When building a home, it’s important to choose the best materials for both style and function. With our GREENER line of products, you can combine sustainability and aesthetically pleasing bricks and tiles to create your dreamhouse with natural materials. We guarantee a reduction of the environmental impact of the products with full documentation, so your house can safely last for generations.
GREENER is our line of sustainable products produced exclusively with electricity from wind turbines and biogas. By burning biogas instead of fossil fuels, we match the amount of CO2 that the plants absorbed from the atmosphere when they grew, which means that the environment is polluted with significantly less carbon dioxide. In doing so, the products’ environmental impact is reduced by 50 % – without compromising the technical qualities that characterise modern bricks.
Our GREENER products cost about 10 % more compared to our traditional bricks. But since the exterior of a building is only part of the overall budget, it is a small cost to opt for this green upgrade. In projects where work is done with environmental certification, our line of sustainable products will make a significant impact.
While bricks are already a sustainable choice of material due to their long lifespan, we can still do better. Our ambition is not limited to political framework agreements on energy targets - but rather the vision of creating the world's most sustainable products.
It is about showing respect for communities, the individual and the environment – and everyone who builds has a responsibility to think sustainably. Well-designed architecture – when combined with materials that stand the test of time and age gracefully – therefore remains attractive for generations to come. We recognise the fact that social, environmental and economic sustainability go hand in hand.
We believe that the building industry has the potential to be a lot greener. And we know that we have our part to play. Our vision is to become the most sustainable manufacturer of bricks and tiles. This ambition drives our daily work towards a more efficient and environmental-friendly production. We believe this is a never-ending process and are determined to keep on improving.
- RT supports the UN's 17 global goals for sustainable development.
- RT supports the Danish government’s goal of achieving a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990).
- We comply with the Danish government's requirements for companies to make optimal energy savings.
- RT uses only CO2-neutral electricity from wind turbines.
- We only use green, renewable energy from Danish wind farms.
- We make use of surplus heat from ovens in our drying chambers.
- We recycle all types of waste in our production process.
- We make frogs in bricks to reduce the amount we burn, thereby reducing our CO2 footprint per brick.
- We have replaced all lighting with LED lighting and use daylight wherever possible.
- We are committed to sorting our waste and send materials for recycling.
- We clean and recycle the water we use in our production process – and we also make use of surface water.
- Our pallets are made of sustainable wood.Our marketing materials are printed on FSC-approved paper.
- RT keeps detailed records of the resources we consume in producing our bricks and tiles. We will soon have an EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) on all products. The EPD is used to document the environmental footprint of building materials used in buildings.
All production of building materials impacts the environment; bricks and tiles are no exception. What makes them better from an environmental and economic point of view is their exceptionally long lifespan and their minimal need for maintenance. The Danish Technological Institute estimates that the total price per square metre of new brick and tile construction is significantly lower than that of other materials by virtue of their low maintenance costs. Bricks and tiles therefore make up for their environmental impact as time goes by.
Respect for future generations is not only about economic and environmental impact. It also has a social element in terms of how we design houses with a positive effect on both health and well-being. When using bricks and tiles as building materials, there is a minimal risk of bacterial growth, ensuring a better inner climate. In addition, bricks and tiles also maintain a more even range of temperature and regulate humidity when compared to lighter materials, such as wood and plaster. By using robust and authentic building materials with a long lifecycle, an architect can easily design sustainable houses and environments that last. Additionally, bricks and tiles offer an authentic aesthetic, which gives any building a timeless design fit for future generations.
By using natural building materials such as clay, you guarantee a healthy future for generations to come. There is no actual estimation of how long bricks and tiles last, since various buildings built with the materials still stand today. Bricks and tiles contain burnt clay and sand – with no sinister additives. The clay we use comes primarily from clay pits near our factories. Once we have extracted the clay to our brick- and tileworks, we restore the land, so the soil can be used for agriculture once again. The landscape, the soil and the groundwater are not adversely affected.
Any obsolete building materials in the bricks and tiles we produce can be recycled. Anything that cannot be recycled is biodegradable. The material is free of chemicals that can cause environmental problems and can be recycled as a ballast in road building or similar construction projects. Any residual mortar can be removed from the bricks and tiles and be recycled in new buildings. Additionally, bricks and tiles also impact positively on the environment and continue to enrich and give pleasure to future generations.
Climate certification will soon be the requirement for all new construction. This means that the choice of materials will become more important than ever if your building is to become an economic and environmental success.
When it comes to rating sustainable construction in Denmark, DGNB is the most widespread method of certification. It is based on similar principles as many other international standards and the DGNB system consists of a points scheme in which points can be accumulated throughout a construction project. The number of points that can be obtained from using bricks and tiles will vary from project to project. There are many factors that affect the envelope of a building, and these must be considered.
Below you can read more about the various criteria that appear in the scheme and how products from Randers Tegl can form an important part of a sustainable construction. Using our GREENER products is one way of achieving this ambition. We are happy to advise on how best to use our products, and we will be pleased to help you by providing information and advice throughout your project.
Bricks and tiles are very durable materials. They require very limited maintenance when used correctly and are considered harmless building materials, since they ensure that buildings are healthy, suitably solid and weatherproof. They do not contain organic material that can result in the formation of mould and fungus. Any biproduct that is properly sorted and managed can be reused in the production of bricks and tiles. Used pallets are returned for reuse.
PRO 1.5 Advice on maintaining and using the building
PRO 2.1 Building site/Building product process
PRO 2.2 Validating the quality of the process
Since 2018, Randers Tegl has had an Environmental Product Declaration (known as EPD) on many selected products. These can be profitably included in LCA studies, which means that you can avoid having a 30% increase in generic values. All our products will soon be EPD-certified.
Note that bricks do not emit or consist of environmentally harmful substances and can be used both indoors and outdoors without environmental risks. Bricks and tiles also offer the highest score when it comes to the environmentally sensitive extraction of the actual building materials.
When roof tiles are used, rainwater can be collected for various purposes, and using brick paving facilitates drainage. Brick and tile surfaces are suitable for vegetation and for providing habitat for various species of animals, especially when this is factored into the design. Lastly, the clay pits are restored to arable land once the clay has been extracted.
- ENV 1.1 Life cycle assessment – Environmental impact
- ENV 1.2 Environmental risks related to building materials
- ENV 1.3 Environmentally friendly extraction of materials
- ENV 2.2 Drinking water consumption and wastewater emissions
- ENV 2.4 Biodiversity relating to a plot of land
Using bricks and tiles reduces the operational costs. These materials generally ensure that the total overall costs of a building project are reasonable. Determining the necessary data for calculating costs early on in any building project is relatively easy.
Making minor changes to walls made of brick (both in load-bearing and non-load-bearing masonry) is easy too. Careful planning in the design phase ensures that recesses, doors and window cavities can be prepared for later use. Bricks and tiles have a long functional life. Roof tiles last for more than 70 years and bricks and brick-paving last for more than 150 years.
Bricks and tiles help protect buildings from the effects of the sun, thereby achieving exceptional savings in running costs. When used on the inner skin of buildings, bricks have excellent properties in terms of thermal insulation.
- ECO 1.1 Total overall costs
- ECO 2.1 Flexibility and adaptability
- ECO 2.2 Robustness
Interior brick walls absorb excess heat and prevent big differences in temperature. Brick walls do not emit odours or dangerous substances. They look nice and provide outstanding acoustics. Bricks and tiles also protect buildings from the effects of the sun and make the building easier on the eyes, since bricks reflect less than other materials. This makes them perfect for functional designs.
The different structural and colour properties in bricks can be used in design solutions where such combinations are used to help a range of disabilities. Over time, bricks and tiles have allowed artists to express a range of artistic styles. Bricks can also be used for structures and features inside buildings such as stairs and window seats.
- SOC 1.1 Thermal comfort
- SOC 1.2 Indoor air quality
- SOC 1.3 Acoustics and noise comfort
- SOC 1.4 Visual comfort
- SOC 1.6 Quality of outdoor areas
- SOC 2.1 Universal design
- SOC 3.2 Architectural art
- SOC 3.3 Planning
Bricks and tiles do not contain PVC and therefore do not emit toxic waste gas in the event of a fire. Buildings built with bricks and tiles, as well as other materials, can achieve high u-values. Thermal bridges can be avoided with careful planning in the design phase. A brick-built building with filled mortar joints is solid and weatherproof. Using brick for outer walls and partitions helps a building to retain heat.
Bricks, tiles and brick paving are all materials that can easily be recycled. Almost 100% of these materials can be recycled if they are carefully dismantled. We recommend using binders and mortars that can be easily removed.
As stated previously, there are currently environmental product declarations for selected types of bricks and tiles, but soon all products from Randers Tegl will be EDP-certified. These products will be continuously updated while we continue to make improvements to our production process and transition to green energy sources.
- TEC 1.1 Fire protection and safety
- TEC 1.3 Quality of the climate screen
- TEC 1.4 Adaptability of technical systems
- TEC 1.6 Dismantling and recycling
- TEC 1.8 Environmental product declarations (EPD)
All GREENER products come with full documentation in the form of an EPD (Environmental Product Declaration). This declaration quantifies environmental information on the life cycle of a product. This is done to place the product in technical calculation programs and enable comparisons between products fulfilling the same function. Therefore, the declaration makes it easier to choose goods and services as an environmentally focused consumer.
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Due to high uncertainties in gas supply – caused by the war in Ukraine – we cannot guarantee the validity for some of our product EPDs. We highly recommend you contact us for more information if you need to implement EPD values for any specific UK Brick product.
We have put together various building projects that have been classified as sustainable. The common denominator of all these buildings is that they are all built with sustainability in mind. These buildings will be valued and appreciated long into the future. For generations to come.