Climate action

We want to do our part to preserve the climate and comply with the Paris Agreement on climate change. Therefore, we have set our own objectives:

By 2030, we intend to lower our direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) greenhouse gas emissions by 50% compared with 2020. We aim to achieve this mainly by reducing process-related emissions, implementing energy efficiency measures and purchasing more electricity from renewable sources.

In May 2022, this near-term goal for 2030 was approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which independently assesses and approves company targets based on its strict climate science criteria. With this confirmation, we are contributing to limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, thus complying with the requirements of the Paris Agreement.

We also aim to cover 80% of our purchased electricity with renewables by 2030.

Moreover, we aim to reduce our Scope 3 emissions across the entire value chain by 52% (per euro of gross profit) by 2030. This target was also approved by SBTi.

By 2040, we intend to have achieved climate-neutral operations throughout our entire value chain; this target covers our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

Roles and responsibilities

Corporate Sustainability, Quality and Trade Compliance (SQ) is responsible for overseeing all climate action efforts throughout the Group, with our individual sites and business sectors worldwide implementing the necessary measures at the local level. You can find more information under "Environmental protection".

Our commitment: Standards and legal frameworks

We have three EHS standards in place to manage energy and process-related emissions consistently across the Group, specifically “Energy Management”, “Emissions” and “Emissions of Refrigerants”. We utilize an internal audit process to randomly check compliance with all EHS standards.

Emissions reduced further

In 2022, we reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 10%, emitting a total of approximately 1,667,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalents (CO₂eq) (2021: 1,843,000 metric tons). Our direct emissions (Scope 1) totaled 1,425,000 metric tons of CO₂eq, with process-related emissions accounting for 1,167,000 metric tons of CO₂eq and fuel use accounting for the remainder. Indirect emissions (Scope 2) totaled roughly 242,000 metric tons calculated according to the market-based method (approximately 377,000 metric tons according to the location-based method). Greenhouse gas emission intensity (Scope 1 and 2) amounted to 0.07 kg of CO₂eq per € of net sales in this period (2021: 0.09).

In 2022, we focused on creating more transparency on our Scope 3 emissions. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol defines 15 categories for Scope 3 emissions from upstream and downstream activities. In 2022, these emissions totaled 6,616,000 metric tons of CO₂eq. Categories 1 and 2 (Purchased Goods and Services and Capital Goods) accounted for 69% of our total Scope 3 emissions in this period.

Energy efficiency

In 2022, a variety of energy efficiency initiatives helped us save around 3,000 metric tons of CO₂eq at our global headquarters in Darmstadt (1,700 metric tons of CO₂eq in 2021). For instance, we improved heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and reduced base loads for compressed air systems.

As part of the energy and water efficiency program of our Life Science business sector, we rolled out new tools and governance structures in 2022 to help us assess projects to save energy and water. The energy and water efficiency program had a capital expenditure budget of € 4.6 million in 2022, which we will increase to € 9.3 million in 2023. In 2022, we formally trained 18 Facility, Plant Engineering, and EHS Managers from sites globally on energy management.

Slight decline in energy consumption

We consumed 2,432 gigawatt hours of energy in 2022, compared with 2,454 gigawatt hours in 2021. Our energy intensity relative to sales totaled 0.11 kWh/€ in 2022 (2021: 0.12 kWh/€).

In 2022, we further strengthened our focus on purchasing electricity from renewable sources. In this period, we sourced 47% of our purchased electricity from renewable energies, meaning direct supply contracts and energy attribute certificates (2021: 30%). The share of our total energy consumption by renewable energies increased to 20% in 2022 (2021: 13%).