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Sustainability

For us, being sustainable is about giving buildings a long life in today’s fast-paced world. Forster also ensures that resources are used as sparingly as possible and develops products that can be returned to the material cycle at the end of the building service life. 

Our production cycle

How are we making our branch more sustainable?

forster sustainability circle
  • Our goal is to become carbon neutral by 2035.

    Willi Lüchinger
    CEO, Forster Profile Systems
  • Steel is 100% recyclable and has no negative environmental impact during its entire service life.

    Dr. Holger Basche
    CTO, Forster Profile Systems
  • The new Forster campus will be the first building complex of its kind in Switzerland to be LEED Gold certified.

    Luca Carlet
    Head of Purchasing, Forster Profile Systems
  • Willi Lüchinger, CEO Forster Profilsysteme AG
  • Forster - Holger Basche
  • Forster - Luca Carlet

The result? Architectural solutions with an eye on the future.

  • forster sustainability

    1. Setting a good example with rail and electric trucks

    The profile components from one of our biggest suppliers are currently sent exclusively via rail to intermediate storage – and then on to us using an electric truck.

  • forster sustainability

    2. Innovations in steel with less CO₂

    From mid-2024, the profiles we manufacture in house will be gradually switched to steel sheet, with at least 75 percent coming from recycled material. Only 532 kg of CO₂ equivalents are created during their production – compared to 2230 kg per tonne when using conventional steel.

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    3. A campus for tomorrow

    Forster is currently constructing its new company campus – the first hybrid-use building ensemble in Switzerland to be fully LEED GOLD certified. It is equipped with the latest sustainable technologies and is ready for completely energyneutral production.

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    4. Energy from renewable sources

    From 2024, a photovoltaic system measuring 6000 square metres installed on the roofs of our new site in Romanshorn will provide our production facilities with over 100% green energy – any excess energy is fed into the regional power grid. We use district heating for heating and cooling, which is also generated from completely sustainable sources.

  • forster sustainability

    5. Proven environment management

    Forster is committed to constantly improving all of its business activities, particularly with regard to the careful and sustainable use of resources. Our Environment Management System has been ISO-certified (14001) since 2009.

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    6. Less material

    Thanks to their outstanding static values, our steel products require only little material.

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    7. High insulation

    With our products – many of which are Minergie certified – buildings can achieve excellent thermal insulation values without using plastic strips or insulating cores.

  • forster sustainability

    8. A long-lasting solution

    Forster systems have an above-average service life, even under heavy load.

  • forster sustainability

    9. Certified for the future

    We are constantly expanding our offering of products that have been designed and manufactured according to the cradle-to-cradle principle. From the end of 2024, Forster will be providing product-specific environmental product declarations (EPD).

  • forster sustainability

    10. Timeless – in every way

    Six of our nine product lines are made from 100% steel, meaning they are completely recyclable and can be reused without any loss in quality.

Forster Sustainability

Steel as a raw material

Long-lasting and environmentally friendly

150-year-old orangeries and factory buildings from the Bauhaus era show that steel is durable. It lasts as long as the building where it is used. This durability can be a decisive factor in contemporary building certification. Thanks to their outstanding static values, steel systems also need less material during production. Additional chemical surface treatment can also be dispensed with when stainless steel is used. Meanwhile, maintenance work is also significantly minimised over the years. When it’s time for the building to be dismantled, the raw material can be completely reused for future buildings.  

Recycling and the life cycle assessment

Ready for the circular economy?

For many years, steel has been the most commonly used and recycled industrial material. What sets it apart from many other materials is its ability to be recycled multiple times. Steel can be melted down and reused an unlimited number of times. At the same time, its quality is maintained with each new product cycle – with the ecological footprint reduced each time it is reused. This was proven back in 2013 in a study by the Technical University of Berlin. No wonder that around 84% of the more than 60 billion tonnes of steel produced since the second half of the 19th century is still in use in the circular economy. 

Forster - Sustainability - Recycling

Want to help us in developing the circular economy?

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