Talk Green To Me: How Sedus Views Sustainability Across the Entire Product Lifecycle

Sedus works in alignment with its own Green Codex, which covers every phase of the product lifecycle – from development and use to repair, refurbishment and recycling. 

Niklas Flum outlined how the landscape has shifted in recent years: 

• Legislators are tightening regulatory requirements
• Customers increasingly expect transparency and verifiable evidence
• Younger generations place greater emphasis on environmental and social standards 

For Sedus, these developments reinforce its long-standing approach: sustainability is not an isolated initiative but a guiding principle embedded in every business decision.

Nowhere is the influence of sustainability more evident than in tender management. 

As Simon Roth explained: 

• Many specifications now include dedicated sustainability sections
• Certificates, ratings and structured concepts are frequently required
• Alongside traditional criteria such as price and performance, ecological and social aspects have become major factors 

A clear distinction must be made between: 

• Public tenders – usually defined by checklists and formalised requirements
• Private tenders – more conceptual, holistic and solution-oriented 

Here, Sedus benefits from comprehensive certified management systems, robust social standards and transparent product data. 

Two key examples illustrate this commitment: 

SA8000 – Social Standard for Fair Working Conditions 

With SA8000 certification, Sedus has closed an important gap in its sustainability management. The standard covers: 

• Fair working conditions
• Prohibition of child labour and forced labour
• Supply-chain responsibility 

A notable aspect: audits occur unannounced within a defined time window and extend deep into the supplier network. 

For a major project in Italy, SA8000 was the decisive factor in awarding the contract – an area where Sedus was able to offer clear added value. 

EcoVadis – Assessing Sustainability Performance 

Niklas Flum also highlighted the EcoVadis rating, in which Sedus was once again awarded Gold status, placing the company among the top 5% of all assessed organisations. 

EcoVadis evaluates: 

• Environment
• Labour & human rights
• Ethics
• Sustainable procurement 

Crucially, only documented and verifiable measures count toward the score. 

Konstantin Thomas demonstrated how sustainability is embedded from the earliest design phases: 

• Use of VR and digital modelling to visualise form and proportion early on, reducing the need for physical prototypes
• Focus on material efficiency, separability and reparability
• Development of products that can integrate into modular systems and circular processes 

Another development example is Sedus’ partnership with a regional manufacturer of recycled wood-based insulation materials from the Black Forest, used among others in se:hive. 

The material: 

• Is sourced from regional forests
• Provides acoustic performance and is suitable for interior construction
• Benefits from short transport routes and the potential to reintroduce materials into the regional value chain 

This illustrates that sustainability is not only about material choice – but also about local value creation and circular thinking. 

The conversation also highlighted that sustainability must continuously be balanced: 

• Not every certification is economically viable – prioritisation is essential
• Country-specific requirements call for flexible solutions
• Creative alternatives such as the internal Sedus Environmental Product Information (EPI) help maintain ecological transparency where formal certifications would be too resource-intensive 

Close cooperation between tender management, sustainability teams, design, and sales ensures that individual customer requirements can be addressed pragmatically. 

In conclusion, the panel discussed how the market should evolve. Their shared perspective: 

• Sustainability should no longer be a special category, but a standard component of every project
• Its three pillars – environmental, social and economic – should be treated with equal importance
• Tenders should focus more strongly on holistic concepts rather than relying solely on checklists 

The long-term vision: 
Sustainability should cease to be a differentiator – and become a fundamental expectation.