We are climate-neutral
Bründl Sports has been climate-neutral since March 2021, making it one of the first climate-neutral sporting goods businesses in the Alps. Measure, reduce, compensate! Together with sustainability consulting company “Fokus Zukunft”, from November 2020 - February 2021 we worked on measuring our ecological footprint. Result: The Bründl Sports CO2 footprint is 1542 tons of CO2 = 3.63 T /employee (the average Austrian is responsible for roughly 8.5 tons of CO2 annually). Subsequently, we developed specific approaches in order to reduce CO2 - for example, converting to climate-neutral energy sources, installation of timers on heating systems, adaptation of our vehicle fleet to alternative fuel systems, reduction of garbage through implementation of recycling processes, and much more. We have compensated for those CO2 emissions that could not be reduced by purchasing climate protection certificates for 2021.
Climate protection is a global concern, to which we make a personal contribution through carefully chosen projects. In concrete terms, through these certificates we support a gold standard project for cooking stoves in Tanzania, a VCS forest conservation project in Brazil and a UN river power station in Uganda. Precisely how the calculations were made, why we chose particular projects and what reductions we expect to achieve, can all be found in our detailed magazine article on climate neutrality.
We use sustainable materials for buildings & interior design
We use sustainable materials for buildings & interior design
For years now, we have paid close attention to our ecological footprint during our building activities and expansions. That said, we have installed photovoltaic systems on our roofs, cool buildings with glacial water and use LED lighting. With respect to the interior furnishings off our shops and offices, too, we are committed to materials with a low CO2 balance, that are recyclable or made from renewable materials. Furthermore, we utilize certified products, such as wood with the FSC quality-seal, ensuring that the wood we use is the product of socially and ecologically friendly forestry practices.
Our new Flagship Store in Kaprun, which opens on 01.10.2021, is a Green Building. The Austrian Society for Sustainable Real Estate (ÖGNI) has awarded the Bründl Sports flagship store in Kaprun (opened in October 2021) platinum and crystal (to our magazine article). Bründl is the first sports retailer in Austria who has received this valuable DGNB sustainability certificate from the ÖGNI. This is because the European quality certificate DGNB of the ÖGNI does not evaluate buildings according to individual criteria, but always according to their overall performance: ecology, economy and social aspects are rated equally high. In order to make the social-functional quality even more visible, projects that achieve over 80 percent in the extensive and complex social criteria are also awarded the ÖGNI Crystal.
In our new Flagship Store, not only can you see sustainability, you can feel it and breathe it!
As we plan our shops and interior spaces, various measures focus on the recyclability of the building materials we choose.
- Our planning mainly gravitates towards use of wood and premium-grade steel
- No, or very little use of HPL-coated woods or powder-coated metals
- Most of the materials we choose are pure without additional varnishes, coatings etc., such as stainless steel, cork, stone.
- Furthermore, we integrate already recycled materials such as Really CPH Solid Textile Board, Plasticiet, Archisonic, MDF, recycled fabrics.
- Furnishings were developed so that the various component materials are easily separated, such as wooden cubes with metal inserts.
- Use of renewable natural resources – silver fir for the exterior facade, pine from sustainable forestry with FSC certification, regional stone from Austria
Woeckinger_2260x1600.jpg "Entrance Bründl Sports Saalfelden")
Woeckinger_2260x1600.jpg "Entrance Bründl Sports Saalfelden")
We conduct responsible waste management
In the course of our environmental audit and certification processes, we identified numerous potential improvement measures with respect to waste management. These include, above all, improved training of our employees when it comes to trash separation, better labeling of individual trash containers at collection points and motivation of employees to generate their own ideas for trash avoidance.
Together with local trash and waste disposal businesses, we intend to achieve significant improvements in waste management and, above all, minimize waste production at all of our nine locations and 31 branches.
In selecting our products and offering services, we focus on safety and sustainable quality
We feel that the customer values quality, durability and repairability of products above all, which in turn reduces each product’s footprint. We constantly strive to improve our product selection in that very direction. SDG #12 focuses, to a substantial degree, on the topic of overconsumption. For our part, we work to offer popular items with a long product-life. Our motto: create more with less.
We extend the product lifecycle
Exchange. Repair. Rent. Share. No matter what the choice ultimately is, through our different options we make every effort to extend the product lifecycle for as long as possible. Old bikes, skis, ski boots … can all be turned in in exchange for Bründl Sports shopping vouchers as part of our Bringer Bonus program. For our part, we distribute these old treasures in Eastern Europe or in our own region as part of various social projects.
Repair rather than throw away – In our new Flagship Store, there will be a permanent repair station to make damaged textiles look good as new.
Sharing is Caring – owning “stuff” isn’t everything. That’s why you can borrow a wide range of sporting equipment from our rental centers.
Mathaeus-Gartner.jpg "Changing old skiiing gear for a shopping voucher")
Mathaeus-Gartner.jpg "Changing old skiiing gear for a shopping voucher")
In our bistro, we focus on regional, seasonal and organic
In the bistro of our new Flagship Store, we are committed to regional, seasonal and organic products. We will build upon and place our trust in suppliers and partners from nearby areas, who share a common vision which they continue to develop.