Sustainability partnerships | Sustainability story

A big undertaking

At APL, we are well on the way to reinventing the way we do business following the principles of a circular economy. It’s a big undertaking, and we’re fortunate to have committed partners on our journey.

Supporting the Green Building Council

One instance is our support of the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC), a not-for-profit industry organisation that administers the Green Star and Homestar sustainability rating systems and advocates for better building. This association helps to align APL with the latest in green building practice and thinking.

Given the role that windows and doors play in the health of a home or building – such as through thermal gain, ventilation, natural light and weather tightness - supporting the NZGBC is a natural fit. We’ve put our money where our mouth is at our new Hautapu site, too, where our building has achieved a 5-Green Star Industrial Design rating and is on its way to achieving a built rating.

Carbon Zero is a goal

More recently, we’ve teamed up with Toitu Envirocare to help us achieve carbon zero certification, aligning with our undertaking to design out waste and offset emissions wherever possible.

Making a ‘declaration’

We’re also very excited to be able to say that our Residential Series, Metro Series and APL Architectural Series Ranges are now ‘Declared’ by the International Living Future Institute. It means we’re being measured by an industry-recognised tool that requires us to be totally transparent about our product ingredients.

Part of a network

Lastly, it’s no small thing to note that APL is a member of the Sustainable Business Network, this country’s largest sustainable business organisation. Hundreds like us are now acting to achieve real system change.

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Soft plastic recycling

Continuing our journey to circularity through our partnership with PACT Recycling, the largest recycler of post-industrial plastic in the Southern Hemisphere.

An aligned future with Toitū

Independent assessments and accreditations are crucial and that’s why we’re working closely with Toitū Envirocare, one of the country’s leading carbon certification organisations.

Working towards a circular economy

They say you can’t manage what you don’t measure, and that’s why a partnership was established with environmental consultancy Circularity to explore the impacts of all their waste streams.

The waste process

While APL is working hard to build a more circular business, not every material is able to be repurposed. That’s why we’re working closely with Enviro NZ, a materials management and resource recovery company.

Diversion from landfill

By collecting food scraps, we're helping power local homes and protect the environment.

The importance of ThermalHEART®

While reducing the environmental impact of construction is a major focus of the building industry, another big focus is on reducing the amount of energy that’s required to run those buildings when they’re completed.

Environmental Product Declaration

Three of APL’s window and door ranges have been the subject of an independent environmental and life cycle assessment by external consultants.

Biodiversity Initiative a New Zealand First

Profile Group, parent company to APL Window Solutions, has become the first participant in a new biodiversity market, purchasing biodiversity units from Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, in the South Waikato.

Going Electricity-Neutral

The parent company to APL Window Solutions, Profile Group, has acquired renewable energy certificates from Kawatiri Energy.

The power of the ocean

At APL, we understand the power of the ocean, and what it means to our fellow New Zealanders. We play in it. We eat from it. We live by it. It connects us all.

Homes of the future

A major sustainability project by Kāinga Ora, the government’s public housing agency, will use a new, thermally efficient product range from APL Window Solutions.

Closing the loop on waste

We’ve introduced a series of day-to-day sustainability initiatives aimed at circulating high value materials, innovating new solutions and designing out waste and emissions across the business.

Hautapu ~ Our Green building

We planned carefully to make our large, new manufacturing facility at Hautapu an example of ‘best practice’ sustainable design and construction.

Upgrading for the environment

In 2016 APL upgraded it's powdercoating lines to achieve an environmentally-friendly standard.

Leading the way