In future, there’s one thing bathroom solutions need to be above all else: sustainable. burgbad is the leading bathroom furniture manufacturer in this area – as currently confirmed by a gold medal following an external audit by rating agency EcoVadis.
burgbad has been accompanying the bathroom’s evolution into a proper, fully fledged room for 75 years now. The company saw its 75th anniversary as an occasion not just to look back, but to look ahead as well. Of the developments defined in a trend survey, the trend towards sustainable bathroom solutions is perhaps the most important of all for burgbad. The bathroom specialist’s activities with regard to furniture quality, environmental protection and sustainable corporate governance have recently been underscored by the good assessment from sustainability rating agency EcoVadis.
Sustainability has become an issue that interests society as a whole – not just as a matter of conscience, but as an expression of a (politically correct) lifestyle. As a result, these aspects are playing an increasingly important role when it comes to making decisions about bathroom furnishings and equipment too. At the same time, it has long been about far more than questions like “wood or plastic?” and “ceramic or mineral cast?” because the issue is a complex one – which means companies need to explain their products, concepts and brand in an understandable way.
However, sustainability also means the whole of society has to make an effort as well: anybody who wants to convert to a sustainable economic system has to encourage purchase decisions that are based on more than how sustainable a product is – it’s becoming increasingly common to weigh up how sustainable the brand and the company as a whole are too. And it’s not just consumers who have to make such decisions: the same applies to architects, planners, project developers and investors as well. Professional customers in particular need more transparency in the supply chain: neutral, substantiated and comprehensible information. In order to provide orientation in this respect, burgbad decided to undergo an audit by an external sustainability rating agency.
Last year burgbad was assessed by EcoVadis for the first time. EcoVadis is the world’s biggest provider of sustainability ratings, with a global network of more than 90,000 rated companies. The rating assesses suppliers’ performance with regard to 21 sustainability criteria. The methodology used by EcoVadis meets the international guidelines of both GRI/G4 (GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines) and ISO 26000. Companies are evaluated in four sustainability categories: Environment, Labour & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement.
With an overall score of 69 out of 100 points, burgbad numbers among the top 5% of rated companies in the furniture manufacturing industry in more than 160 countries and was therefore awarded the EcoVadis Gold Medal at first go. “We’re delighted to have it in black and white after an external audit: burgbad doesn’t just talk about sustainability, we live it,” says burgbad’s Chief Sustainability Officer Dr Susanne Steinhauer, commenting on the certification the company received in December 2021. “That gives our customers the certainty that we’re not about greenwashing. It gives us even more incentive to remain the leading bathroom furniture manufacturer for sustainability.”
Besides sanitaryware with a high level of energy efficiency, aspects like the sustainability of the materials and the longest possible product lifetime as a result of choosing high-quality furniture with a high standard of design play a crucial role as well. But the production conditions and production chain are also important factors when it comes to planning a sustainable bathroom.
That’s why the burgbad brand relies on labels and transparency as a basis for customer orientation. It’s no coincidence that the Blue Angel, Germany’s oldest and probably best known ecolabel, has been awarded to burgbad’s bestselling Eqio collection from its quick ship sys10 range, underscoring that burgbad holds the collections from its entry-level segment to the same standards as its high-end products. The ecolabel certifies that the bathroom furniture collection is made of low-emission materials, only uses wood from sustainably managed forests and has no adverse impact on health in the living environment.
But burgbad’s sustainability policy isn’t limited to the product level. burgbad is also committed to sustainable business practices and has joined the UN Global Compact, the world’s biggest initiative for responsible corporate governance. Due to the high degree of in-house manufacturing at its production sites in Germany and France, burgbad – in contrast to many other manufacturers, who largely assemble their products out of bought-in components – has a high level of control over its production chain. All burgbad’s furniture has been PEFC-certified since 2014, and the entire range of burgbad furniture has been awarded the top Class A rating by the world’s first emissions label for furniture, which is issued by the German Quality Assurance Association for Furniture (DGM). In 2016, burgbad also became the first German bathroom furniture manufacturer to receive the DGM’s Climate-Neutral Furniture Manufacturer label.
