Sustainability
Sustainability built into the product, not as an after thought. At a:gain, sustainability is not a label or a commitment statement. It is the logic behind how every product is made
We start with materials that would otherwise be discarded, wood off-cuts, demolition glass, post-consumer plastics, and manufacture them into certified building products that perform on par with conventional alternatives. The lower environmental impact is a direct result of that process. It is documented, not claimed.
The construction industry in EU is responsible for:
50%
Of EU’s resource and material consumption
Source: Circular construction from dream to political practise in EU
> 30%
Of EU’s environment footprint
Source: EEA Report 09/2024 Addressing the environmental and climate footprint of buildings
35%
Of waste generation
Source: Circular construction from dream to political practise in EU
The challenge
The construction industry's resource challenge
The construction sector is the world's largest consumer of raw materials, responsible for around 50% of all resources extracted globally each year and approximately 38% of global CO₂ emissions — including both operational and embodied carbon.
A significant part of that impact comes from the continuous extraction of virgin materials: newly harvested timber, freshly mined minerals, newly produced glass. At the same time, vast amounts of high-value materials are discarded daily, off-cuts from production lines, glass from demolition projects, plastics from post-consumer waste streams, despite retaining significant technical and functional value.
Extracting more while discarding what already exists is no longer a viable path forward. And for the construction industry, the pressure to change is no longer just environmental - it is regulatory, financial, and commercial.
Our approach
New building products made from secondary resources
a:gain does not work with direct reuse, the practice of taking an existing building component and reinstalling it elsewhere. Reuse is environmentally attractive, but in professional construction it rarely delivers the documentation, performance guarantees, scalability, and certainty that projects require.
Instead, a:gain works with industrial manufacturing of products made from secondary resources. We identify stable streams of discarded materials, develop products around them, and produce those products at scale through trusted manufacturing partners. Every product goes through testing, quality assurance, and is fully documented - just like any conventional building product, but with a fundamentally different starting point.
The result: certified building products with EPDs, technical data sheets, installation guides, and warranties. Products that can be specified, procured, and built with - without added risk or complexity.
Image / Demolition glass extraction
Image / Tystø Glass Partitioning Wall
Our impact
Three ways our products reduce environmental impact
Step 1: Reduce CO₂e
By starting with secondary resources instead of virgin raw materials, our products avoid the extraction, refining, and energy-intensive manufacturing processes that drive embodied carbon.
Each product comes with a verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), documenting its CO₂e footprint across the full lifecycle. Bronsø thermowood cladding, for example, delivers up to 69 % lower CO₂e emissions compared to conventional alternatives - documented and comparable. For projects subject to LCA requirements, DGNB certification, EU Taxonomy alignment, or CSRD reporting, this documentation translates directly into measurable, defensible impact.
² Bronsø EPD (A1–A3, C1–C4), comparison based on available EPD data for virgin thermowood cladding, April 2025.
Image / Sandet (Bronsø)
Step 2: Reduce waste
The construction industry generates vast amounts of waste every year. At the same time, large volumes of materials with remaining technical value are removed from use long before they have reached the end of their potential lifespan.
This reflects a broader challenge in the built environment. For decades, construction has largely followed a linear model: extract resources, manufacture products, use them, and eventually dispose of them. While this approach has delivered scale and efficiency, it also drives growing demand for new resources and increasing volumes of waste.
a:gain works from a different starting point. We identify materials that already exist within the economy and create new building products around them before they lose their value. A glass unit, a wood off-cut, or a production surplus may no longer fit its original purpose, but that does not mean the material itself has reached the end of its useful life. By keeping resources in productive use for longer, we help reduce the amount of material that ultimately becomes waste while supporting a more circular approach to construction.
Image / Discarded wood that would otherwise be thrown away
Step 3: Protect off-site biodiversity
Every building product begins with a material source. Timber must be harvested, minerals extracted, and raw materials processed before they become part of the built environment. These activities do more than generate carbon emissions. They also place pressure on natural ecosystems by changing landscapes, destroying habitats, and increasing demand for finite resources. By using secondary resources instead of newly extracted raw materials, a:gain helps reduce the need for additional resource extraction. The environmental benefit extends beyond lower embodied carbon. It also contributes to reducing pressure on the ecosystems and biodiversity impacted by such extraction.
While no single material choice can solve the biodiversity challenge, reducing demand for virgin resources is one practical way the construction industry can help limit its impact on the natural world.
The results
More than 100 projects. Real buildings. Documented results
a:gain products have been delivered to more than 100 professional projects across Denmark and the Nordics - offices, schools, housing developments, and public buildings. To date, more than 2,400 tonnes of discarded materials have been kept in use through these projects.
Every project is a proof point: that circular material choices can be integrated into mainstream construction without compromising performance, documentation, or delivery.
Sandet / Frederiksværk, Denmark
TRÆ / Aarhus, Denmark
Fælledby Showroom / Copenhagen, Denmark
Valhøj Skole / Copenhagen, Denmark
Kontorfællesskabet Østerbrogade 125 / Copenhagen, Denmark
Hørkær Have Fælleshus / Herlev, Denmark
Søren Jensen HQ / Aarhus, Denmark
IKANO Bolig / Copenhagen, Denmark
