Henkel’s emission reduction targets approved by “Science Based Targets initiative”

As part of Henkel’s commitment to accelerate its contribution to climate protection, the company has defined science-based emission reduction targets. These were recently approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) as consistent with levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The Science Based Targets initiative is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute ‏(WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature ‏(WWF). The SBTi defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting and independently assesses companies’ targets.

“We at Henkel want to make a positive contribution to climate protection and fully support the commitment of the United Nations’ Paris Agreement on climate change. By 2040, we want to become a climate-positive company. Based on our long-term goals, we derived specific emission reduction targets which were assessed against scientific best practice and confirmed to support the goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C,” says Uwe Bergmann, Head of Sustainability Management at Henkel.

The targets as approved by the Science Based Targets initiative are:

• Henkel commits to reduce scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions 67 percent per ton of product by 2030 from a 2017 base year.
• Henkel also commits to increase annual sourcing of renewable electricity from 6 percent in 2017 to 100 percent by 2030.
• Furthermore, Henkel commits to reduce scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions from purchased goods and services by 30 percent per ton of product by 2030 from a 2017 base year.

The targets covering greenhouse gas emissions from Henkel’s operations ‏(scopes 1 and 2) are consistent with reductions required to keep warming to 1.5°C, the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement.

Henkel’s target for the emissions from its value chain ‏(scope 3) meets the SBTi’s criteria for ambitious value chain goals, meaning they are in line with current best practice.

Committed to climate protection

On the way to becoming climate-positive by 2040, Henkel plans to reduce the carbon footprint of its production by 65 percent by 2025 and 75 percent by 2030 from a 2010 base year. The company intends to achieve this by continuously improving its energy efficiency and by using electricity 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.

In addition, Henkel wants to leverage its brands and technologies to help customers, consumers and suppliers save 100 million tons of CO₂ in a ten-year period up to 2025.

For more information on Henkel’s commitment and targets for climate protection, visit henkel.co.uk/sustainability/climate-positive.