ISO certification
Is it really sustainable? Of course!
What’s the difference between a real environmental initiative and an empty promise? The International Standard Organization (ISO) has guidelines that we follow, using the same criteria for every continent. We are regularly audited for transparency and credibility in all environmental matters
We’re leading the way
In developing FILCOTEN® HPC, we’ve created an innovative, eco-friendly, high-performance concrete that combines advanced technical properties with sustainability. FILCOTEN® is purely mineral, 100% recyclable, free from solvents and heavy metals, and produced with 100% green energy. These are the necessary requirements to become the most sustainable company in our industry. We are working harder than ever to achieve this goal. We rely on a certification process and annual audits by the ISO to verify whether we meet these requirements.
The annual showdown
BG-Graspointner’s management updates its corporate strategy and management review on a yearly basis. The latter provides a review of the past year to define the operational objectives for the coming fiscal year.
Representatives from TÜV Austria CERT visit the company for monitoring and repeat audits. In the course of these two to three days, they discuss ISO standards and the implementation of strategic and operational objectives as well as the resulting opportunities and risks with the company management.
Monitoring systems
We schedule several days for environmental audits, as we are reviewed for three fields in which BG-Graspointner is certified: quality management (ISO 9001), environmental management (ISO 14001) and energy management (ISO 50001). Since 2014, however, these three fields have been the core of our integrated management system, streamlining the auditing process by integrating all measures in a coherent structure.
Why ISO?
What makes the ISO certification so unique is that its criteria are applicable all over the world. If a company is certified in a specific field, prospective business partners and consumers around the globe know what they are in for. The ISO certification enables us to be open about our processes and to make our environmental efforts verifiable.
What is audited?
As our integrated management system also covers environmental and energy matters, indicators in these field are audited in addition to our environmental and energy program, i.e. already planned and implemented projects. We work on the best possible ways to achieve our objectives. This includes decision criteria for the selection of suppliers like: how far away are they, are the suppliers certified and do they comply with certain standards? Concrete usually has a high carbon footprint. Therefore, we work with one of the most sustainable concrete supplier in the world: LEUBE.
Our main focus is on the auditing of BG-Graspointner. As an example, the energy-related assessment is aimed at the following issues: energy consumption, energy resources and transportation (our fleet of trucks). The energy efficiency of individual applications such as heating, electricity, fleet, compressed air, etc. is the key criterion. One of our objectives is to further reduce the steel content in our products.
Unfortunately, we are not yet able to reveal details at this point, but Mr. Jochinger from TÜV Austria confirms:
A necessary effort
Once an audit has been completed, we adopt new objectives for the upcoming year. The way we achieve this is up to us. We also rely on internal auditing measures as a point of orientation. This allows us to see if we are on the right track – we look for the most responsible way to deal with resources.
There is only one future
For BG-Graspointner, there is no alternative when it comes to sustainable innovation. Bernhard Knoblechner, BG-Graspointner Managing Director:
