Neubau eyewear sustainability castor oil plant 16x9

Sustainability

Consistent in our brand philosophy

Sustainable Avantgarde

Following our credo of being the “Sustainable Avantgarde”, we have been pursuing our vision since our founding day of constantly setting new sustainable standards in the manufacturing of premium eyewear. Now, we have succeeded in going one step further and reached a new milestone in our mission. Since 2022, our production facilities in the heart of Austria, have been carbon neutral (with compensation). We were able to achieve this goal by systematically converting a wide range of processes to sustainable methods, as well as through compensation payments towards certified climate protection projects. Along this way, a transparent presentation of our success is particularly important to us.

We were able to achieve the status of TÜV AUSTRIA-certified “carbon neutral (with compensation)” through the following measures. All other emissions that are still unavoidable, are offset with investing in projects that protect both people and nature.

handmade in austria

CO2 Neutralität 2022 brown

Local & sustainable

All of our eyewear is developed and manufactured in our local production facility. This gives us direct control over flexible, efficient production processes which ensures a minimal environmental impact.

Climate protection regulations in Austria

Since Austria is home to some of the strictest environmental protection regulations in the world, it is a perfect location for promoting our sustainable production practices. In addition, our production facility is subject to strict regulations for water protection areas.

ecological production

CO2 Neutralität 22 green
01
Renewable energy

Sustainable production begins with electricity from renewable energy sources; emission-free and sustainable. Our production facility is supplied with electricity from 100% renewable sources - a combination of solar, wind, hydropower, biomass and biogas. In addition, all existing and expandable roof areas have been used for extensive photovoltaic installations.

02
Emissions Purification

The use of a chemical thermal process technology plant allows us to filter large amounts of exhaust air generated during the production of eyewear. We use sophisticated filtration technologies to purify exhaust air, removing 97% of pollutants. The exhaust gas purification at our headquarters far exceeds the legal requirements for emissions reduction, resulting in nearly zero emissions!

03
Saving electricity with LED

A total of 370 light sources converted to LED at the production site reduce electricity consumption by 60%.

04
Water conservation

Located in a water conservation area, we already follow strict wastewater regulations. Every day, the wastewater from our production is carefully analyzed, and the pH value, water temperature and volume of wastewater are continually monitored. Therefore, our wastewater is treated in-house to filter out pollutants and make it safe for water treatment.

05
Heat recovery

Heat recovery is a technical process in which energy is made usable again. We use waste heat generated during individual production steps for air drying in our eyewear production.

06
Environmentally friendly means of transport

Our company cars are mostly electric.

social responsibility

CO2 Neutralität 22 beige

Code of Conduct

Our company-wide Code of Conduct for suppliers requires strict adherence to environmental norms and responsible sourcing practices. We only work with partners and suppliers who meet our ethical and ecological requirements.

The diversity charta

Our Diversity Charter is an initiative to promote respect for all members of society regardless of gender, age, origin and skin color, sexual orientation, religion and world view, or physical or mental disability.

sustainable materials

CO2 Neutralität 22 olive
01
Plant-based polymer

Our polymer frames are either 65% or 100% plant-based. We are therefore making a great progress at a time when only 0.5% of the total plastics produced worldwide are made from plant derivatives.

02
Biodegradable

From 2022, we will produce eyewear made of sustainable acetate. The plant-based material is a composition of wood and cotton. Thanks to purely plant-based plasticizers, the acetate is certified biodegradable.

03
Zero waste production

Our 3D printing process is not only innovative, but also sustainable as only material needed during the sintering process is used. Any access material can be reused.

04
Long-lasting and easy to recycle

Our high-quality beta titanium from Japan and recycled stainless steel is extremely durable and can be recycled an indefinite number of times.

05
360,000 plastic wrappers saved

The recycled-plastic cleaning cloths are wrapped exclusively in recyclable paper, which eliminated
the need for 360,000 plastic wrappers since 2017.

06
180,000 recycled bottles

Since 2017, over 180,000 empty plastic bottles have been recycled into NEUBAU EYEWEAR cleaning cloths. The 12 grams of plastic derived from a single half-liter bottle is enough to make two cloths.

07
Consistently sustainable

Environmental awareness is always at the forefront of NEUBAU – also concerning accessories and by-products. Only carefully selected materials that meet our high environmental standards are used for our accessories, packaging and marketing brochures.

climate protection

CO2 Neutralität 22 grey blue

Solar Power Project in India

In addition to systematically converting from harmful production processes to sustainable methods, every year we invest in a climate protection project to offset those emissions that are still unavoidable.

Electricity is the most used form of energy in eyewear production, which is why, together with the Silhouette Group, we are devoting special attention to this topic. The 2023 compensation amount will be invested in the expansion of a 400 MW photovoltaic plant in India. The purpose of the project is to generate power using renewable energy source which is exported to the regional grid system of India. In addition, we are continuing to expand our own power initiative through photovoltaic systems on our roofs within the production facility in Linz, Austria.

Solar Power Project 2023
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