Sievert SE, one of Europe's leading suppliers of premium building materials, is launching the Sievert Green Line, a product range that focuses entirely on transparency. Sievert's aim is not only to make a contribution to sustainable construction, but also to put its strategic commitment into practice. This enables builders, planners, architects, craftsmen and DIY enthusiasts to identify resource-saving, unmixed and recyclable building materials and thus work with the lowest possible emissions. The focus is on a transparent declaration of raw materials and their contribution to climate-friendly construction. An interdisciplinary advisory board of experts helps Sievert to understand the challenges of the construction and property industry and to incorporate the needs in a holistic manner. Product databases will be offered in future to simplify certification processes.

"The building materials industry is laying the foundations for ESG-compliant construction and the demand for this is increasing significantly. The industry and building owners are becoming increasingly aware of their own responsibility towards the environment. However, a lack of transparency or knowledge about the long-term impact of various building materials makes it difficult in practice to select the right product. The Sievert Green Line offers guidance here and makes the decision easier thanks to the transparent declaration," explains Olaf Wolf, Managing Director of Sievert Baustoffe.

With the introduction of the Sievert Green Line, Sievert SE is focussing on a central corporate concern: the long-term reduction of the CO2 footprint within the construction industry, which is currently responsible for 37% of global CO2 emissions[1]. The Sievert Green Line is characterised by nine key elements that were developed jointly by an interdisciplinary team from a wide range of departments:

· Eco-enablers that reduce the energy requirements of buildings

· Resource-efficient use of materials, for lower material consumption and lighter loads

· Recycle-ready formulations that can be sorted by type or recycled

· Reusable packaging

· Products with recognised seals for healthy living

· CO2-reduced binders, cement-reduced or completely cement-free

· Use of recycled materials, e.g. recycled concrete as an aggregate instead of sand and gravel from primary quarrying

· Renewable raw materials based on natural and renewable sources that do not compete with the food chain

· Durability through products that save buildings from demolition or make refurbishment necessary at a later date; the special durability of the products reduces the overall emissions of the building in the long term by extending its useful lifer

By scanning a QR code on the products, customers can obtain additional details about the life cycle and life cycle assessment. From the production site to packaging and logistics, Sievert transparently discloses the carbon footprint of the individual products. All eleven products that are currently part of the Sievert Green Line have been awarded the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) seal of the Institut Bauen und Umwelt e. V., some products are also labelled with the DNGB label and can be found in the DGNB Navigator. It is planned that further products will be added to the Sievert Green Line - new products as well as tried and tested products whose formulations have been adapted.

Interdisciplinary transparency

"97% of the CO2 that adheres to our products comes from upstream chains and raw materials. The key to sustainability therefore lies in the formulations. In cooperation with concrete recycling companies, we have researched how we can best reuse recyclates with building material standards from demolitions and found out that the quality of the resulting end products is not negatively affected," says Dr Carsten Zilg, Head of Research and Development at Sievert.

Sievert is taking a further step towards a more sustainable construction industry with the establishment of an interdisciplinary expert advisory board consisting of internal and external industry members. The advisory board regularly discusses relevant topics that go beyond a sustainable product range. These include the extraction and transport of raw materials, waste avoidance and the creation of a transparent database on used materials.

Recyclable building materials must be clearly labelled

With deconstructable and recyclable products such as akurit MEP-it. Mineral lightweight plaster, the integration of building materials into a future circular economy is made considerably easier. At present, this can be difficult as the building substance is usually not unmixed and there is currently no certification for recycling processes. Sievert is in favour of cooperation between building material manufacturers and waste disposal companies to enable project developers to guarantee environmentally friendly disposal with unmixed separation on their construction sites. This should make an important contribution to a transparent circular economy based on the "cradle-to-cradle" principle. In the event of dismantling or recycling, closed material cycles can be created. Quality standards are also set to limit the CO2 impact.

"The Sievert Green Line helps our customers to make the right decisions, plan wisely and thus avoid unnecessary waste or future refurbishments that not only cost CO2 but also money," says Olaf Wolf.

The Sievert Green Line product portfolio at a glance:

quick-mix

-        S-FM Joint grout 25kg

-        STB Sieving and civil engineering mortar XWW4 lose

-        STB Sieving and civil engineering mortar XWW4 25kg

-        HR2K 2K-Hybrid reactive waterproofing

akurit

-        TRI-O-THERM L loose

-        TRI-O-THERM S 13kg

-        MEP-it. Mineral loose

-        MEP-it. Mineral 20kg

-        FM-R Secon Brick slip joint mortar 25kg

tubag

-        HSP Base plaster30kg

-        FLP-L FL-Lime plaster with lightweight aggregates lose

-        FLP-L FL-Lime plaster with lightweight aggregates 30kg

hahne

-        HADALAN PUR Floor-E

-        HADALAN KS 13P

-        PROLASTIC 55Z

-        HADALAN PUR Floor-H

[1] https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/2022-global-status-report-buildings-and-construction