Henkel, a provider of adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings, is reinforcing its commitment to climate protection and joins The Climate Pledge — an international cross-industry commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism.
Henkel Joins The Climate Pledge. Learn more here.
As a signatory, Henkel commits to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions 10 years ahead of the 2050 target set by the UN Paris Agreement – an ambition in line with the company’s long-term target to become a climate-positive company by 2040.
“Climate change is a global challenge, which requires our collective action. At Henkel, we want to make a positive contribution to protecting the climate,” said Henkel CEO, Carsten Knobel. “Based on our achievements to date and in line with our ambitions for the coming years, we are very pleased to join and support the Climate Pledge.”
Henkel plans to reduce the carbon footprint of its production by 65% by 2025 and 75% by 2030 from a 2010 base year. The company intends to achieve this by continuously improving its energy efficiency and using electricity from renewable sources. By 2030, 100% of its electricity shall come from renewable sources.
By 2040, Henkel aims to have converted all remaining fossil fuels used in production to climate-neutral alternatives and supply surplus carbon-neutral energy to third parties. Additionally, the company wants to leverage its brands and technologies to help customers, consumers and suppliers save 100 million tons of CO2 in a ten-year period from 2016 to 2025.
To drive progress in sustainability, Henkel is focusing on close collaboration along the value chain. The company has been working closely together with Amazon to promote sustainable innovation – for example, to enhance customer experience through new and sustainable packaging.
Commitment & collaboration
The Climate Pledge was launched in 2019 and aims to unite leading global businesses in a forward-thinking and ambitious commitment to climate change. Henkel is the twelfth company to join the pledge.
As a signatory to The Climate Pledge, Henkel agrees to:
- Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis
- Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies
- Neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially-beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040
“Scientists tell us that we have a limited window to make unprecedented headway towards addressing the biggest crisis of our time, the climate crisis,” said Kara Hurst, VP of Worldwide Sustainability, Amazon. “We welcome Henkel to join us in the fight of our lives as we tackle climate change and build a better future for all. We are also excited for Signify, which achieved carbon neutrality earlier this year, to join The Climate Pledge with the goal of collaborating with other signatories and sharing best practices.”
Earlier this year, Henkel’s science-based emission reduction targets were approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) as consistent with levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Filed Under: Fastener industry news