ALUMIL SUSTAINABILITY

ALUMIL has always held the belief that a sustainable future requires the integration of sustainable practices across the entire production process. Being a vertically integrated company, this is particularly true in our case, and sustainability is of paramount importance. As early as 2007, we initiated the “Green ALUMIL” programme to develop a “green” business philosophy that would include environmental protection as a key parameter of our business operations. Approximately five years ago, it was this philosophy that drove Google to choose our company to install 3,500 windows in its New York offices. This project had been preceded by a thorough analysis of the environmental footprint and thermal insulation performance of our window production, since the US technology giant intended to obtain certification for its office building according to internationally acknowledged sustainable building standards, where the environmental footprint of materials used and their energy performance play a decisive role.

Sustainable development requires sustainable buildings. And sustainable buildings require “green” materials with high energy performance. Sustainable building is one of the most important, aspect of sustainable development and can have a decisive contribution to the international effort to save resources and energy, since buildings are generally assumed to account for approximately 40% of total energy consumption worldwide. In this context, it is essential that buildings consist of non-toxic and recyclable materials, with efficient construction processes that minimise fossil fuel and energy consumption. We need buildings with a long service life and low maintenance costs that promote people’s health and well-being.

Alumil is among the first companies in Greece to support the promotion of the “circular economy” model, a new production model based on the use of materials and products in such a way as to maximize their lifetime, while minimizing the extraction of natural resources. “Circular economy” is the transition from the current linear model of “production, consumption and disposal” to a circular model, where each product is processed at the end of its life cycle with minimal energy consumption, so that it can be used again, possibly in another form. Huge amounts of energy and natural resources can be saved through “circular economy”. And this is precisely where our main raw material, aluminium, stands out as one of the most environmentally friendly materials. Besides the fact that it is found in great abundance in nature, aluminium is one of the few materials that can be literally recycled forever, maintaining their value intact.

ALUMIL products are the ideal choice for the implementation of projects in accordance with the principles of Sustainable Building and Bioclimatic Architecture, for buildings made from environmentally friendly materials and characterised by their high energy efficiency. Numerous projects around the world where our company’s products were selected, have received internationally recognised certifications for «green» buildings, such as LEED, BREEAM etc.

Recently, ALUMIL was named as one of “The Most Sustainable Companies in Greece for 2020”, thanks to their consistency in sustainable corporate practices and the principles of circular economy that we apply as an organization. Alumil’s honorary distinction was based on the holistic approach on issues regarding sustainable development. Every factor that affects their production line was documented: from the raw material processing and the circular production model, to the Environmental Management System and aluminium recycling and re-casting methods.