Sustainability

We are deeply committed to a sustainable future

Products

Choosing timber products can help tackle climate change as timber is a renewable source, and carbon remains locked in wood for the life of the piece of timber. Growing trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, emit oxygen and store carbon. About half the dry weight of a tree or wood product is carbon; one ton of carbon represents 3.67 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Also, it takes 5 times more energy to produce aluminium than timber and timber has 2000 times the resistance to heat transfer (U-value) than aluminium.  Read: Sustainability - Carbon Storage

In Australia there are three timber certifications recognised: FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council), Australian Forest Certification Scheme (AFCS), and PEFC (Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification). Paarhammer only uses timber with one of these certifications, is itself FSC®-Chain-of-Custody certified (SCS-COC-001887) and FSC® certified products are available on request.

Most Paarhammer products are supplied with a stained or spray painted finish. We use Adler paints which are especially formulated for longevity on windows and doors. These paints are water based and contain low to very low VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). The use of low VOC finishes, rather than finishes with higher VOC levels, translates to a reduction in the emissions in your home and a better indoor environment for health and wellbeing. Read: Low VOC finished Windows for Health

 

Our commitment to good environmental outcomes goes beyond our products

Company

Our new manufacturing facility is just one example of how we aim to keep as low a carbon footprint as possible. Powered by the sun, the Paarhammer factory features an almost 100 kW photo-voltaic solar system to provide electricity.

Read: Powered by the Sun and to see figures read: Powering the Window Factory - and some

In addition, the factory is fitted with light management to reduce electricity needs, water tanks for supply to the factory, and waste management where our wood shavings are recycled into wood briquettes that are used to provide hot water and heat to our factory during the winter months, with the rest offered to the public. This reduces landfill by about 2500m3 per year, around the size of an Olympic sized swimming pool.

Paarhammer have also signed up to the Take-2 initiative by Sustainability Victoria, pledging to play our part to assist in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, to keep the global temperature rise to under two degrees. And we have joined the Australian Builders Declare Climate & Biodiversity Emergency movement as a supplier to the building industry, working towards meeting the needs of our society without breaching the earth’s ecological boundaries.

Read: Architects Declare Climate Emergency Read: Sustainability for End Users