Climate Neutrality: No time to waste
The Paris climate agreement provides for limiting the increase in the global average temperature to a maximum of 2° Celsius in order to reduce negative effects on people and the environment. The sooner we act, the more room we have to maneuver. That’s why LANXESS is committed to this climate target and takes its responsibility seriously. Since our founding in 2004, we have already halved our emissions – from 6.5 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents to 3.2 million metric tons. Now we are taking the second step: LANXESS will become climate-neutral by 2040.
Climate neutrality means
- reducing emissions drastically from the company’s own sources,
- purchasing only very low-emission or climate-neutral energy,
- lowering emissions from 3.2 million tons to less than 300,000 tons by 2040,
- and neutralizing these residual emissions through compensation measures.
STORIES
THE MILESTONES TOWARDS CLIMATE NEUTRALITY HAVE BEEN SET
“With our new goal of being climate-neutral by 2040, we are living up to our responsibility as a global specialty chemicals group. At the same time, we will be an even more sustainable partner for our customers in the future”.
Matthias Zachert
Chairman of the LANXESS Board of Management
Chemistry is one of the most energy-intensive industries. Since 1990 it has made great strides in achieving energy efficiency. According to a study by the German Chemical Industry Association, production has risen by 69 percent since then. By contrast, energy consumption has fallen by 14 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 48 percent. LANXESS has always formulated and reached its own ambitious milestones.
THAT’S WHY WE KNOW: CLIMATE PROTECTION WORKS
“IN4climate.NRW brings together three decisive groups for achieving the Paris climate protection goals: Government, science and business. This is unique in Germany – but also exactly what we need. Only by working together – across all industries and disciplines – to develop new technologies and innovations can we reduce greenhouse gases and ensure that Germany is climate-neutral by 2050”.
NRW-Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Innovation, Digitalisierung und Energie © MWIDE NRW/F. Wiedemeier
THREE CORNERSTONES FOR OUR CLIMATE TARGET
Implementing projects with a strong reduction aspect, decoupling growth and emissions, and accelerating technology and process innovations – these are the three cornerstones of achieving climate neutrality for LANXESS.
Decoupling growth and emissions
The company will continue to grow – and in a climate-friendly manner. We are establishing a clear framework for ourselves: Suppliers and potential acquisition candidates must fit the new climate strategy and the CO2 balance will be an important criterium for investments. In addition, CO2 reduction will become one of the evaluation criteria in the bonus system for managers.
LANXESS implements coal exit strategy
In order to become more climate-friendly, we are planning on an energy supply without coal. We will start at our sites in Nagda and Jhagadia, India. We will also continue to phase-out the use of coal in our large chemical parks.
LANXESSHow LANXESS neutralizes the greenhouse gas N2O
Dinitrogen monoxide (in the US: Nitrous oxide) (N2O), also known as laughing gas, is produced as a by-product in the manufacture of plastic precursors. It is harmless to humans, but damages the climate about 300 times more than CO2. At high temperatures, N2O can be broken down into its components nitrogen and oxygen and thus completely neutralized. This is already being accomplished at our Krefeld-Uerdingen site in Germany and from 2020 will also be done in Antwerp, Belgium. The heat generated during the nitrous oxide reduction process can be used for production. With our award-winning plants in Krefeld-Uerdingen, we are the technology leader in this field.
Strengthening process and technology innovations
In order to become climate-neutral by 2040, we are revising numerous existing production processes. For example, we will further improve our combination structures, such as in the area of heat exchange between plants or in exhaust air purification. Other processes have not yet been developed on an industrial scale. We are therefore focusing our research more strongly on climate-neutral process and technology innovations.Urgently needed: renewable energies at fair prices
- Renewable energies in sufficient quantities and at competitive prices
- A functioning European emissions trading system without the double burden of national systems
- Simple and fast approval procedures for new emission-reducing plants
"In the short term, we need competitive energy prices again, and in the long term we will only be able to achieve substantial climate-neutral solutions if renewable energies are also available in sufficient capacity and at prices appropriate to industry."
Chairman of the LANXESS Board of Management
Good for business, good for society
Ambitious climate targets and a stringent plan are good for LANXESS, for our customers and for society:
- Commitment to sustainability makes LANXESS the preferred supplier.
- Most investments in reducing greenhouse gases improve profits.
- LANXESS anticipates and fulfills even stricter future regulations.
- We are making a contribution to achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Protection Agreement.
LANXESS
