The extremely varied aspects of "sustainable laboratory systems" are exercising the industry - from laboratory planners to manufacturers. But how can a manufacturer of laboratory systems contribute to the sustainability of laboratory furniture in production? At WALDNER Laboratory Systems, we keep a very close eye on this aspect, and we are now also certified accordingly.

The SCALA laboratory system chiefly consists of wood and steel. Wood is a renewable and CO2-neutral material - and our main wood supplier is based in the region, so deliveries only have to be brought from about 20 km away. In addition, no composites or combination materials are used when manufacturing SCALA. What is more, all the units are painted using completely solvent-free powder paints.

When it comes to production, what counts are aspects such as the energy consumption of the systems, waste treatment and health & safety. The waste wood from producing WALDNER laboratory systems is burned in the heating system, thereby generating 85 % of the total energy requirement for heating. A photovoltaic system in the company supplies the systems with 7 % of their annual electricity consumption, and the workforce takes care to separate waste into categories.

The company management decided to introduce an environmental management system in early 2010. The most telling argument in its favour was the question of finally having the environmental aspects that had been observed for so long documented and certified, in response to a demand from the market. WALDNER Laboratory Systems now has the DIN EN ISO 14001 certificate as an official record of its functioning environmental management system.