All areas of the company are to be geared toward the circular economy in the long term.
The materials manufacturer, headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany, says it wants to gear its entire production and product range toward the circular economy. One concrete measure toward this goal is climate neutrality. The company aims to become climate-neutral by 2035. Net zero emissions for greenhouse gas emissions from its own production and from external energy sources are to be achieved by 2030, which would correspond to a 60 percent reduction to 2.2 million metric tons. Indirect greenhouse gas emissions from upstream and downstream processes are also to be further reduced. Covestro expects to invest between €250 million and €600 million by 2030 and to incur annual operating costs in the low three-digit million euro range to achieve the net zero emissions target. Three main levers are expected to contribute to achieving the climate targets: firstly, optimizing production processes and promoting energy efficiency, for example by further digitizing operations and using digital technologies; secondly, gradually converting all production sites to green electricity, for example from offshore wind energy; and thirdly, converting steam generation - an important energy source in chemical production processes - to renewable energies. "Over the past two years, we have been working flat out to implement our vision of a full circular economy. We have already reached important milestones along the way and continue to set ourselves ambitious goals," says Dr. Markus Steilemann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Covestro. The chemical industry is part of the solution on the path to a circular economy that can protect the climate, nature and resources, and achieve sustainable growth that respects planetary boundaries, Steilemann said.
The materials manufacturer, headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany, says it wants to gear its entire production and product range toward the circular economy. One concrete measure toward this goal is climate neutrality. The company aims to become climate-neutral by 2035. Net zero emissions for greenhouse gas emissions from its own production and from external energy sources are to be achieved by 2030, which would correspond to a 60 percent reduction to 2.2 million metric tons. Indirect greenhouse gas emissions from upstream and downstream processes are also to be further reduced. Covestro expects to invest between €250 million and €600 million by 2030 and to incur annual operating costs in the low three-digit million euro range to achieve the net zero emissions target. Three main levers are expected to contribute to achieving the climate targets: firstly, optimizing production processes and promoting energy efficiency, for example by further digitizing operations and using digital technologies; secondly, gradually converting all production sites to green electricity, for example from offshore wind energy; and thirdly, converting steam generation - an important energy source in chemical production processes - to renewable energies. "Over the past two years, we have been working flat out to implement our vision of a full circular economy. We have already reached important milestones along the way and continue to set ourselves ambitious goals," says Dr. Markus Steilemann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Covestro. The chemical industry is part of the solution on the path to a circular economy that can protect the climate, nature and resources, and achieve sustainable growth that respects planetary boundaries, Steilemann said.
