Ecology
Tradition that sows the seeds of the future: Our commitment to the environment
The environment and sustainable business practices are of great importance to us. Our company founder, Rudolf Brugger, grew up on a Black Forest farm specialising in forestry. There, one learns from a young age what it means to treat nature responsibly: following the principle of ‘harvesting only what has been sown’.
We continue to run our company in this tradition to this day. Now more than ever, the careful use of resources, the optimal use of materials and closed-loop recycling systems are at the heart of everything we do. We humans depend on our planet for our livelihood – protecting this foundation of life is therefore a matter of course for us, and there is no alternative. At Brugger, we put this commitment into practice every day through tangible measures – for our future and that of our children and grandchildren.
Sustainability Report
Our path towards low-emission production
As an industrial company, we recognise our responsibility to make a measurable contribution to limiting global warming. Our primary objective is to continuously reduce the carbon footprint of our own processes.
Specific measures at our site:
-
Green energy: We source only electricity generated from renewable sources (green electricity).
-
Efficient heating: We operate our heating systems using a combination of internal heat recovery, regional district heating fuelled by wood chips and wood pellets.
Through these and other consistent measures, we are able to minimise our direct and energy-related emissions as much as possible year after year.
Supply chain responsibility (Scope 3):
We commission an independent annual assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions from our site and upstream logistics processes. For unavoidable emissions, particularly those arising from the transport of our products, we make a voluntary financial contribution to global climate protection.
By purchasing officially verified carbon offsets, we support selected projects. We provide a transparent overview of the certification standards used and the projects supported in our sustainability report, which is available here.
Our energy balance: Harnessing the power of the sun
At Brugger, we are firmly committed to generating our own electricity: with our three photovoltaic systems, we now cover almost 30 per cent of our total electricity requirements ourselves. But that’s not all: we also feed a further 15 per cent of the electricity we generate into the public grid as clean energy.
Efficiency knows no boundaries
It’s often said that photovoltaic systems on north-facing roofs don’t make sense – we’re proving the opposite! Our system on the north-facing roof (120 kWp) delivers an impressive 80 per cent of the yield of a comparable south-facing system over the course of a year.
Background information: To put this into perspective: 1 kWp of installed capacity on a south-facing roof in the Black Forest generates around 1,000 kWh of electricity per year.
Live insight: Our energy flows
The following chart illustrates our energy transition. It provides an overview of the data from the last 24 hours:
-
Orange: Our current building power draw (our current consumption).
-
Green: The solar yield from our three systems.
-
Blue (net): The ratio between grid consumption and solar yield.
A look at the blue line: as soon as it drops below the zero line, we are generating more electricity than we are consuming, and feeding the surplus energy directly into the grid.
(To view the solar data, you must accept all cookies from the website.)
Best Practice: Measurable data for climate action
A current project on our premises demonstrates how we put this responsibility into practice in our day-to-day work:
To better understand the challenges of climate change, accurate local data is essential. On the field behind our company building, a modern weather station has been providing detailed measurements of regional weather patterns since May 2024.
-
The benefit: this data helps to provide a reliable basis for planners, local authorities and businesses to be better prepared for climate change.
-
Local commitment: A special thank you goes to Jan Hagnberger, who operates and maintains this station privately with great passion.
For us, this project is a wonderful example of how private commitment and entrepreneurial initiative come together to make a valuable contribution to the wider community.
Sustainability at BRUGGER: Transparency through voluntary climate protection contributions
We take responsibility for our operational emissions. To systematically track our environmental footprint, we produce an annual greenhouse gas inventory.
In doing so, we categorise our emissions precisely into the three internationally recognised scopes of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
- Scope 1: Direct emissions from our own operations (e.g. vehicle fleet, heating)
- Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased energy (e.g. electricity consumption)
- Scope 3: Other indirect emissions in our upstream and downstream supply chain
Our climate protection investments:
As global greenhouse gases are distributed evenly throughout the atmosphere, we provide targeted support for certified climate protection projects in emerging and developing countries. In doing so, we finance the transfer of clean technologies and promote sustainable economic development at a local level. Based on our annual emissions figures, we purchase verified climate protection certificates. In this way, we make a voluntary financial contribution to global climate protection to offset unavoidable emissions.
We provide our B2B partners with a detailed overview of the projects we support and the certificates we hold in our sustainability report.
Magnet recycling: Professional disposal, safe recovery, sustainable circular economy.
As a responsible company, we attach great importance to sustainability and the conservation of resources. A key component of our environmental strategy is the recycling of magnetic material in collaboration with our partner, Rocklink.
Why we recycle magnetic material
In our production processes, it is not entirely possible to avoid the generation of magnetic waste, defective magnets and surplus raw magnets. These contain valuable raw materials such as rare earths, the extraction of which is often associated with significant environmental impacts. We do not wish to leave these resources unused and, through recycling, actively contribute to protecting the environment.
Our recycling process with Rocklink
We use the specialised magnet take-back and recycling system Magcycle to recycle our magnetic material professionally and efficiently:
- Return by pallet: We collect our magnetic waste on pallets.
- Simple logistics: Rocklink arranges for the pallets to be collected.
- Analysis & evaluation: At the recycling centre, the material is weighed and analysed in detail using X-ray fluorescence analysis. We receive a transparent assessment of the scrap’s composition.
- Reintroduction into the cycle: The recovered raw material is reintroduced into the production cycle, thereby reducing the demand for primary raw materials.
For more information on Magcycle, please visit: www.magnetrecycling.de
Our objectives
- Conservation of resources: Minimising waste and maximising the reuse of valuable raw materials.
- Environmental protection: Reducing environmental impact by avoiding new mining operations.
- Sustainable supply chains: Strengthening the European circular economy for magnetic products.
By recycling magnetic materials, we are doing our bit to support a resource-efficient economy.
Brugger GmbH Magnetic Systems: Outstanding resource conservation
As a forward-looking company, we at BRUGGER take responsibility for our environmental footprint.
We are therefore delighted to have received the latest ‘resources SAVED’ certificate from Interzero for the year 2025. Through the professional recycling of our recyclable materials, we were able to save the equivalent of 148 kilograms of primary resources last year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 12 kilograms.
We greatly appreciate having found a partner who is working with us to drive the transition towards a resource-efficient circular economy.
For your information: Interzero is one of the leading full-service environmental service providers and supports us in preventing waste, securing raw materials and significantly improving our sustainability performance. The efficient recycling of raw materials offers enormous opportunities – for the environment, the economy and society alike.
Interzero is one of the pioneers of recycling and has more than 30 years’ experience in developing and implementing tailored solutions for waste prevention and recovery.
