Wienerberger partners with national sustainability benchmarking group

Wienerberger, the leading supplier of wall, roof and landscaping innovations, has announced that it has become a corporate partner of Sustainable Homes, the UK’s leading organisation in the promotion of sustainability improvements for the built environment.

The partnership is the latest example of Wienerberger’s on-going commitment and engagement with the issue of sustainable and affordable housing for the future, and marked by the company’s presence at the Sustainable Homes National Retrofitting Conference.

Sustainable Homes, which acts as the secretariat of the Sustainable Homes Index For Tomorrow (SHIFT), works to assist architects, residents, developers, planners, self builders, local authorities and housing associations to sustainably improve and refurbish the built environments, while SHIFT offers the recognised standard for affordable housing providers to prove their environmental credentials.

Both are perfectly in keeping with Wienerberger’s own keen environmental agenda, and with SHIFT members housing over two million people across the UK, the partnership creates an opportunity for the company to communicate its own sustainability innovations and solutions (such as its e4 brick house concept) to a wide range of influential housing providers.

Annette Forster, Director of Marketing at Wienerberger, commented: "We feel that we share the purpose and goals of Sustainable Homes. Wienerberger is absolutely dedicated to reducing environmental impacts in our sector, and we are passionate about the potential our products, systems and solutions have in terms of updating, improving and refurbishing the UK’s existing housing stock.

"Being able to offer both new build and renovation solutions, we are perfectly placed to help to apply a fabric first approach that can transform inefficient, empty housing stock, into fully functional, affordable and environmentally conscious homes - including highlighting the benefits of ‘dropping’ and rebuilding where appropriate.

“By working with an organisation of the prestige and renown of Sustainable Homes, we hope that we can not only contribute to the ongoing efforts towards construction industry sustainability, but actively engage with housing associations and local authorities to create a housing legacy that that we can be proud of. Furthermore, our Wienerberger e4 brick house, which has been designed as a realistic and affordable solution to current housing need, is a fully budgeted concept that will allow housing associations and local authorities to provide a long-term resolution to a serious modern issue. It’s something that we are really excited about explaining in greater detail at the upcoming 2014 Sustainable Homes National Retrofitting Conference.”

Andrew Eagles, Managing Director of Sustainable Homes, commented: “We are very pleased to welcome Wienerberger to SHIFT. We believe that Wienerberger products and services can have an extremely positive impact in the sector in helping assist the sector to build new homes and retrofit their existing properties both sustainably and cost effectively. We know that the company has a long history of sustainability engagement and goals, so we are genuinely delighted we be able to stand alongside it moving forwards.”