AFIPEB publishes the 2024 CSR panorama of the PSE sector: a strengthened commitment to a sustainable future

Illustrating the collective commitment of the players in the PSE sector, this CSR panorama demonstrates the actions and results obtained in 2023. The result of many years of reflection on the evolution of the construction products sector, in particular PSE insulation, companies in the sector are fully aware of their economic, environmental and societal responsibilities; they have thus committed to a CSR approach from the outset.

For Jean-Michel Guihaumé, General Delegate of AFIPEB: "In 2023, AFIPEB's first CSR report demonstrated the efforts made and the results obtained. The feedback from our stakeholders on this inventory was positive. But that is not enough. Everyone knows that we can and must do better in the face of the growing urgency of economic and environmental issues."

Through this panorama, the PSE sector presents an anthology, structured around 3 main themes, of its commitments, the efforts made and the results obtained.

Employability

Companies in the PSE sector are addressing this major issue by:

• Encouraging diversity of profiles: they thus offer career opportunities to all talents, whatever their profession, their personality, their development prospects, etc.
• Offering a variety of professions: they rely on numerous functions covering various skills, notably technical, commercial, legal, logistical, etc.
• Promoting professional and personal development: they focus on improving the quality of life of their employees through job security, well-being and safety at work...

Examples:

• Corstyrène subsidises the registration of its employees at the village gym and contributes to the registration costs for various team sports tournaments.
• 3% of Etex employees work part-time (recent maternity, family constraints, personal projects, etc.).
• Knauf has implemented multiple actions to reduce occupational risks; in 2 years, their frequency rate has fallen by 11%.

Societal impacts

For many years, this theme has been a concern of companies in the PSE sector, which have already implemented numerous actions and are continuing them in order to increase the positive impact of the sector's activity, both for its ecosystem and for society in general.

These actions concern raising awareness of environmental issues among employees, support and mutual aid, as well as various local citizen initiatives.

Examples:

• Corstyrène has installed 4 free charging stations for company vehicles and stations at a preferential rate dedicated to electric vehicles for external motorists.
• Hirsch has implemented concrete actions to reduce carbon weight on a daily basis, thanks to a MyCO2 workshop provided by Carbone 4 to all positions with a direct impact on raw materials, energy and transport.
• Hirsch organized the collection of EPS in all SMICTOM Pays de Vilaine waste disposal sites. The EPS collected is then compacted in the factory and then recycled.
• Knauf continues its active support for the association "Rêves" in order to help sick children make their dreams come true. This partnership allows employees to donate their unused vacation days to the association.

Resource conservation

PSE industry manufacturers have committed to producing better with less by:

• Improving the collection and recycling of EPS waste;
• Reducing consumption of virgin raw materials;
• Optimizing their production tools;
• Reducing water and energy consumption;
• Producing and consuming renewable energy.

Examples:

• Hirsch has created its first range of EPS insulation made with 1% new material, by combining waste from manufacturing and construction site offcuts recovered via REuse, its recycling service.
• Innolation reduced its energy consumption by 17% during the first 9 months of 2023.
• Knauf has doubled the amount of EPS insulation waste collected in 2023 thanks to its take-back system developed by the group: Knauf Circular.
• To further reduce its water consumption and improve the quality of its discharges, Knauf Industries is extending its measures and increasing their frequency.

All initiatives, actions and commitments of the actors in the PSE sector can be found in the 2024 CSR Panorama of the PSE sector on www.afipeb.org.

Image illustrating the article via Depositphotos.com.