Customized sustainability: Net Zero products from Saltigo

Saltigo, a subsidiary of specialty chemicals company LANXESS, is now offering potential customers the sustainable manufacturing of products. Under the name “Net Zero Custom Manufacturing”, the company, which specializes in the exclusive synthesis of active ingredients and intermediates, accompanies its customers along the entire production process.

“We are receiving an increasing number of inquiries for the sustainable manufacturing of products - especially from the food and agrochemical industries,” says Michael Schäfer, Managing Director of Saltigo. “These potential customers often pursue their own sustainability goals and see market potential for these products. We will be able to continue to help them even better in the future with our Net Zero Custom Manufacturing.” Saltigo has set up an interdisciplinary sustainability team to meet the needs of customers from as many industries as possible and develop individual production concepts.

Sustainable in energy and raw materials

Saltigo’s Net Zero Custom Manufacturing focuses on the use of sustainably generated energy and green raw materials.

Saltigo relies on special supply contracts (“Power Purchase Agreements”) for renewable energy procurement at its production sites in Leverkusen and Dormagen. Customers can thus calculate with stable energy costs and receive a certificate of origin for the green electricity produced. As a LANXESS subsidiary, Saltigo benefits from the Group’s experience, which already sources part of the electricity required for many German production sites with green electricity.

Saltigo has access to an extensive network of suppliers to procure the necessary raw materials with a reduced carbon footprint for the desired product.

Example from the food industry: Carbon footprint reduced by 90 percent

A concept that Saltigo has developed for customers in the food industry shows what further possibilities Saltigo can offer with “Net Zero Custom Manufacturing”. To produce the substance, Saltigo can source most of the raw materials required in variants with a reduced carbon footprint or produce these raw materials itself. Important for the manufacturing of the product are sodium hydroxide solution and hydrogen, for example. They are produced using 100 % renewable energies and have been available to Saltigo at the Leverkusen production site since 2023 thanks to a partnership with Covestro.

Saltigo has also worked out how the steam needed for production can be produced by a generator using green electricity and then fed into the production process.

With this concept, greenhouse gases can be reduced by up to 90 percent along the entire value chain compared to the standard process.

Precisely determined carbon footprint - TÜV-certified

Net Zero Custom Manufacturing also includes the calculation of the carbon footprint of the manufactured products along the entire value chain. Saltigo uses the “Product Carbon Footprint Engine” developed by LANXESS for this purpose. This tool, certified by TÜV, retrieves data from various parts of the company. It calculates greenhouse gas emissions during production, product-specific emissions and those associated with the raw materials, energy, operating resources and transportation used, as well as emissions from waste disposal.

Awarded for sustainability

As a subsidiary of specialty chemicals company LANXESS, Saltigo makes a significant contribution to the Group’s commitment to sustainability, which has already received numerous awards. LANXESS is ranked first in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) Europe in the “Chemicals” category. In November, rating agency MSCI ESG confirmed LANXESS’ AA rating for the third time in a row. The climate protection initiative CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) placed LANXESS on its “A List” in the “Climate” category again in March. In addition, EcoVadis confirmed LANXESS’ platinum level in its sustainability rating in August.

Saltigo GmbH is one of the leading providers in the field of custom synthesis. The company, which is part of the specialty chemicals company LANXESS, belongs to the Consumer Protection segment, which recorded sales of EUR 2.340 billion in fiscal year 2023. Saltigo, which has its corporate headquarters in Leverkusen and production facilities in Leverkusen and Dormagen, employs around 1,300 people worldwide.