Towards greater sustainability and transparency: Bauer Spezialtiefbau sets new standards with environmental product declarations

Schrobenhausen, Germany – BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH is dedicated to more than just foundations. The company has set itself the goal of establishing the sustainable construction site as a standard and making a key contribution to a green future. Just last summer, the company was awarded the DGNB certificate for sustainable construction sites. Now another sustainability milestone has been achieved: On February 23, Florian Pronold, retired Parliamentary State Secretary and Managing Director of the Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V., handed over six environmental product declarations for the Mixed-in-Place method (MIP) to representatives from Bauer Spezialtiefbau, including Managing Director (CEO) Frank Haehnig and Member of the Management Board Florian Bauer. “I am thrilled to present BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH with these environmental product declarations. Not only does this step underscore their commitment to transparent and sustainable specialist foundation engineering, it also sets whole new standards,” remarks Florian Pronold.

Basis for ecological assessment

Environmental product declarations, known as EPDs, deliver transparent environmental impact data verified by independent experts. This is a verifiable and transparent way to integrate the environmental compatibility of construction products into the assessment of a structure’s sustainability. Starting from the design phase, this extensive information is useful for designers, architects and owners. It allows them to make justified decisions for sustainable construction methods, for example by considering the carbon footprint. Furthermore, this ensures that environmental compatibility requirements are fulfilled for a structure across its entire lifecycle. The EPDs serve as a basis for the ecological assessment of structures in accordance with DIN EN 15978. These declarations are coordinated at the international level and are based on ISO standard ISO 14025 as well as the European standard EN 15804.

Green milestone

“Our initiative with a total of six EPDs for our Mixed-in-Place method represents a significant milestone in the construction industry,” emphasizes Dr. Hursit Ibuk, Head of Construction Materials Technology and Product Sustainability at Bauer Spezialtiefbau. In the past, no environmental product declarations existed for construction products that were prepared directly on site using raw materials. The EPDs now encompass both the manufacturing process for the MIP material as well as the MIP method itself.

Efficiency meets sustainability

For more than 30 years, the Mixed-in-Place method developed by Bauer has proven successful for implementing retaining structures, foundation measures and flood protection. What makes this method unique: The construction material is produced on site in a sustainable and resource-efficient manner. “Thanks to many years of expertise, our employees’ know-how and continuous ongoing development of the drilling and mixing tools, the Mixed-in-Place method can now be implemented in nearly all soil types,” explains Dr. Hursit Ibuk. With a general type approval from the German Institute of Construction Technology, the MIP method can also be used for particularly challenging construction tasks.

Frank Haehnig, Managing Director (CEO) of Bauer Spezialtiefbau GmbH, proudly summarizes: “The environmental product declarations for our Mixed-in-Place method demonstrate very clearly that sustainability is not just a concept for us: it is our passion.”