Circular economy

We are committed to supporting the transition towards a circular economy. Our products and production processes are aligned with circularity principles: designing out waste and pollution; keeping materials at their highest value; and restoring natural systems¹. This is vital, as the construction industry consumes roughly half of virgin resources globally², and the built environment is responsible for 30-40% of the global waste generation³.

We aim to use data to drive greater circularity, which is why we asked Circle Economy to develop a dashboard that supports our drive towards greater circularity and especially reducing the amount of virgin materials wherever possible. The dashboard illustrates our circularity strategy in a visual way, fosters transparency, and allows us to add more indicators to show our progress in the coming years.

The dashboard is aligned with the CSRD, EU Taxonomy and CTI Framework, and Circle Economy has provided a full methodology document with the details of each indicators and the calculation methods.

Circularity built-in. Divider page for Growing the circular economy. Sustainability Report 18 (SR18).
Original photo 20190401_GMC_PHO_1356

Rockcycle®

Rockcycle is ROCKWOOL’s recycling program. It’s now available in 24 countries with an aim to reach 30 by 2030.

We take back stone wool material from construction, renovation and demolition sites and recycle it in our production process to make new stone wool products. Rockcycle facilitates a truly circular and closed loop recycling system. It also caters to the increased demand by key stakeholders for sustainable ways to reduce construction and demolition waste.

By taking a circular approach – where waste is designed out and resources are used efficiently – we can create an economy that is both sustainable and profitable.

In 2024, we collected and recycled

of stone wool through our recycling services

Rate of secondary materials used to produce our products

in 2024

We offer recycling services in

different countries

Durability and recyclability - two key aspects of circularity

In a circular economy, products and materials should circulate for as long as possible, at their highest value and without losing their quality or performance.

This is stone wool. It can be recycled endlessly and still maintain all the mechanical and performance properties that make it such a versatile product with so many applications. In addition to its recyclability, our stone wool products contain no flame retardants and are highly durable. A recent study have shown that if we compare the thermal property (lambda value) of our products after more than 65 years of service, the value is still the same². An additional benefit of recycling stone wool is that we are able to avoid re-melting some of the recycled wool, which means we can reduce carbon emissions by close to 10 percent³.

Project, reference, Soons Interieurbouw, ROCKCYCLE

Urban mining for a circular economy

As the world’s population continues to grow rapidly, pressure on natural resources will only increase. This brings the need for a circular economy into sharp focus – a system where there is no waste, just valuable resources. ‘Urban mining’ refers to the recovery, collection and sorting of renovation and/or demolition waste so it can be used again in the production of new products rather than being sent to landfill or for incineration.

The potential for the construction sector is huge as our built environment covers enormous quantities of valuable materials that we for example via Rockcycle® can recycle in our production and thus reduce the need for virgin raw materials.

Moving towards zero waste to landfill

In three-quarters of our manufacturing facilities, we have eliminated all stone wool waste going to landfill. We have done this by re-directing the stone wool production waste back into our production in a closed-loop system.

Globally, we have committed to reducing production waste going to landfill by 85 percent by 2030.

Our reduction goal requires us to continuously push the boundaries of what is possible in the transition to a waste-free society. One example is the conversion to electric melting at our factory in Moss, Norway, which has allowed us to significantly increase our recycling capacity.

Reducing and recycling plastic packaging

We use plastic packaging to compress, transport and protect our stone wool products before installation. We are committed to reducing our use of plastic packaging as much as possible, for example by constantly reducing its thickness. We are also committed to increasing the recycled content and recyclability of our packaging.

Recyclable content in polyethylene foils

Our advocacy within circularity

We are committed to a waste-free society based on circular economy principles. We are actively and consistently participating in the dialogue with policy makers and regulators to push for more ambitious circular economy targets within the construction sector.

Some of our key advocacy points are:

Promoting deconstruction practices (over demolition) and the sorting of different waste streams;
Progressively introducing landfilling bans for recyclable materials as well as requirements to increase the use of recycled materials;
Integrating durability and recyclability as fundamental characteristics of construction products;
Considering used stone wool as a resource;
Regulating transport of stone wool waste in the same way as other valuable resources, which in turn will ease the permitting requirements to manage and recycle the materials at the factory.

Water

At ROCKWOOL, we are working to reduce our water use intensity and aim to reach a 20 percent reduction in 2030 for our production facilities. The main focus of our water management strategy is to reduce freshwater use and ensure there is no discharge of wastewater into the environment. Therefore, we design our production processes for zero wastewater discharge to the environment. At most of our sites, we recycle production water in a closed-loop system, with much of the water evaporating as part of the process.

Cigacice, Poland

Over the years, we have made several improvements and investments in optimising the water usage across our factories. For example, at our factory in Cigacice, Poland, we invested in harvesting rainwater, which resulted in significantly reducing fresh water consumption.

factory in Cigacice, ROCKWOOL factory, helicopter view

Vamdrup, Denmark
Since 2000, the Danish factory in Vamdrup has collected rainwater in large basins with storage capacity of 2000 m3, supplying 40 percent of the factory’s production process water consumption.

Drone images of the factory in Vamdrup DK

Saint-Éloy-les-Mines, France
At our French factory in Saint-Éloy-les-Mines, we implemented a system for closer control and quick reaction against water leakages, together with the installation of more water efficient equipment.

Biodiversity

Resource extraction and biodiversity loss are closely interlinked, which is why we at ROCKWOOL are exploring different avenues to best manage the Earth’s natural resources.

Our circular business model around recycling of used stone wool directly benefits the natural environment and biodiversity by reducing the need for virgin stone. We are also currently conducting a Biodiversity Net Gain project and working with the OneOcean Foundation on marine projects. Additionally, our Grodan products contribute to significantly less land-use change thanks to the Grodan products as horticulture grown in our stone wool substrates decreases land use by 75 %. From 2020-2023, land use reduction by precision growing products sold was more than the equivalent of 180 000 football fields.¹

We will in soon publish ROCKWOOL’s biodiversity position paper.

Learn more about ROCKWOOL's commitments

Energy Efficiency

Correct building design and installation of insulation is critical to ensure optimal energy efficiency while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainability

Decarbonisation

At ROCKWOOL Group, we believe that by decarbonising our business and value chain, we can reinforce the fact that we’re a net carbon negative company. That’s why 2020 saw us join a group of pioneering companies committed to the SBTi.

Protecting climate and environment

Environment

Our commitment to sustainability includes advocating for energy efficiency, decarbonisation, building renovation, and a circular economy, all in the effort to protect the climate and the environment.

_{[1] ROCKWOOL Sustainability Report 2023, page 24 and 51; calculation based on 129 000 ha saved during 2020-2023 and a football field being 0.714 hectares results in more than 180 000 football fields.}

Circular economy