areas where we, as a company, feel we must take responsibility:
- Energy and climate: We work systematically to reduce the carbon footprint in our production and products.
- Zero-waste production: We constantly seek to optimize our resource efficiency and have a vision of reaching zero waste at our production sites.
- Sustainable sourcing: We seek to maximize our use of sustainable materials, like the wood in our products.
- Safe, healthy workplace: We strive to eliminate all work-related accidents and occupational diseases.
Sustainable Living Through Skylights
VELUX has become the world leader in skylights by putting our most abundant natural resource - the Sun - to excellent use. We do this by developing, manufacturing, and marketing environmentally friendly products.
High quality, energy-efficient skylights are important pieces being incorporated into today's greenest homes. That's why it's our top priority to use the most modern technologies so our products are as energy-efficient as possible. For example, to minimize heat gain from the UV rays that come through your skylight and warm your home, we've incorporated argon gas between the insulated panes of all our glass products. This makes our glass among the most energy-efficient in the industry. And that's just the start!
Sustainable living is the way of the future, and VELUX is proud to say we've been ahead of this curve. And that's where we intend to stay. With more than 90% of our products ENERGY STAR qualified in all US climate zones, you can rest easy knowing your VELUX skylight is as energy-efficient as it is luminous.
Sensitivity in Manufacturing
At VELUX, we're all about the environment. So, we ensure all areas of our manufacturing process - including product design, raw materials, product methods, and technologically advanced equipment - meet the highest environmental review standards. To accomplish our goals of sustainable manufacturing practices, we are continuously working to improve our environmental health and safety.
For example, in all areas of our manufacturing process, VELUX is nearly emissions-free. We also make every effort to ensure we use materials that are as harmless as possible. That means all our paints and finishes are water-based for safer disposal and to reduce volatile organic compounds released into the environment.
We believe that we have a direct obligation to our environment. Through the innovations we've made, we've been able to achieve and surpass our sustainable manufacturing goals. But, of course, we're not stopping there: while we uphold our tradition of quality and craftsmanship, we will also continue to assess and develop our environmental efforts as best we can at every turn.
Sustainability Highlights
So now that we've gone a little bit more in-depth with how VELUX aims to be ever more sustainable, here are some fast facts and stats regarding sustainability and VELUX products:
- VELUX factories have seen a 34.2% reduction of our carbon footprint compared to a 2007 baseline.
- 97% of waste materials from VELUX skylight production is recycled.
- 99.5% of the wood used in VELUX skylights and roof windows comes from certified, sustainable forests.
- Of our installers, 98% agree that VELUX products are high-quality, reliable products.
- The Active House experiments carried out by VELUX have been researched and explored in over 50 scientific papers.
- VELUX continues to support the United Nations Global Compact and is committed to the initiative and its principles.
