Environment
On the way to a sustainable steel industry, Klöckner & Co is assuming social responsibility and at the same time taking advantage of the strategic opportunities arising from decarbonization. We are working to create a new range of sustainably and emission-free produced steel and thus establish ourselves as a pioneer of a sustainable steel industry. By expanding our sustainable product and service portfolio in this way, the company is seizing the strategic opportunity to anchor the new, attractive business of "green" steel in its business model. We see the responsibility to reduce our own emissions as well as those of our upstream and downstream supply chains. In recognition of our contribution to the decarbonization of the steel industry, we won the prestigious German Sustainability Award 2023 in the Climate Transformation category. In recognition of our contribution to the decarbonization of the steel industry, we won the prestigious German Sustainability Award 2023 in the Climate Transformation category.
Key figures in 2022
Sustainable business
Klöckner & Co is committed to halving its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2030. With regard to Scope 3 emissions under direct influence, we are likewise going to achieve a 50% reduction by 2030. We look at the entire supply chain – including Scope 3 emissions not under direct influence. We will achieve a 30% reduction of these carbon emissions by as early as 2030. In addition, we have set ourselves further ambitious targets as part of the “kloeckner takes action 2040” initiative. Klöckner & Co plans to reduce all carbon emissions under direct influence (Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions under direct influence) to net zero by 2040. Emissions not under direct influence – primarily from externally sourced steel products – are to be cut to net zero by 2050. These targets have been validated by the SBTi. As reducing carbon emissions is central to the mitigation of climate-related risks, we consider Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions to be key metrics.
We took an important step toward more sustainable business models in 2022 with the publication of rating scales for our carbon-reduced steel, stainless steel and aluminum products. These scales are rooted in international, science-based standards and categorize the carbon-reduced materials according to their certified emissions along the entire value chain from resource extraction to production and processing (cradle to Klöckner exit gate). In this way, we provide transparency for our customers in the fast-growing and otherwise non-transparent market for carbon-reduced steel and metal products. Klöckner & Co aims for the two lowest carbon footprint categories – “Pro” (< 700kg CO2/t) and “Prime” (< 400 kg CO2/t) – to account for over 30% of the total product range by 2025 and 50% by 2030.
We focused our carbon-reduced product portfolio in 2022 under the new Nexigen® umbrella brand. In this way, we offer transparent, carbon-reduced solutions in the area of materials, operations and logistics that help our customers establish their sustainable supply chains.
Our prime focus is on direct emission reduction and avoidance. However, the technical scope for completely eliminating carbon emissions remains limited and will continue to evolve over the coming years. For this reason, in addition to our reduction measures, we decided to offset all of our Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions from 2022 onwards, without taking them into account against our reduction targets.
With our offsetting activities, we support two climate change mitigation projects in Nepal and Rwanda. Both of these projects are certified to the high-quality Gold standard of the Swiss Golden Standard Foundation. They are renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that demonstrably prevent greenhouse gas emissions that would otherwise be generated. In addition, they have health and environmental benefits for local communities. As a result, Klöckner & Co is already carbon-neutral with regard to Scope 1 and 2 emissions. We plan to reduce the use of offsetting measures to a minimum in coming years.
Our other action areas
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