Ambitious goals, challenges and learnings: Mark van Loon, Senior Vice President Corporate Sustainability & Innovation on sustainability at wienerberger.
Mark van Loon: I have a very wide range of responsibilities. These include supporting our Management Board in formulating and developing wienerberger’s strategy around sustainability and innovation. I also support managers in the individual countries with the implementation of our sustainability programs in day-to-day operations. Since the sustainability sector is evolving so rapidly, I learn something new every day – and that’s what makes my job so exciting.
Mark van Loon: Sustainability is key to winning the fight against climate change – and this will entail a massive transformation process, especially in our industry. At the same time, this development represents one of the biggest strategic opportunities and challenges of our age. As far as wienerberger is concerned, I see enormous growth potential – for example in solutions for water management and for net zero buildings. The latter are highly energy efficient, rely on energy from renewable sources and/or have a very small carbon footprint once completed. We have a strategic advantage here because we have been working in many of these areas for a long time.
We are constantly driving forward the necessary change processes and actively shaping the building materials and infrastructure industry, be it with our use of robots and artificial intelligence or our milestones on the road to climate-neutral brick production. For example, in Kortemark, Belgium, wienerberger already operates a carbon-neutral brick production plant that consumes no fossil energy at all. At Uttendorf in Austria, a high-efficiency kiln powered by green electricity is currently being tested for the production of Porotherm bricks with a 90 percent smaller carbon footprint.
In addition, we want to be ready today for the laws, norms and needs of tomorrow. We have to comply with all kinds of regulations which often vary from one country to the next, and new rules are coming in all the time. Take France, for example, where the RE2020 standard aims to reduce the carbon footprint of new buildings by at least 30 percent in 2030 compared to 2013. Our solutions ensure that such ambitious targets are achieved.
"We are constantly driving change processes: In doing so, wienerberger is actively helping to shape the building materials and infrastructure industry.”
Mark van Loon: Our vision back then was as clear as it is today: “We care for a better tomorrow“. But we knew we would have to draw up a clear and detailed strategy to implement the program in practice; good intentions alone are not enough. With this in mind and on the basis of stakeholder dialogues, wienerberger laid the groundwork for its Sustainability Program 2023 in 2019.
The program made wienerberger’s vision tangible, actionable and transparent by providing clear targets for all key aspects of our business activity. The program was clear cut, demanded accountability and was designed for a period of three years. It set specific targets for decarbonization, circularity, biodiversity and human resources management. Our colleagues in all countries worked to reach our targets with great commitment and creativity. I also found it very motivating to see how everyone pulled together in this regard.
Mark van Loon: People can identify better with short-term goals. We felt that three years is exactly the right length of time. Our employees notice that they are actively contributing to change, and the rhythm makes progress more noticeable. This keeps the momentum in the program. And this is exactly what is needed in a world that is constantly changing.
Mark van Loon: The diversity at wienerberger is both a challenge and an asset: We have more than 200 locations in 28 countries. Under these circumstances, there is no one-size-fits all solution; regional solutions and adaptations are needed. We use constant internal communication to show our colleagues where we currently stand in terms of sustainability and how we are continuing to work towards our goals. It is important that all of our approximately 20,000 employees know what the program stands for and why we are taking particular actions and measures. This motivates people and creates a sense of community and awareness.
We are all working together to be part of a big transformation: For example, we want to be climate neutral by 2050. To this end, we have set an intermediate target for decarbonization by 2030: 40 percent fewer emissions compared to 2020. Such clear, long-term goals help us plan even intensive and complex long-term projects, to get them on track and bring them to a successful conclusion. Major, far-reaching changes in particular need time and investment. That’s absolutely okay – for example, when two plants are combined into one bigger one or when we switch a plant completely to electricity in order to reduce CO2 emissions.
Mark van Loon: I’d like to use an example to explain: Diversity is a complex concept. For us, there is much more to it than just gender diversity. This is why in the Sustainability Program 2026 we turned the existing process around and broadened it: Now, in addition to the targets defined by management and the human resources department, we are going to ask all our countries to create their own plans for diversity and inclusion. I am sure the local teams will pursue more ambitious goals than we would have centrally set.
We have already used a similar approach to successfully promote biodiversity – with local action plans and employees as Biodiversity Ambassadors. Such visible successes have inspired us to focus on enhancing bottom-up, local involvement in future as well.
Targets for 2026: wienerberger has broadened the topics in the Sustainability Program 2026 and set even more ambitious goals.
“We have added ambitious goals in the Sustainability Program 2026: For example, to increase revenues generated by building products that support net zero buildings as well as water and waste management.”
Mark van Loon: In the Sustainability Program 2026 we made some important additions: To increase revenues from building products that contribute to the construction of net zero buildings as well as water and waste management. We have also included a reduction of scope 3 emissions. This category encompasses all indirect CO2 emissions that occur in the wienerberger value chain, including both upstream and downstream activities – such as those that arise, for example, at suppliers or through the disposal of products. We have also toughened existing targets.
Since climate change is turning water into an increasingly precious resource, wienerberger will seek to harvest, retain and save 35 million cubic meters of water through the use of its products. This includes reusing water for a variety of purposes or lowering water consumption. In addition, the company has committed itself to reducing water consumption in its own production by 15 percent.
Mark van Loon: wienerberger has the advantage that the company has been producing very sustainable products for more than 200 years. Nevertheless, we can only solve the challenges of our time together with others. When big companies like wienerberger want to change, it takes cooperation with people outside the company. We therefore involve stakeholders and work together with customers, innovative suppliers, property developers, architects, municipalities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The program was very well received by internal and external stakeholders and has contributed to accelerating our sustainable development.
I think our standing as a reliable and innovative partner for sustainability gives us a fantastic opportunity. We are also superbly positioned, and, in many respects, we play a pioneering role: Areas such as biodiversity are still uncharted territory for many, but we are already enjoying our first successes. For example, one aim set out in our Sustainability Program 2023 was that there should be a local action plan and at least one biodiversity ambassador per production site by the end of 2023. We have achieved this goal too. I am very proud that we have already come so far – and yet are still making steady progress.
© Marcel Rob
From Germany, France and Poland to the USA: Mark van Loon had held several international leadership positions in the building materials and infrastructure industry before joining wienerberger. Aged just 29 when he first became the managing director of a building materials firm, he is now Senior Vice President Sustainability & Innovation at wienerberger. The 61-year-old has always been passionate about innovation: “I am a pragmatic optimist. I believe that we can and must overcome challenges like climate change.” Mark van Loon lives in Amsterdam and Vienna.
© Robert Staudinger
