News and press releases - VELUX Media Centre | VELUX Group

The VELUX Group and Domea.dk enter Living Places partnership

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 09:00:00 +0200

The VELUX Group and Domea.dk enter a partner agreement to accelerate the green transition of the affordable housing sector in Denmark. With this agreement, Domea.dk will be the first non-profit housing organisation to facilitate full-scale testing of the Living Places principles in building Danish affordable housing projects.

Domea.dk will apply the Living Places principles to establish sustainable communities and homes with a low carbon footprint and healthy indoor climates. So far, the plan is to initially develop a housing project of 40 new rental homes for Domea Faxe in the southern part of Zealand.

Making low-carbon emission housing affordable for many

Going forward, the concept is expected to play a significant role in Domea.dk's upcoming new construction and development plans. Hopefully, this new partnership will contribute to scaling the concept, principles, and the extensive knowledge that Living Places has provided, making it accessible to far more people than is currently the case.

Through the agreement, the VELUX Group shares analyses, calculations and simulations from Living Places as well as detailed information about the five principles behind the Living Places concept with Domea.dk.

VELUX Group signs long-term agreement with Novelis to supply low carbon aluminium

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0200

The VELUX Group has entered a multi-year commercial agreement with Novelis, the world leader in aluminium rolling and recycling, for the supply of high recycled content aluminium. This means flat-rolled aluminium made from more than 70% recycled content will be used to manufacture VELUX roof windows and accessories to further reduce carbonemissions.

It follows an initial letter of intent between Novelis and VELUX Group entered in 2022. Now, a long-term commercial agreement replaces this and confirms the goal to reach a level of 3 kg CO₂eq/kg flat rolled aluminium or below by 2030.

Benefits of Novelis’ recycled aluminium

Recycling aluminium saves energy and reduces emissions by up to 95%* compared to primary aluminium, making it a key enabler in advancing decarbonised solutions for building materials and construction. The aluminium alloy provided by Novelis to VELUX is specifically optimised for use in roof window production.

Pushing boundaries for low-carbon building materials with long-term supplier

Novelis is a leader in driving low-carbon aluminium solutions and has been a supplier to VELUX for more than 40 years. Since 2022, the companies have been collaborating closely to reduce the carbon footprint of the aluminium used in VELUX products. To date, more than 50% of the aluminium supplied by Novelis to VELUX has been replaced with high recycled content, and the partners are working on increasing this amount steadily in the coming years.

Significance of low-carbon materials in VELUX products

Aluminium is one of several key materials VELUX Group is investigating together with its suppliers to help achieve reductions in its products and overall carbon footprint. With more than 98% of the company’s carbon footprint coming from scope 3, value chain emissions, decarbonisation efforts require effective collaboration with key suppliers.

First Living Places prototype in the Netherlands opens

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 08:00:00 +0200

The first Living Places prototype outside of Denmark, the Smûk house, opens its doors in Dokkum, Friesland in the Netherlands. Her Majesty Queen Máxima visited the Smûk house as one of the first guests. The prototype is built by the Dutch house builder, Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma (BGDD), who entered a partner agreement on the Living Places concept with the VELUX Group in 2023.

The Netherlands face enormous challenges in the built environment that is dominated by a significant housing shortage, houses being built with four times the recommended CO₂footprint[1], and homes becoming increasingly complex and less comfortable for users. The Smûk house is an example of how to address these challenges as it showcases a house based on the Living Places concept that is affordable to build, healthier to live in with a minimal CO₂footprint.

The built environment is responsible for 38% of all Dutch CO₂ emissions with 27% of these coming from energy use during the building's lifecycle and 11% from emissions during the production of building materials[2]. These numbers underline the urgency of transforming the building industry by applying new construction methods and ways of thinking.

A new way forward for Dutch housing
Although the Smûk house offers higher comfort and is affordable to build, it still faces challenges in Dutch legislation to actually be built as an alternative to the current housing tradition. From environmental plans and installations to visible beam constructions, there are challenges to overcome in urban planning and to achieve permits.

BGDD is known for its innovative approach and collaborates with local farmers to grow biobased insulation materials, such as hemp and flax. Additionally, peat meadow areas are flooded to cultivate cattail and miscanthus. This not only reduces CO₂ emissions but also produces circular materials for construction.

The Smûk house was unveiled on Thursday, September 19, at the construction company's site in Dokkum, Friesland where over 350 customers, policymakers, and partners participated in a large event that focused on inspiring, connecting and setting new standards. Her Majesty Queen Máxima, Director General from the Ministry of Housing and Spatial planning Mr. C. Kuijpers, King’s commissioner from the province of Fryslân mr. A. Brok, and Mayor from the municipality of Noard-East mr. J. Kramer were also present at the event.

[1]Coppe8: Woningbouw binnen planetaire grenzen
[2] Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC); Whole life carbon

The VELUX Group and HusCompagniet in new partnership on the Living Places concept

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 11:30:00 +0200

The VELUX Group and the Danish housebuilder, HusCompagniet, have signed a knowledge-based partner agreement on the Living Places concept to help move the Danish construction industry in a more sustainable direction. The agreement builds on the experiences gained from the VELUX Group’s Living Places project and is the first of its kind in Denmark.

The total carbon footprint of the construction industry accounts for approximately 30% of CO2 emissions in Denmark[1], of which 10% comes from the production of building materials and materials for the entire building and construction industry, including the construction of bridges, roads, renovation and new construction[2]. Consequently, there is a need to implement and scale new solutions with a lower carbon footprint if the construction sector is to succeed in the green transition. The new partnership agreement between the VELUX Group and HusCompagniet is a good example of how partners across the construction sector join forces to realize this ambition.

HusCompagniet wishes to contribute to the development of the construction industry - especially within sustainability and the green transition. Since 2019, HusCompagniet has worked with sustainability initiatives as an integral part of its strategy and is now systematically collecting data and knowledge from its houses and suppliers to establish an informed basis for reducing CO2 emissions. With the partner agreement on Living Places, HusCompagniet will gain an even deeper insight into how to work with material selection, design, CO2 footprint, and health in homes going forward.

The ambition behind the award-winning Living Places project is to inspire change and show that it is already possible to build with lower CO2 emissions and a better indoor climate at a scalable and affordable level. Living Places is based on five key principles; that homes should be healthy, simple, flexible, scalable, and empower communities.

With the agreement, the VELUX Group shares analyses, calculations, and simulations from Living Places as well as detailed information about the five principles with HusCompagniet. HusCompagniet will work to implement this knowledge in several future projects with the ambition of eventually offering homes with a first-class indoor climate and as low a carbon footprint as possible to Danish homeowners. Thus, the partner agreement is a long-term collaboration between the two parties, where the overall ambition is to push sustainable development and translate insights from the Living Places project to homes for the general Danish population.

About Living Places
The Living Places concept is developed by the VELUX Group in collaboration with EFFEKT architects and Artelia engineers, who opened the doors to the first prototype in Copenhagen in April last year. Since then, several Danes have shown interest in building houses based on the Living Places concept.

Read more about Living Places

[1] https://concito.dk/nyheder/nye-co2-krav-kan-paavirke-flere-facetter-byggeriet , https://www.ft.dk/samling/20191/almdel/KEF/bilag/393/2229190.pdf
[2] https://www.ft.dk/samling/20191/almdel/KEF/bilag/393/2229190.pdf

New solar park in Spain combining agriculture and biodiversity provides VELUX Group with renewable power

Tue, 28 May 2024 10:00:00 +0200

A large solar park developed for the VELUX Group to meet its renewable power needs in Europe is now fully operational and connected to the local electricity grid in Spain. The 54 MWp-photovoltaic (PV) park integrates renewable electricity production, agriculture and biodiversity. It is the first Agri-PV solar park global renewable energy company BayWa r.e. built in Spain, based on a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with VELUX.

In November 2022, the VELUX Group and BayWa r.e. announced a PPA to develop two large solar PV parks in southern Spain: one in Gerena, close to Seville, and the other in Alhendín, near Granada. The Alhendín park was recently completed and is now delivering electricity to the local power grid.

With Alhendín fully operational, VELUX has achieved its 100% renewable electricity goal, while enabling a new renewable energy plant in Europe. The park consists of more than 85,000 solar panels and produces 96.8 GWh of electricity annually, equivalent to the electricity consumption of 24,700 households.

Pioneering Agri-PV installation
The Alhendín solar park is a pioneering Agri-PV installation, combining renewable energy generation and agriculture: about 10% of the park is designed to allow farming machinery to pass between solar panels. This project is the first of its kind for BayWa r.e. in Spain.

Solar Plant Symbiosis
The Solar Plant Symbiosis includes a suite of measures to enhance biodiversity and foster community involvement. The project is currently being developed in partnership with the two Spanish universities Universidad de Córdoba and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

So far, the scope of the Solar Plant Symbiosis includes the following additional measures:

Baseline studies, digitalisation and monitoring of vegetation

Agri-PV pilot and rainwater collection system
Grass planting with natural seeds and wildflower species
Wildlife refuges, ponds for amphibians, bird drinking tanks, nest boxes and posts
Hatching area to protect the endangered Lesser Kestrel bird species
Steppe habitat improvement
Monitoring and assessment of measures to create a guide of best practices that can be replicated in other projects
Social actions in the area, such as workshops with local interest groups and educational school visits

Looking ahead
These measures in the Alhendín park will be established step by step and are expected to be fully realised by Spring 2025. The Gerena solar park is awaiting regulatory approval locally and is scheduled to be completed in 2025. The capacity of the Gerena park is expected to be about 60 MWp.

When both solar plants are fully operational, they will generate 167 GWh of renewable electricity annually for VELUX, equivalent to the electricity consumption of approximately 45,000 European homes. About 80% of the electricity produced from the plants will be generated due to the PPA with VELUX. The PPA will reduce the carbon footprint of the VELUX Group by approximately 40,000 tonnes of CO₂e from the company’s European operations and activities on a yearly basis.

Living Places Copenhagen wins international recognition

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 09:00:00 +0100

The groundbreaking housing project, Living Places Copenhagen, wins two international architecture awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) thereby confirming the importance of the project on the international architecture scene.

Living Places Copenhagen, built by the VELUX Group, EFFEKT architects, Artelia engineers and Enemærke & Petersen contractors, has been awarded with two international awards by the American Institute of Architects. The AIA has just announced that the Danish design studio EFFEKT has been awarded the Sustainable Future Award and the Merit Award for Architecture.

With the Sustainable Future Award and the Merit Award for Architecture, Living Places Copenhagen is recognized for its outstanding design and for demonstrating that it is possible to improve human health and energy efficiency and manage our dwindling resources in a sustainable way through meaningful, sustainable, and integrated design. More about the awards: www.aiainternational.org/design-awards-2023-winners.

The news of the two international awards was also received with great enthusiasm by EFFEKT, the architects on the project.

In September 2023, Living Places Copenhagen won the EY Sustainability award in the innovation category for its groundbreaking and innovative concept for future housing, and in November Living Places Copenhagen received the design award of the Bo Bedre magazine in the Innovative of the Year category.

About Living Places Copenhagen
In April 2023 the VELUX Group, EFFEKT, Artelia, and Enemærke & Petersen opened the doors to Living Places Copenhagen in the Railway District in Copenhagen. It is the first prototype of the overall Living Places concept, and the vision is to lead the way in the building industry and show how rethinking buildings can help solve some of the global climate and health challenges. The groundbreaking project demonstrates that it is possible to build homes with a CO2 footprint that is 2/3 lower per m2/year than the Danish standard while ensuring a first-class indoor climate.

VELUX Group and Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma partner on Living Places concept

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 06:00:00 +0200

The VELUX Group has entered a partner agreement with the Dutch house builder Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma on building more sustainable housing in the Northern part of the Netherlands. With this partner agreement, Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma is the first house builder to use the Living Places concept in their development and construction processes and to build the first prototype in the Netherlands based on the concept.

With the building industry accounting for 37% of the global CO2 emissions there is a urgent need for low carbon solutions to be scaled and implemented in the building industry. Earlier this year, the VELUX Group and its partners, EFFEKT and Artelia, presented the Living Places concept as one example of how rethinking buildings can help solve some of the global climate and health challenges. An important aim and aspect of the Living Places project is to scale the concept to the rest of Europe and to apply Living Places more broadly through knowledge sharing. The new partner agreement between The VELUX Group and Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma, is the first partner agreement on the Living Places project and the Dutch company will be the first house builder to use the Living Places concept in its development and construction processes and to build a full scale Living Places prototype in the Northern part of the Netherlands.

Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma has an ambition to build the future homes of the Netherlands in a more sustainable way and has already developed a replaceable timbered frame house insulated with biobased materials like cattail, miscanthus, hemp and flax.

A partner agreement to build more sustainable housing
In the partner agreement with Dijkstra Draisma, the VELUX Group commits to share knowledge, analyses, calculations and simulations on the Living Places concept as well as detailed information on the five key Living Places principles: that homes should be adaptive, healthy, simple, scalable and shared over time, with the Dutch house builder. The VELUX Group will furthermore share concrete learnings and know-how from the Living Places Copenhagen-prototype and work closely together with Dijkstra Draisma to exchange knowledge on low carbon housing.

Read more about the Living Places project here

VELUX Group supports the sustainable transition of the building industry as Impact Partner to the UIA World Congress of Architecture 2023

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 08:00:00 +0200

As part of the VELUX Group’s commitment to accelerate sustainable development, expressed in the Group`s Sustainability strategy 2030, the group has taken the role of Impact Partner to the UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 in Copenhagen.

The partnership with the UIA conference is based on a shared goal of driving the sustainable transition of the building industry by fostering dialogue and bringing together global opinion leaders and important stakeholders from all sectors of the industry.

As an Impact Partner, the VELUX Group will contribute with talks and knowledge-sharing around three key topics; sustainability in a global context, housing of the future and the next generation of industry professionals.

Please see the full program of the UIA conference: https://uia2023cph.org/programme/

Living Places Copenhagen – a SDG Pavilion for the UIA conference
The 14^th of April this year, the VELUX Group and its partners, EFFEKT, Artelia and Enemærke & Petersen, opened the doors to Living Places Copenhagen. A building exhibition demonstrating how to build homes with a CO₂ footprint of 3.8 kg/CO₂/m²/year – three times lower than the current Danish legislation of 12 kg CO₂/m²/year – with a best in class indoor climate. The vision behind the project is to lead the way within the building industry and show how rethinking buildings can help solve some of the global climate- and health challenges.

Living Places Copenhagen has been chosen as one of the 15 SDG Pavilions for the UIA World Congress of Architects in Copenhagen. Each pavilion is chosen due to its unique suggestion for how to build for the future and relates to one or more of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs). Living Places has been chosen as one of the pavilions reflecting the 11^th SDG-goal “Sustainable cities and communities”.

VELUX Group announces two new climate and conservation projects in Viet Nam and Madagascar in partnership with WWF

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 08:00:00 +0200

As part of the VELUX Group’s target to capture the historical emissions from operations, the group will finance two additional forest conservation and restoration projects in tropical landscapes. Together with the first project in Uganda, the new projects in Viet Nam and Madagascar will contribute significantly to the capture of the Group’s historical emissions from operations.

The VELUX Group has committed to capture the equivalent of their historical CO₂ emissions from operations from 1941 to 2041. This will be achieved through a portfolio of forest projects financed by the VELUX Group and developed and managed by WWF offices in each country in partnership with local authorities and communities. The VELUX-WWF partnership goes beyond emission reduction in the VELUX Group’s own operations and its value chain, where the Group has set a target to achieve a 100% reduction in emissions from operations (scope 1 and 2) and to halve their value chain emissions (scope 3) by 2030.

The partnership's first forest project is located in Uganda, where one of the worst affected areas, Kagombe in Uganda, has seen a deforestation rate of 73% in the past decade. The project aims to restore degraded forests, plant new trees, and protect the existing natural forests. Through community-based conservation, it is expected that the project will capture 1 million tonnes of CO2. More than 180,000 trees have now been planted and local alternatively livelihood activities have commenced.

Two new projects to benefit people, nature and climate
The two additional forest projects have been selected based on the carbon potential, the biodiversity and community benefits as well as the long-term sustainability of each project. The project in Viet Nam, located in the mountainous Central Annamites Landscape, focuses on REDD activities and is expected to contribute with reductions and removals of more than 2 million tonnes of CO₂. The project in Madagascar is located in the mangroves of the Manambolo – Tsiribihina Landscape and focuses on ARR activities. The project is expected to contribute with reductions and removals of more than 0.5 million tonnes of CO₂. All numbers are preliminary estimates and may be subject to change as part of a third party validation.

Each project will deliver nature-based solutions (NbS) for climate mitigation aligned with WWF’s Blueprint for High-Quality Interventions that Work for People, Nature and Climate. These projects are designed to halt deforestation and restore natural forests in key biodiversity hot spots in partnership with communities and local authorities. The carbon emissions removed and reduced from the forest projects will be donated to the host countries’ conditional climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. This means that the carbon will not be used for off-setting of VELUX carbon emissions or any other organisation’s emissions.

Read more about the projects in Uganda, Viet Nam and Madagascar.

For more information contact
Christine Boeriis Dannisøe, Media Relations Manager: + 45 28 97 80 72 or christine.dannisoee@velux.com

Mai-Britt Noe, Head of PR & Media, WWF Denmark: +45 28 93 63 28 or mai-britt.noe@wwf.dk

Progress on the Uganda project

180,000+ trees have been planted in Kagombe Central Forest Reserve
The project is also starting to have positive impact on local communities with introduction of alternative livelihood options such as mushroom growing and large-scale apiaries.
More than 400 beehives have been set up in two communities and will provide a substantial economic contribution to the 80 community group members.
Each beehive is expected to generate a gross income of USD 124 annually, which is equivalent to 92% of annual per capita income in the Project Area.

VELUX Group presents more sustainable homes with record low carbon footprint and best in class indoor climate

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 08:00:00 +0200

The VELUX Group and partners open the doors to Living Places Copenhagen – seven prototypes that show how we can develop sustainable buildings with a three times lower CO₂ footprint and a first-class indoor climate. Living Places concept holds the lowest CO₂ emissions in Denmark, demonstrating that we do not have to wait for future technology to build more sustainably.

The building industry accounts for 34% of the global energy consumption and 37% of the global CO₂ emissions^[1], and in the latest report from the UN's climate panel, it is clear that low carbon solutions must be scaled and implemented – also in the building industry. One of those solutions can be experienced in Copenhagen from today. With the groundbreaking project Living Places Copenhagen, the VELUX Group and its partners, demonstrate how to build homes with a CO₂ footprint of 3.8 kg/CO₂/m²/year – three times lower than the current Danish legislation of 12 kg CO₂/m²/year – and to a price that matches the market price for a one-family house or rowhouses at scale. Furthermore, Living Places Copenhagen is designed with a strong focus on creating a healthy indoor climate using daylight and fresh air and it delivers best in class indoor climate.

Living Places Copenhagen is the first prototype showcasing the overall concept - Living Places – which was initiated by the VELUX Group, EFFEKT and Artelia. The vision is to lead the way within the building industry and show how rethinking buildings can help solve some of the global climate and health challenges. The concept is based on five key principles: homes should be healthy, adaptive, simple, shared over time and scalable. These principles can be applied to new or existing buildings and communities.

The materials, solutions and knowledge are already here
As a part of The Living Places Copenhagen project, the VELUX Group, EFFEKT, Artelia and Enemærke & Petersen, have carried out a complete Life Cycle Assessment. This means that each material, design and building technique has been carefully considered and mapped in terms of the emissions they project compared to a typical Danish household. Based on this, the partnership have built prototypes, showing that we do not have to wait for future technology to build homes that benefit both people and the planet.

Living Places Copenhagen showcases a total of seven prototypes – five open pavilions and two completed full-scale homes which open to the public on Earth Day on the 22nd April. As an official partner to the UIA World Congress of Architects in Copenhagen, Living Places Copenhagen will host a programme of debates and activities designed to drive and accelerate change in the building industry.

Read more about Living Places Copenhagen and how to book a tour here: https://buildforlife.velux.com/en/livingplaces/visit-living-places-copenhagen

^[1] UN Global Building Alliance Status Report 2022

VELUX Group commissions BayWa r.e. to build two solar parks to power its European operations with green electricity by 2024

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 08:30:00 +0100

First ever solar plant symbiosis in Spain, integrating agriculture, biodiversity, and community with renewable energy generation.
The electricity generated will address 100% of the VELUX Group’s European operations and up to 90% of global consumption.
The new solar parks will secure the 2030 ambition of the VELUX Group aiming for 100% CO2-emissions reduction in scope 1 and scope 2 (production and activities).

VELUX Group and BayWa r.e. today announce a groundbreaking dual-site deal to address the world-leading roof window manufacturer's European operations with 100% renewable electricity by 2024.

The Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) will drive the development of two new solar parks in Southern Spain, one close to Seville and the other in nearby Granada. The latter, called Alhendín solar park, includes BayWa r.e.’s first installation of innovative Agri-PV technology in Spain, which will allow for crops to grow in between the solar panels.

Bringing more renewable energy online

Connecting to the grid in 2023 and 2024, the two plants will generate 167 GWh of renewable electricity every year for VELUX, equivalent to the electricity consumption of approximately 45,000 European homes. Eighty per cent of the total electricity generated by the plants will be generated due to the PPAs with VELUX. The new PPA will reduce the carbon footprint of VELUX with approximately 40,000 tonnes of CO2e from the company's European operations and activities on a yearly basis.

Pioneering solar plant symbiosis

About 10% of the Alhendín solar park will be an Agri-PV installation, a new solar application that combines energy generation and food production, of which BayWa r.e. is a pioneer and leader. This installation will be specially designed with taller rows of panels, more widely spaced to allow farming to continue and modern farming machinery to pass between the panel rows, in this case to produce crops. The PV modules will also be used to collect rainwater, which will help the farmer manage the continuing risks posed by climate change and droughts in a very dry area.

This PPA is pioneering the concept of solar plant symbiosis – a concept integrating solar power production with nature and community for mutual benefit. The development of both the plants will include a comprehensive plan and suite of community and environmental measures that will enhance local biodiversity and foster community involvement.

To ensure that the parks will always prioritize their local environment and communities, BayWa r.e. will be partnering with nearby universities – namely Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Universidad de Córdoba – to form an interdisciplinary research group whose findings will ultimately inform a comprehensive and bespoke site strategy.

Helping to deliver on VELUX Group’s historic carbon capture commitment

Once connected to the grid, the new solar farms will enable VELUX to achieve its 2030 target to reduce emissions from its own operations and activities by 100%. This target is part of the company's 2030 sustainability strategy commitment to pioneer climate and nature action. The commitment also includes targets to capture its historical emissions since its founding in 1941 through forest conservation projects in partnership with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) by 2041 and halving its value chain emissions by 2030.

Schneider Electric, the leading advisor on global corporate renewable energy procurement, supported VELUX in the selection of the projects and their negotiations.

VELUX Group partners with Hydro to cut carbon emissions in its products

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 11:00:00 +0200

The partnership agreement target is for VELUX to reach a level below 2.0 kg carbon emitted per kilogram of aluminium by 2030, which is less than one fifth of the European average of 11.3 kg. This ambitious target includes the entire aluminium value chain and is based on the average of all the extruded aluminium components that Hydro delivers to VELUX. Already by the end of 2022, VELUX expects the partnership to result in a 15,000-20,000 tonne carbon abatement.

With more than 94 percent of the VELUX Group’s carbon footprint stemming from materials used in its products, value chain collaboration is critical for halving its scope 3 emissions by 2030. (This target is in addition to a 100 percent reduction target for scope 1 and 2 emissions, also by 2030.)

By using the low-carbon products Hydro REDUXA® and Hydro CIRCAL®, carbon emissions per kilo of aluminium used in the manufacturing of VELUX roof windows, flat-roof windows and accessories (shutters and blinds) will be reduced.

About the partnership agreement

Hydro REDUXA is made using renewable energy sources from water, wind, and solar, as well as hyper-efficient electrolysis technology. Hydro CIRCAL is also manufactured using renewable electricity, and in addition it is made from a minimum of 75 percent recycled, post-consumer aluminium scrap. Hydro REDUXA® and Hydro CIRCAL emit 4.0 kg and 2.3 kg CO₂ per kilo of aluminium, respectively.

VELUX Group and Hydro have agreed to work further together to optimise carbon emission reductions in aluminium.

Copenhagen Living Places

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 13:17:00 +0100

As a partner project for 2023, the first prototype of Living Places will be built in a partnership between EFFEKT architects, MOE Engineers, Enemaerke & Petersen contractors and the VELUX Group.

The prototype is planned in central Copenhagen at ‘Jernbanebyen’, a former railroad workshop area. Living Places Copenhagen will be the first practical example and showcase of the Build for Life concept, illustrating how the concept can be brought to life and provide inspiration and momentum for the development and construction of future living space solutions.

By designing a built environment focused on meeting our emotional needs and enabling a strong sense of place, we could pioneer a new concept of "home", one that does not simply refer to a physical location, but also considers local context and the life that it empowers people to live. Living Places Copenhagen is ideated, designed and developed in a partnership between EFFEKT architects, MOE Engineers, Enemaerke & Petersen contractors and the VELUX Group.

The Living Places prototype demonstrates the advantages of a sloped roof, both internally and externally. A sloped roof provides more sunlight and better light reflection externally while providing interior daylight from above. Such a design uses the stack effect and attractive volumes and connections throughout the building and is scalable to different typologies of buildings as wooden prefabricated modular building systems.

Launched at the Build for Life conference, 15-17 November

The prototype design was launched at the global Build for Life conference, bringing together architects, builders, engineers, designers, planners, and other industry professionals. More than 90 experts from around the world presented from the two main stages in Copenhagen, Denmark, and from stages in North America and China during the conference.

For more information about the Build For Life Conference, please visit Build For Life.

The VELUX Group and WWF embark on historic forest project estimated to contribute a saving of around one million tonnes of CO2 towards Uganda’s Paris Agreement pledge

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 11:09:38 +0100

The ‘Natural Forest Regeneration for Enhanced Carbon Stocks in the Albertine Rift’ (FRECAR) project will be led by WWF-Uganda in partnership with the National Forestry Authority of Uganda. A formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in March 2021, and the Ugandan Government fully endorses the project.

WWF and the VELUX Group announce the official launch of an innovative forest regeneration project that will serve as Uganda’s largest ever contribution to its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The approximately 34,000-hectare project is expected to provide a saving of around one million tonnes of CO₂. All carbon emissions reductions or removals generated from the project funded by the VELUX Group, will serve as a contribution to the government of Uganda and help enhance the conditional NDCs.

The Natural Forest Regeneration for Enhanced Carbon Stocks (FRECAR) project is located in the Albertine Rift in Uganda, an area of exceptional faunal and moderate floral endemism which spans five nations. The forest regeneration project is the first of five such projects included in the 20-year long partnership between WWF and the VELUX Group launched in 2020.

The official launch of the Uganda FRECAR project took place at a virtual inception meeting, due to the on-going country-wide lockdown in Uganda. The successful meeting had participation from a large group of stakeholders including the National Forestry Authority of Uganda, representatives from the local communities, the carbon development consultancy, Face the Future, WWF Denmark, and WWF Uganda.

Led by WWF-Uganda, in partnership with Uganda’s National Forestry Authority (NFA), the FRECAR project will entail regenerating the Murchison-Semuliki landscape (Kagombe and Bugoma CFRs) in the Albertine Rift. A biodiversity hotspot, this region boasts 6,568 plant species and 1,833 terrestrial vertebrates in its tropical moist forests. However, the Murchison-Semuliki landscape has suffered a 66% decline in forest cover in the last two decades alone, one of the highest deforestation rates in Uganda. Despite most of Uganda’s protected areas being concentrated here, pressure from agricultural land use, illegal timber logging and human settlement have led to significant forest degradation. Unsustainable agricultural use alone has led to an 88% reduction of the forest area in the Kagombe region, while more than half has been lost in Bugoma.

Commenting on the official endorsement and launch of the FRECAR project, Tom Okello, Executive Director of National Forestry Authority in Uganda, stated that he was excited about the project that is meant to reverse the forest cover loss in the project area. In fact, more than 60% of the forests in this region have been lost between 2005 and 2015^v.

Following the formal kick-off meeting and specialised technical meetings held in July, it is expected that the tree planting will commence in Spring 2022. The validation process of the amount of carbon to be delivered by the Uganda forest project is expected to be completed in the first half of 2022.

The monumental FRECAR restoration and conservation project will serve as a cornerstone of Uganda’s Vision 2040 and National Development Plan III. By focusing on preserving forest corridors, it will play a significant role in supporting the Ugandan government’s efforts to return its natural landscapes back to 1990 levels.

To be delivered over the next 20 years, the FRECAR project is currently in the implementation phase. Future phases of the project will include a plan for planting trees to facilitate natural forest restoration. This will be implemented alongside REDD approaches – focused on addressing the drivers of deforestation and degradation of the existing natural forests, and carried out in close collaboration with local communities and other stakeholders in the landscape. WWF-Uganda will undertake a decade of monitoring in the Kagombe-Bugoma landscape. This will focus on determining the impacts of the project on carbon, biodiversity, communities, and individual households living in the area.

The WWF and VELUX partnership - working together to capture VELUX historical CO₂

WWF International and the VELUX Group have launched one of the most ambitious corporate climate and nature actions seen, taking responsibility for both past and future carbon emissions. This commitment forms part of a historic 20-year global partnership between WWF International and the VELUX Group which will deliver a significant part of the company’s commitment to become Lifetime Carbon Neutral by 2041.

The VELUX Group has joined the Science Based Targets initiative, committing to the Paris Agreement’s most ambitious 1.5°C reduction pathway and by 2030 become a carbon neutral company and have halved the CO₂ across its value chain. This commitment will see the VELUX Group’s historical carbon footprint – 5.6 million tonnes of CO2 including a 25% buffer (scope 1 and 2) emitted since it was founded in 1941 – captured in five forest conservation projects developed and run by WWF. In this long-term partnership, WWF and VELUX Group will drive conservation results based on our shared interest in protecting and restoring forests globally.

For more information on Lifetime Carbon Neutral and the forest conservation projects at the heart of the partnership with WWF, please visit Velux | WWF (panda.org).

The VELUX Group and Schneider Electric Announce Extended Partnership to Accelerate Lifetime Carbon Neutral Commitment

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 07:10:00 +0200

The VELUX Group, the world leader in roof windows and skylights, and Schneider Electric, the global leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced that the companies have executed a new extended partnership agreement to enable the VELUX Group to reach its Company Carbon Neutral goal by 2030 and accelerate its overall commitment to become Lifetime Carbon Neutral in response to an increasing need to proactively address climate change.

Building on the announcement earlier this year that Schneider Electric will help VELUX source the equivalent of 100% renewable electricity by 2023 to achieve its RE100 target, under the new agreement, Schneider Electric will develop a global programme with zero-carbon action plans for each of the VELUX Group’s factory sites to successfully reduce their energy use and scale renewable capacity.

The broadened focus of the partnership will further the VELUX Group’s ambition to be 100% carbon neutral (scope 1 and 2) by 2030 – decades ahead of other corporate targets – and Lifetime Carbon Neutral by the Group’s 100-year anniversary in 2041. This pioneering commitment means the Group has committed to capture its historical carbon footprint, reduce its future carbon emissions in line with and beyond the prevailing climate science behind the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C scenario, and partner with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on forest conservation projects around the world. The VELUX Group is also working to halve carbon emissions across its value chain (scope 3) by 2030.

The three-year partnership includes all VELUX factory sites. Schneider Electric – recognised last February as the world’s most sustainable corporation in 2021 by the Corporate Knights Global 100 Index – will develop a global decarbonisation programme, including the following:

Energy assessment of all VELUX Group factory sites resulting in the development and implementation of zero-carbon action plans;
Support of VELUX Group’s Energy Excellence programme in accordance with ISO50001, improving energy efficiency activities and expanding onsite renewable heating and electricity capacity to phase out fossil fuels; and
Implementation of a global monitoring system through Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure™ Resource Advisor to measure and analyse energy usage.

VELUX will pilot the zero-carbon action plans at two of the company’s top energy-consuming plants, which represent approximately 25% of all energy used in VELUX production: JTJ Sonneborn Industrie GmbH in Germany and NM Polska Sp. z o.o. in Poland. Significant investments will be made at these sites to convert to renewable heating sources by installing heat pumps powered by green electricity and using wood waste from certified (FSC/PEFC) forests produced on site. VELUX will also invest in on-site solar photovoltaic energy installations and continue to improve the sites’ energy efficiency by optimising supply systems, production processes, and energy management.

The VELUX Group and Schneider Electric partner to pursue renewable energy

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 09:00:00 +0100

The VELUX Group and Schneider Electric, the global leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced they will pursue renewable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), in a partnership. This will further the world’s leading roof window manufacturer’s efforts to deliver on its 100% renewable electricity (RE100) target by 2023, which is part of its company carbon neutral goal for 2030.

The prospective PPAs aim to enable the development of new renewable energy projects across Europe, with Schneider Electric supporting the VELUX Group in the procurement process as a full-service buyer’s advisor. The VELUX Group’s primary motivation is to achieve its RE100 target and bring new renewable energy onto the grid.

This effort is one part of the VELUX Group’s commitment to become a 100 percent carbon neutral company (scope 1 and 2). Furthermore, it is working to halve carbon emissions across its value chain (scope 3) by 2030. At the same time, the Group will capture its historical carbon footprint – dating back to its founding in 1941 – through forest conservation projects, identified and managed by Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). Together, these initiatives are expected to support the VELUX Group’s overall commitment to be Lifetime Carbon Neutral by 2041.

The prospective PPAs aim to represent a mix of clean technologies, with VELUX looking to secure a long-term commitment to purchase power at a fixed price. A PPA provides renewable energy developers the business case needed to establish new, clean power generation. For VELUX, a PPA will ensure stability and predictability in electricity prices and enable the company to address its scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions.

The VELUX Group is seeking to pursue new non-subsidised renewable energy projects in EU countries, ensuring clean energy is added to the grid and thereby replacing “brown” power produced from fossil fuels in the most additional way.

Renewable electricity purchasing is one part of the VELUX Group’s commitment to eliminate the company’s reliance on energy produced by fossil fuels. The initial focus is on improving energy efficiency across all sites, as well as establishing onsite renewable heating and onsite renewable electricity capabilities by using solar cells. Combined, this will help the VELUX Group reach its ambitious target of zero carbon on all sites by 2030.