Covestro focuses its corporate vision on becoming fully circular. The materials manufacturer wants to completely align its entire production and product range as well as all areas in the long-term to the circular concept, according to SpecialChem.
One concrete measure on this path is climate neutrality. Already in 2021, Covestro cut greenhouse gas emissions by 54% compared to 2005 and thus overachieved its previous sustainability target set for 2025.
Covestro has now defined a further bold target, the group aims to become climate neutral and achieve net zero emissions by 2035 for scope 1 and scope 2.
On the path to achieving this goal, the company plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions from its own production (scope 1) and from external energy sources (scope 2) by 60% to 2.2 million metric tons by 2030.
In addition, indirect greenhouse gas emissions from upstream and downstream processes in the value chain (scope 3) will be further reduced. Covestro intents to announce a reduction target for this by 2023.
To achieve net zero emissions, Covestro anticipates dedicated investments of an accumulated EUR250 million to EUR600 million by 2030, resulting in lower operating expenses of expected EUR50 million to 100 million annually due to growing energy efficiency.
On its path to achieve net zero emissions, Covestro also expects an increase in operating expenses in the magnitude of a low three-digit million EUR amount annually. These cost assumptions are based on the historic experience that prices for fossil-based energies are lower than prices for renewable energies.
A key aspect of the new 2035 reduction target is meeting the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement, under which the world community aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
As MRC informed before, in April 2021, DSM completed the sale of the resins & functional materials businesses to Covestro for EUR1.6 billion (USD1.9 billion), including EUR1.4 billion in cash.
We remind that Covestro closed the sale of its European polycarbonates (PC) sheets business to the Munich-based Serafin Group effective January 2, 2020. This includes key management and sales functions throughout Europe as well as production sites in Belgium and Italy.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PC granules (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus) totalled about 82,300 tonnes in 2021, down by 8% year on year (89,200 tonnes a year earlier).
Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for refrigerating appliances) etc. With 2020 sales of EUR 10.7 billion, Covestro has 33 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,500 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).
MRC