First CO2-Neutral building company

Beddeleem has become the first Belgian construction company to receive the "CO2-Neutral®" company certificate from CO2logic, with validation by Vinçotte.

Beddeleem has been taking its responsibility in terms of sustainable business and environmental efforts for years. This has led to the award of the 'CO2-Neutral®' certificate. This label guarantees that Beddeleem calculates, reduces and offsets its climate impact. Contrary to the practices of "greenwashing", this label can only be obtained thanks to real climate efforts.

A whole range of environmental efforts

Koen De Block, co-CEO of Beddeleem: "Human activities are at the root of extremely rapid climate change. However, we have been taking our responsibility in terms of sustainable business for years. For instance, we have implemented the ISO14001 environmental management system since 2011 and continue to make continuous efforts to minimise the environmental impact of our activities, products and services. Examples include the efficient use of raw materials, auxiliary materials and energy in the production processes, the optimal use of PEFC-certified wood, the use of recycled aluminium, avoiding the use of volatile organic compounds... We generate our own energy sustainably through solar panels to meet our electricity needs. The heating system has been optimised. We purify the process water ourselves with our water treatment plant. The various waste streams are sorted as much as possible with a view to recycling and reusing materials. To this end, we have had our own container park on our company site for almost 20 years. We are fully committed to circular construction. The greening of our vehicle fleet has been addressed. We have developed a range of 'Cradle to Cradle®' certified products. Thanks to our Cradle-to-Cradle® and PEFC certificates, we contribute to the sustainability performance of buildings and help building owners achieve credits for certificates such as BREEAM® and LEED."

Says Jochen Daneels, Commercial Director (and from 1 January 2022 also co-CEO) of Beddeleem: "We have also recently started supporting a tree planting project for the preservation of forests in Guatemala. Through the planting of new trees, Beddeleem provides forest conservation and support to indigenous communities in the Sierra del Lacandon national park in Guatemala. This project in figures : 347,495 trees preserved, 1,221 tonnes of CO2 offset and 386 hectares protected."

CO2 neutral since 2020

"All these efforts have led to the award of the CO2-Neutral® certificate by CO2logic and Vinçotte. This label guarantees that we actively calculate, reduce and offset our local and global climate impact. Not only CO2 emissions in production are taken into account, but of the entire business operation. We have concrete reduction targets and a related action plan, we want to reduce our CO2 emissions as much as possible, and offset the remaining CO2 emissions with climate protection projects. So, contrary to the practices of 'greenwashing', this label can only be obtained thanks to real climate efforts. We want to neutralise our carbon footprint today instead of passing it on to future generations, stresses Jochen Daneels. We will not wait until 2050 to be net-zero."

The CO2-Neutral® Company label is a certification for reducing greenhouse gases related to business activities. The label is issued by the international climate consultancy CO2logic, the expert on carbon footprinting and achieving CO2 neutrality, and validated by the accredited and independent certification body Vinçotte. The CO2-Neutral® label complies with the internationally recognised PAS 2060, which sets out the requirements for achieving and demonstrating carbon neutrality.

Climate projects

Jochen Daneels: "Besides looking at our impact at company level, we have also started project-based climate projects through Go Forest. For example, for the installation of our JB WOOD BAMBOO partitions for PWC's HQ in Diegem, we planted 1 extra bamboo for every m² of partition produced in the Agroforestry project in the Amazon Rainforest (Madre De Dios) in Peru. All our wood also comes from sustainable forest management anyway."

Tree planting project to preserve the forests in the Sierra del Lacandon national park in Guatemala

Through the planting of new trees, Beddeleem provides forest conservation and support to indigenous communities in the Sierra del Lacandon national park in Guatemala.

          - Stronger local governance
          - Reduction of illegal practices (hunting and logging)
          - Assurance of the legality of land use rights
          - Empowerment of women
          - Preservation of ecosystems
          - Protection of the environmental functions of the forest
          - Reforestation and reduction of deforestation
          - Supporting biodiversity and endangered species
          - Protection of cultural and archaeological value of the forest

Beddeleem, leader for a greener world

Beddeleem is a partner of Go Forest, which carries out reforestation and agroforestry projects in order to reforest deforested areas and plant trees that support the local populations in their livelihoods and create additional jobs.

Together for a greener planet, for restoring biodiversity and for slowing down climate change.

Our Madre de Dios forest in Peru

Agroforestry focuses on a high diversity of indigenous trees at the planting site. Moreover, forestry also refers to trees that become productive as income-generating elements in the local economy.

The trees are planted by small farmers and indigenous communities in the tropics for maximum social impact. The partner farmers are part of a growing chain of companies implementing strategies that work to restore the Amazon while improving livelihoods for families and communities.

The approach focuses on linking activities to the production of non-timber forest products that lead to a better life. The programme provides seedling distribution and training and connects farmers to markets throughout the Peruvian Amazon. It thus helps to establish robust regenerative supply chains.

The Amazon Regeneration programme makes reforestation tangible. Each year, farmers, institutions, visitors and students are invited to see agroforestry live at the reforestation centre.