At Weber we take sustainability very seriously. As part of Saint-Gobain, we are committed to making the world a better home, and collectively wecare about building better for people and the planetby reducing the environmental impact of our products and operations.
Sustainability is part of everyone’s job at Weber, but there are a number of new roles where this specialism, experience and focus on improving our green credentials have been introduced.
Let’s meet some of the key people and their role in the company…
Oliver Glenister, Sustainability Chemist
“I’m part of the frontline team for making sure our products are better for the environment while also enabling our customers to build in the same way, by reducing the carbon footprint and increasing the amount of recycled and non-virgin material within Weber’s product range.
My work is mainly focused on our cement use as this is the greatest contributor to our CO2 footprint. If we can reduce the amount of cement that is present in our products, we can reduce the amount of CO2 they contain. The work that is involved in identifying effective cement replacement technology can be quite tricky, as this is the key component of the majority of our formulations and gives the products the properties our customers love.
Everybody in the Research and Development team is involved in sustainability, but we all have our own focus area. I’m responsible for delivering wide-reaching, long-term development of sustainable technology, with the rest of the team using this research to create the next generation of low carbon products for our customers.
I also work closely with colleagues across the world to make sure we share knowledge and best practice.”
Will Mason, Sustainability and Environmental Engineer
“My work involves creating Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) that are designed to explain the environmental impact of our products to customers. EPDs are based on understanding the lifecycle of our products and involve a lot of data. I work with colleagues right across the business to extract the data that’s needed to produce them.
I work closely with our quality assurance and integrated management systems manager, as well as Saint-Gobain’s Life Cycle Assessment team, who are responsible for implementing the data that is used to create EPDs. I’m in touch with so many people across the business, I see them as being in my team too because we all work so closely together.
I’ve always wanted to work within sustainability because I believe it’s a great way to make a difference in the world while you work. It’s my natural calling – it’s good to know what I’m working on can make a real difference in the world.
The construction industry is responsible for a huge amount of CO2 production, so reducing these figures is huge. While construction is playing a vital role during the current housing crisis, it’s equally important the greenest techniques and ideas are implemented to deliver the work.”
Sustainability Champions
At Weber, we have introduced a group of Sustainability Champions, made up of five employees from different departments. Their aim is to assess our environmental performance and targets, and provide recommendations for improving our impact on the planet.
Our Sustainability Champions also work hard to promote and communicate best practices and success stories. They create a link between other Saint-Gobain brands and collect ideas and questions to feedback to the Saint-Gobain Net Zero Carbon Assembly.
Our Champions recently launched the BIG LITTLE MOVES ideation scheme, which is a platform for all employees to share any small actions that may have been taken at work or at home to make our working and living spaces more sustainable and conducive to good health and well-being.
Our commitment to sustainability
Our commitment as a group to carbon neutrality by 2050 is rooted in a long history of reducing our environmental impact. It is inseparable from our ambition to provide customers with solutions to help them decarbonize and reduce their own environmental footprint.
Our net zero carbon ambition is a concrete demonstration of our brand mission to ‘care about building better for people and the planet’.
