Sustainable Development Goals
Strategy for the Planet: The Agenda 2030 and the SDGs
The Agenda 2030 is more than a vision—it’s a global call to action. Adopted by 193 nations at the UN Summit on Sustainable Development, its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set the course for ending poverty and inequality, tackling climate change, and safeguarding our planet’s resources. The goals aim to combine economic progress with social justice while respecting ecological boundaries.
Our Contribution to the SDGs
Sustainability at LANXESS is embedded in how we think and act. From resource efficiency to risk management and long-term cost structures, our initiatives create value for both business and society. Many of these efforts directly advance the SDGs, reinforcing our role in the global Agenda 2030. By understanding where our priorities intersect with international objectives, we continue to push forward on issues that matter for responsible business and sustainable development.
The following five examples illustrate how LANXESS contributes to selected SDGs through its products, technologies, and corporate initiatives—advancing health, resource efficiency, and climate protection across its value chains.
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being
Healthy people and resilient health systems are at the heart of sustainable development — and LANXESS contributes through proven infection-prevention and vector-control solutions that protect communities and critical facilities. Our Rely+On® Virkon broad-spectrum disinfectant is used in hospitals, laboratories and public spaces to reduce pathogen transmission, while our Saltidin®/Icaridin active supplies globally recommended insect-repellent actives that help prevent mosquito- and tick-borne disease. Complementing these external offerings, rigorous occupational health and safety programs across our sites protect employees and reinforce our contribution to SDG 3 targets for communicable disease control and access to essential health technologies.
Read about the everyday applications of Rely+On® Virkon here and about Saltidin® here.
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
Access to safe water is essential — LANXESS supports SDG 6 through technologies and site-level stewardship that improve water quality and enable reuse. Our Lewatit® ion-exchange resins and Bayoxide® iron-oxide adsorbers are applied in municipal and industrial water treatment to remove contaminants, recover valuable constituents and enable process-water recycling. We complement product solutions with local water-risk assessments and targeted water-management plans to reduce freshwater withdrawals and enhance resilience at water-stressed sites.
Find out more about the LANXESS Water Program.
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
Sustainable growth creates opportunities - LANXESS advances decent work by maintaining global health & safety standards, fair workplace practices and continuous employee development. We invest in skills and training through corporate responsibility and STEM initiatives, and support community integration programmes (for example, local language and employment support for refugees) that improve employability and social inclusion. These investments strengthen local labour markets, reinforce supply-chain resilience and support SDG 8 subtargets for safe, productive employment and inclusive economic growth.
Learn more about our efforts to empower people here.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Resource efficiency and circularity drive our R&D and production choices. We develop processes and projects that recover valuable raw materials (for example, circular bromine recovery pilots) and enable the use of recycled inputs in higher-value applications, reducing waste across value chains. Our product stewardship and collaborations with customers and partners promote lifecycle thinking and help implement SDG 12 objectives for sustainable management of natural resources and significant waste reduction.
SDG 13: Climate Action
Addressing climate change is central to our strategy: LANXESS has set group-wide, science-aligned targets to reduce emissions and reach climate neutrality, and we are implementing energy-efficiency measures, low-emission technologies and transparent reporting to get there. Our targets include ambitious mid-term reductions and a pathway to net-zero by 2040; we integrate climate considerations into investment decisions and product innovation to help customers lower lifecycle emissions, contributing to both mitigation and resilience goals under SDG 13.
Learn more about Climate Neutral 2040 here.
