We are resolute in fighting climate change with powerful actions and constantly work to reduce our carbon footprint with smart solutions and concrete steps. There is still a long road ahead, but we know that little by little and step by step we can achieve big things.
Based on our material assessment, we categorized ➜ our material topics. In the stream Operations with Impacts, we push climate action and ➜ resource efficiency ahead. Moreover, we look beyond our own premises and take our suppliers with us, ensuring
We track our climate impact and action progress for our greenhouse gas emissions and have set ambitious goals. Our latest results illustrate the progress we are making in our sustainable journey. We are committed to a 55% absolute CO2e reduction of scope 1 and 2 and a 50% CO2e intensity reduction from third-party logistics by 2030. We furthermore aim for a 30% reduction of our VOC emissions, a share of 70% renewable energy consumption and 0,30 MWh per ton produced. A detailed description of our emission targets and our KPIs as well as data on our climate impact and our progress over the years is downloadable here. We have been monitoring and communicating carbon data since 2012 and our ambitions are aligned with the Paris Agreement. In 2022, we continued to leverage new technologies and modernized our operations and supply chain concept to forward our climate action activities.
“Climate action is an existential priority for Beckers. If we want Beckers to survive and thrive in the coming decades, then we need to be less dependent on fossil fuels and use finite resources more carefully.”
At Beckers, we are aware that we have an impact on climate through processes along our whole value chain. We assess our climate impact consistently on an annual basis and promote carbon neutral activities with customers and suppliers to reduce the footprint of our products as described within ➜ Products with impact. Within the stream Operations with impact, we focus on our own operations and our emissions from logistics. As a chemical industry manufacturer, CO2 is emitted during different activities along process, for example in our own facilities (e.g., cooling, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, miscellaneous fuels), company-owned vehicles (e.g., company cars and trucks), the production process itself (e.g. VOC emissions), our waste and through the transportation of raw materials and goods. Our annual assessment is in line with the GHG Protocol with the details to be found here.
We’re looking for innovative ways to increase our share of renewable energy and have a clear plan to reach our ➜ Scope 1 and 2 commitments of transitioning to 70% renewable energy by 2030. We already reached our previously set goal of 70% renewable electricity in 2022 through switching our contracts to source renweable electricity from the grid and through the installation of our own solar stations.
Several of our projects in recent years have been initiated to reduce the carbon coming from company cars and our own trucks. For example our local car policies encourage employees to switch their company car to hybrid or electrical. On several sites we have installed charging stations for electrical cars which employees can use even with their private cars.
➜ Volatile organic compounds (VOC) are emitted during different steps during production and application of our coatings. We continuously enhance our sustainable product portfolio and our breakthrough innovations to lower the VOC content in our products and we optimize our operations processes to avoid the release of VOCs during production. On some sites abatement systems are in use to ensure that the air released into the atmosphere is purified. See our ➜ Products with impact.
Carbon emissions created from transport along our value chain is an area with much potential for improvement – both up- and downstream. ➜ Third-party deliveries include the transportation of raw materials from supplier to a site by our third-party logistics providers and the transportation of our final products from our site to the customer by our third-party logistics providers. In 2022, Beckers France, our biggest entity, signed a charter of commitment and obtained a FRET21 accreditation. The FRET21 program recognizes companies that successfully integrate sustainable transportation solutions into their development strategy. FRET21 is 100% linked to CO2e emission reduction of freight transport. The faster we can switch to less carbon-intensive forms of transport, the smoother the transition to a low-carbon economy. In practice, this means also moving away from road transport as the default towards a combination of rail, ship and road – known as intermodal transport.
In the process of climate emission reduction, we place a high value on our engagement with customers, suppliers and employees, because we believe that strong partnerships and the exchange of ideas are crucial to reduce environmental impacts. Accordingly, we look beyond our own carbon emissions and evaluate those of third parties as well to find solutions to reduce the impact of our products, transportation of goods and operations. In 2022 we launched our Towards renewable carbon program, collaborating with our suppliers to transform our total value chain from fossil to renewable carbon. How we engage with our customers to reduce carbon is demonstrated in our ➜ Products with impact section of this report. Find out more about our stakeholder engagement here.
Our Sustainability Policy demonstrates our commitment to a holistic approach to reach our targets. We use the ➜ Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, an international standard developed by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, to quantify our global emissions – direct ➜ GHG emissions (Scope 1), electricity indirect GHG emissions (Scope 2), and other indirect GHG emissions (Scope 3) – and to monitor, analyze and present them to our stakeholders. Find out more about our methodology here.
The implementation of the ➜ Value Creation Model that Lindéngruppen underlines our commitment to decarbonization. As of March 2023, five of our sites, including our biggest site in France, are certified for ISO 50001. We are continuously driving the certification of further sites and implementing energy efficiency programs. Furthermore, all Beckers Group sites require environmental permits for all parts of operatons such as manufacturing, storage, waste management, air and water emissions. All permits are in order and all sites are audited on a regular basis. If there are instances of non-compliance, corrective actions are taken.
Due to our climate actions, we contribute to the achievement of the ➜ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12) and climate action (SDG 13).
For further information on the SDGs click here
