Roca Group, an industry leader in the design, production and commercialisation of bathroom furnishings, has been awarded the EcoVadis Platinum Medal for Sustainability Performance.

The Platinum Medal is the highest recognition granted by EcoVadis, a global provider of business sustainability ratings. The award places Roca Group in the top one percent of more than 150,000 companies assessed globally.

The group, which owns Swiss bathroom manufacturer Laufen, closed 2022 with a 39 percent reduction in direct CO2 emissions compared to the 2018 baseline, making significant progress toward its Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045.

Roca Group’s world-first electric tunnel kiln for production of sanitary ceramics

In 2023, Roca commissioned a world-first electric tunnel kiln for the production of sanitary ceramics, partnering with Keramischer OFENBAU, a technology leader in the manufacture of ceramic kilns, to accomplish this. 

To offset the energy and carbon-intensive emissions of ceramic goods production, the group electrified its manufacturing process at its Laufen plant in Gmunden, Austria. The plant was already using electricity from renewable sources, making it a suitable choice to pilot test the kiln.

Roca Group CEO Albert Magrans said the company had a long-term goal to decarbonise its operations and had been working hard to find solutions that will help it achieve this. 

“This new pan-European partnership not only helps us on our way to net-zero but is also a clear step forward for the industry as a whole,” he said at the time. 

Long-held commitment to sustainability 

Keramischer OFENBAU chairman of the advisory board Günter Halex says the electric kiln proves that its advanced technologies are fit to decarbonise even the CO2-intensive ceramics industry. Electrically heated kilns provide its customers with increasing independence from the energy market and allow for sustainable and economical production today and in the decades ahead.

“This groundbreaking and innovative project shows that our technology can maintain maximum quality in ceramic products while making a positive contribution to our planet,” Halex says.

Learn more about Roca Group here.

Lead image of the electric kiln via Roca Group.