Wienerberger : Sustainability Report 2023

2023 | Sustainability Report

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023

30

Key Indicators of wienerberger

32

Sustainability at wienerberger

• 33 wienerberger at a Glance

• 42 ESG Governance Structure

• 45 Green Financing

• 45 Risk Management and Due Diligence Processes

• 46 Business Conduct

• 50 Stakeholder Management

• 52 Supplier Management

• 54 Commitment, Partnerships, Indices & Ratings

56

For the People - Social Sustainability

57 77 79

Employees

Local Residents, Consumers and End-Users

Social Commitment

85

For the Planet - Environmental Sustainability

• 86 Climate Action

• 102 Water Management

• 107 Circular Economy and Resource Use

• 116 Biodiversity

124

Non-Financial Reporting

• 125 Methodology for Non-Financial Reporting

• 130 TCFD Report

• 143 Sustainability-Linked Progress Report

• 144 Taxonomy

• 149 Comprehensive overview of Non-Financial indicators 2023

• 167 GRI Content Index

• 173 Confirmation by the Managing Board

• 174 Auditor's Report

Material Indicators of wienerberger

Financial Indicators

Revenues

EBITDA Operating EBITDA EBIT

Profit before Tax Profit after tax Free Cashflow ROCE

Net debt Gearing

Non-Financial Indicators1)

1) For two companies newly acquired in 2023, emission and energy indicators are not included for the 2023 reporting year. // 2) Direct specific CO2 emissions (Scope 1) refer to CO2 emis-sions from raw materials (in ceramic production) as well as the fuel emissions of the entire Wienerberger Group. // 3) The calculation excluded CO2 emissions from biogenic input materials. // 4) The calculation of indirect CO2 emissions from purchased electricity is based on the current CO2 emission factors of Corporate Procurement. // 5) Direct CO2 emissions (Scope 1): ETS and non-ETS. ETS source: EU Transaction Log (EUTL). Non-ETS: Calculation in accordance with national rules or on the basis of EU standard emission factors. For plants in the USA CO2 emissions from the production process are also reported. Including CO2 emissions from biogenic input material. Quantities from Wienerberger's CO2 monitoring corresponding to national rules. // 6) Total energy consumption includes energy consumed in production, but excludes administration (except in a few individual cases where separate invoicing is not possible). // 7) Limited comparability to prior year due to scope and calculation methodology adaptions. // 8) Limited comparability of the data-tables to the past data-table disclosed in prior year due to changed scope of consolidation and adaptions of calculation methodology. Comparability of these data in three-years-trend is given. // For all non-financial indicators, the rates of change vs. previous periods are calculated on the basis of non-rounded values. Electronic data processing may result in rounding differences. // General remarks applying to all parts of the 2023 Sustainability Report: All non-financial indicators and their rates of change are calculated on the basis of non-rounded values. // Electronic data processing may result in rounding differences. // Some of the differences vs. the previous year are in the decimal range. // The calculation methods used and the reporting scope are explained in the respective chapters of the 2023 Sustainability Report.

Ø Employees as at 31.12.

Employees as at 31.12.

New entrants

Employee turnover

Ø Training hours / employee Percentage of women

Percentage of women in senior management

Percentage of women in white-collar positions

Accident frequency

Accident severity

Number of fatal occupational accidents Ø Sick-leave days / employee Housing units for people in need

1) Agency and temporary workers are included from their first hour of work at Wienerberger. // 2) Including the four companies newly acquired in 2022 // 3) Employees directly employed by Wienerberger. // 4) Ratio of persons leaving the Wienerberger Group (termination by employee or employer or mutually agreed termination) to average number of employees (headcount) in permanent employment in the reporting year, excluding temporary and agency workers as well as workers under term contracts; persons retiring or on leave do not count as persons leaving the company. Excluding North America; due to special national legal provisions the indicators are not comparable to those of other business units. // 5) Internal and external initial and further training measures per employee (headcount). International training events are not included. // 6) Share of women among all employees except in production. // 7) Share of women in administration and sales (including marketing and inventories). // 8) Including temporary and agency workers (from their first hour of work at Wienerberger) and employees under term con-tracts // 9) Accident-related and non-accident-related sick-leave days. Agency and temporary workers are included in data on accident-related sick-leave days. Data on non-accident-related sick-leave days include all employees directly employed by Wienerberger. Excluding North America; due to special national legal provisions the indicators are not comparable to those of other business units. // 10) Housing unit for humanitarian projects: Buildings: Construction/renovation of residential and non-residential buildings. One housing unit = one single-family house / one apartment / a predefined surface in a non-residential building // Infrastructure (drinking-water or wastewater connection): Construction/renovation: connection of four housing units to drinking water supply or wastewater disposal / connection per predefined surface in a non-residential building = one housing unit. // 11) Within our policy, events (fatal - ,lost time -, medical intervention accidents) of acquired companies that have not finished the one-year integration process are not reported.

Percentage of innovative products in total revenues

wienerberger at a Glance

Company profile

wienerberger is a leading international provider of smart solutions for the entire building envelope in new build and renovation as well as for infrastructure in water and energy management. Currently, we have 216 production sites operat-ing in 28 countries and we export our products to international markets. We are the worldwide market leader in bricks and the number-one producer of clay roof tiles in Europe. Moreover, we are among the leading suppliers of pipe systems in Europe and concrete pavers in Central and Eastern Europe. Through the acquisition of Meridian Brick, wienerberger also became the leading provider of façade solutions in the USA and Canada.

wienerberger is a free-float company with 100% of its shares being publicly traded. For details on the shareholder structure, please refer to pages 216 and 217 of this Annual Report.

Our 18,913 employees are the foundation of our organization. Their excellent cooperation is based on a firmly rooted, vibrant corporate culture that is characterized by shared values - trust, respect, passion, and creativity. For further information on our corporate culture and our corporate values, please refer to our Website1 and to pages 12 and 13.

Vision and corporate strategy

wienerberger improves people's quality of life and creates a better world for generations to come by providing innovative and sustainable solutions for new-build, renovation, and infra-structure projects.

Our vision is to be the most highly regarded provider of sus-tainable building materials and infrastructure solutions and the preferred employer in our local markets.

The primary goal of our entrepreneurial activities is to grow sustainably and continuously and to achieve our financial targets, all in compliance with our strict and ambitious ESG (environmental, social, governance) goals. For wienerberger, ESG, innovation, and operational excellence, as well as M&A and portfolio optimization, are the most important pillars of sus-tainable growth. Further information on our corporate mission and our value proposition is provided in this Annual Report on pages 10-27.

1)https://www.wienerberger.com/en/about/corporate-culture.html

Over the past years, wienerberger has continuously reoriented its corporate strategy: We have evolved from a volume- and production-driven manufacturer of standard products into a full-range provider of innovative and smart system solutions for energy-efficient housing construction, renovation, and infra-structure. The wienerberger corporate strategy, our priorities, and the interrelation between our financial and non-financial criteria are also described in greater detail on pages 10-27 of this Annual Report.

Operating segments and product groups

wienerberger's durable products and smart system solutions are used for the construction and renovation of buildings, and even entire city quarters. The product portfolio now ranges from roof and wall systems to façade solutions, engineering services for buildings to innovative pipe systems for safe and secure energy and water supply, as well as systems for rainwa-ter management and wastewater disposal.

New reporting structure in Europe

In 2022, wienerberger decided to adapt its operating structure as of the 2023 business year, changing over from a product-ori-ented structure centered on business units - wienerberger Building Solutions and wienerberger Piping Solutions - to a regional structure with Region Europe West and Region Europe East. This new structure will contribute toward harnessing synergies between the various operating segments within the countries and regions.

The new format of the information presented has no influence on its granularity and its comparability with previously reported information, as the presentation of prior periods has also been adapted to the new structure.

Reporting structure in North America

A combined management structure of this type has been prac-ticed successfully by North America for several years.

Further information on the reporting structure and product groups of wienerberger is presented in the 2023 Annual Report on pages 207-209 and 234-235.

CORE APPLICATIONS OF

OUR PRODUCTS AND SYSTEMS

In North America, Wienerberger operates a total of 28 production sites in the USA and Canada. Our focus is on innovative products and system solutions in facing bricks, concrete and calcium silicate pro-ducts, and plastic pipes for infrastructure and building installations.

Markets with production sites

Export markets

Number of production sites

• 1Facing Bricks

• 1Calcium Silicate Products

• 1Concrete Products

• 1Plastic Pipes

• 1 Alabama

• 2 Arkansas

• 3 Colorado

• 4 Georgia

• 5 Indiana

• 6 Kentucky

• 7 Michigan

• 8 Mississippi

In Europe, we provide innovative system solutions for the entire building envelope based on our broad range of clay blocks, facing bricks, roof tiles, and pavers. Our product mix also includes plastic pipes and ceramic pipes for solutions in water management, energy supply and in-house installations. We are represented in 25 countries with a total of 187 production sites.

Wienerberger in India

In the Indian market, the birthplace of mudbrick architecture, we operate one production site for clay block solutions.

Wienerberger Markets in Europe

Markets with production sites

Export markets

Anzahl der Standorte

• 1Clay Blocks

• 1Facing Bricks

• 1Roofing Systems

• 1Pavers

• 1Plastic Pipes

• 1Ceramic Pipes

• 1Digital Products & Solutions

• 1 Belgium

• 2 Bulgaria

• 3 Denmark

  4

  4

  3 1 1 15

  8

  2

  • 14 Norway

    1 1

    1 1

  • 15 Austria

  • 16 Poland

    7 7

    2 1

    1

    5

    2

• 4 Germany

  1

  2

  1

  1

  1

  9 10 11 12

  North CarolinaOklahomaOntarioPennsylvania

  1 1 1 1

  • 13 South Carolina

  • 14 Tennessee

  • 15 Texas

  • 16 Virginia

  2

  3

  5

  1

  2

  • 17 Romania

• 5 Estonia

  2

  1

  4

  3

  1

  • 18 Russia

• 6 Finland

  2

  1

• 7 France

• 8 United Kingdom

  1

• 9 Ireland

  1 1 5 1

• 10 Italy

  1 1

• 11 Croatia

• 12 Netherlands

13

North Macedonia

1

2

3

• 19 Sweden

  4

  1

  1

  1 9

  3 7

  1 1 1

• 20 Serbia

• 21 Slovakia

• 22 Slovenia

  4

• 23 Czech Republic

  1 1

  1

  1

  2 1

  1

  1

  7

  2

  1

  2

  1

  1

• 24 Turkey

  9

  2

  3

  5

  3

  2

• 25 Hungary

  1

  5

  2

  2

  1

• 26 India

1

Status 31/12/2023

Status 31/12/2023

Value creation of wienerberger products and system solutions

With its innovative and sustainable solutions for new-build, renovation, and infrastructure projects, wienerberger improves people's quality of life and creates a better world for genera-tions to come. For the main applications of our products and systems we design sustainable solutions for the building enve-lope and paved surfaces, as well as in-house and infrastructure solutions.

Based on the process of value creation, they can be classified as follows:

• › Ceramic products and systems

• › Plastic pipes and systems

• › Concrete products

Examples of wienerberger product and system solutions designed to address the global challenges of climate change (page 86), sustainable water management (page 102), circular economy & resource use (page 108), as well as biodiversity (page 117) can be found in the corresponding chapters.

Value chain of ceramic products and systems

Use phase - Building solutions wienerberger's building solutions are designed for energy-effi-cient and future-proof building construction. Our roof tiles, clay blocks, facing bricks, and ceramic pavers are used for single-family homes and multi-story residential buildings as well as for non-residential buildings, such as office buildings, hospitals, schools, and kindergartens. Building solutions by wienerberger for "Net Zero Buildings" are either highly energy-efficient, capa-ble of producing or converting renewable energy resources for their own operation, or characterized by a very low CO2 footprint during construction.

Use phase - Ceramic pipes

Ceramic pipes (clay pipes) and accessories produced by wienerberger are ideally suited for cost-effective, safe, sustain-able wastewater disposal. Sturdy, environment-friendly and requiring little maintenance, they prove their merits not only in municipal and industrial applications, but also in residential buildings as well as commercial and public buildings. Their long service life is one of the main advantages of wienerberger's ceramic pipes, especially for demanding applications.

End of service life

Brick products have a very long service life of at least 100 years and great potential for reuse. At the end of their service life, ceramic products can be recycled internally and externally or reused for other applications. In this context, we are intensively exploring the possibility of recycling and the use of ceramic construction debris, which can either be reused directly in the brick production process or used for the development of new applications. wienerberger sees great potential in the "urban mining" concept, which is aimed at saving resources through the recovery and reuse of secondary raw materials from the so-called anthropogenic stock (see also the chapter "Circular Economy & Resource Use" on page 108).

Sourcing

The most important raw materials for wienerberger's ceramic products and systems are clay, as well as additives and aggre-gates, and alternative binders. Clay is either extracted from our own clay pits or procured from external suppliers and trans-ported by them to the respective wienerberger plants. Other raw materials, as well as packaging material, are also procured externally. Our plants are supplied with energy and water for the production process.

Production

Clay is prepared by crushing and grinding. After interim storage of the prepared clay in the souring house, the material is shaped through extrusion in forming dies or pressed into molds. Once cut to size, the products are placed on pallets and transported to the dryer.

The drying process serves to extract moisture from the clay and prepares the products for firing. Certain ceramic products undergo surface treatment before their firing process, through which the products are hardened. Although mostly thermal energy is used for drying and firing, the use of electricity for this purpose is gaining in importance. After finishing, the ceramic products are packaged and delivered to the customers.

Value chain of plastic pipes and systems

Use phase

Plastic pipes and systems produced by wienerberger are important arteries of reliable, resource-efficient water manage-ment and energy supply. In-house solutions for residential and non-residential buildings include electrical installations, heat-ing and cooling systems, hot and cold water supply systems, wastewater and rainwater systems, as well as installations and systems for irrigation and water storage. Infrastructure solu-tions include gas, water, wastewater, and rainwater systems, as well as solutions for energy supply, data transmission, and products for special industrial applications.

End of service life

Plastic pipes can be recycled internally and externally. Within the framework of the Circular Plastics Alliance, wienerberger supports all efforts to increase the use of recycled plastic mate-rials in Europe to at least 10 million tons per year by 2025.

Sourcing

Raw materials for the production of plastic pipes and systems, such as PE, PP, and PVC, as well as secondary raw materials and packaging material, are procured from our suppliers and trans-ported by them to the respective wienerberger plants.

Our plants are supplied with energy and water for the produc-tion process. Water for cooling purposes is also drawn from surface bodies of water (rivers, lakes, and in Scandinavia also the ocean) and subsequently returned to them in accordance with the applicable legal provisions.

Production

Plastic granulates are mixed and heated in an extruder to produce a melt. The heated plastic melt is then pressed through a die for shaping. The resultant pipe strand is cooled in water to harden the plastic material. The continuous pipe strand is then cut to size according to requirements.

Another production method is injection molding. Raw materials for pipe accessories are first heated and then the melt is formed in molds. To a growing extent, 3D printing and computer-aided assembly of parts are being used in pipe production.

Electricity is the main source of energy used in the production of plastic pipes and pipe system components. After being cut to size, the plastic pipes and pipe system components are pack-aged and delivered to the customers.

Value chain of concrete products

Use phase wienerberger's range of concrete products comprises concrete roof tiles, concrete pavers and slabs, steps, edgings, kerbstones and palisades, fences, wall stones and slope stabilizer blocks. They are used for private, commercial, and public applications, such as public squares, public gardens, roadways, and parking lots. wienerberger pavers designed for water infiltration, which are laid on permeable ground, allow rainwater to seep away through wide gravel or turf joints or through drainage holes, so that water is stored in the ground and thus increases the groundwater level. Unsealing the soil and creating green spaces facilitates the adaptation to climate change and contributes to sustainable water management.

End of service life

Concrete products by wienerberger are suited for reuse as well as internal and external recycling.

Sourcing

The most important raw materials for the production of wienerberger's concrete products are sand and gravel, cement, aggregates, alternative binders and filling agents, as well as water. These are procured from suppliers as primary or second-ary raw materials (externally recycled materials) and trans-ported to the respective wienerberger plants. Energy, water, and packaging materials are also procured for the production process. For wienerberger's concrete products, "urban mining", i.e. the recovery and use of secondary raw materials from the so-called anthropogenic stock, is gaining in importance as a source of raw materials (see also the chapter "Circular Economy & Resource Use" on page 108).

Production

Mixing the raw materials is the first step in the production of concrete products. This is followed by shaping through press-ing or casting. For certain products, various surface-finishing processes, such as washing, grinding, blasting, or coating, may be applied before or after the drying process. The cured finished products are then packaged and delivered to our customers.

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Wienerberger AG published this content on 25 March 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 25 March 2024 07:06:09 UTC.