Sustainability Strategy
Responsible behaviour plays a central role in our business model and in our self-image as a traditional company. For us, responsibility means organising all our business activities in an ethically and socially responsible, environmentally friendly and economically successful manner. The issue of sustainability along the value chain is of particular importance and a core component of our ‘Klöckner & Co: Leveraging Strengths’ strategy.
We consider ourselves responsible for the environment, safety and our society. This commitment serves as a benchmark for all our actions and decisions. As an intermediary and an important link in the value chain, we see it as our duty to continuously improve our processes in order to minimise the negative and maximise the positive impacts of our business activities. Our purpose is a special affirmation of our sustainable transformation, both internally and externally. This guiding principle determines our daily actions. It provides our employees with guidance and shows our customers and partners what they can rely on from us.
„We partner with customers and suppliers
to deliver innovative metal solutions
for a sustainable tomorrow.“
We view our dedicated sustainability strategy from an overarching ESG perspective (environment, social, governance) and integrate it in a targeted manner. In addition to environmental aspects, social responsibility and reliability of corporate governance are integral components.
We are convinced that innovation, technology and new business models in particular will enable a successful sustainability transformation of the steel industry. As part of our Group strategy, we are therefore working as a pioneer of a sustainable steel industry to develop innovative business models by creating a comprehensive range of sustainable customer solutions for our customers. By expanding our range of products and services, we are seizing the strategic opportunity to anchor the new, attractive business with sustainable solutions in our business model. We see the transformation as a unique growth opportunity - not just in the future, but today.
Under the umbrella brand Nexigen®, we bundle our range of sustainable products and services across the Group and offer transparent CO2-reduced solutions in the areas of materials, processing, logistics, circularity solutions (so-called closed loops) and comprehensive advisory services in the area of sustainable customer solutions (Sustainability Advisory Services). In this way, we are already making it easier for our customers to reliably procure CO2-reduced steel and metal products and provide them with complete transparency regarding the CO2 footprint of their purchased products via smart software solutions.
We have developed assessment scales for our CO2-reduced steel, stainless steel and aluminium products in order to provide our customers with optimum support in establishing sustainable value chains. Our scales are based on international, science-based standards and categorise the CO2-reduced materials based on their certified emissions across the entire value chain from raw material extraction to production and processing (‘cradle-to-cradle exit gate’). They serve as a guide and are a comparative tool for customers when determining the carbon footprint of end products. We already today offer our customers CO2-reduced steel and metal products through numerous partnerships.
Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)
In addition, we provide our customers with the individualised CO2 footprint of a single product, the Product Carbon Footprint or PCF for short, for almost our entire product portfolio. This allows customers to reliably, transparently and easily see the carbon footprint of a product purchased from Klöckner & Co. With the ‘Nexigen® PCF Algorithm’, we have developed an innovative tool whose automated PCF calculation methodology has been certified by TÜV SÜD. The Nexigen® PCF Algorithm calculates the product carbon footprint in accordance with the internationally recognised Greenhouse Gas Protocol and ISO 14067 ref. 14040 and 14044 and calculates the cradle-to-customer entry gate emissions of the product within the framework of these standards. This provides our customers with information on the extent to which Klöckner materials can contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of their business activities and their own end products and enables them to reliably include the accumulated CO2 emissions of their product in their emissions calculation across the entire value chain from raw material extraction and production to delivery to the customer's factory gate (‘cradle-to-customer entry gate’).
Nexigen® Data Services
We are also taking another important step towards decarbonising the steel and metals industry with the introduction of ‘Nexigen® Data Services’ to actively manage CO2 product emissions. With this technology solution, customers will be able to digitally view the CO2 emissions history (‘cradle-to-customer entry gate’) of all products already purchased by Klöckner & Co at a glance and automatically receive suggestions for alternative, CO2-reduced products and thus reduction potential compared to previous orders. The use of open blockchain technology ensures a high degree of data integrity and complete transparency along the entire value chain.
German Sustainability Award
For our commitment to decarbonising the steel industry, we were awarded the prestigious German Sustainability Award for the second time. This repeated award underlines the fact that Klöckner & Co has successfully integrated sustainability into its business model and is thus making an effective long-term contribution to the transformation.
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Our CO₂ reduction targets
In addition to the strategic opportunities that we see in the sustainable transformation of the steel industry, we are taking responsibility for reducing our own emissions and those of our upstream and downstream supply chains. Our CO2-Net-Zero targets have been recognised as scientifically sound by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in the regular process. Klöckner & Co is thus committed to reducing emissions in Scope 1 & 2 to net zero by 2040 and in the entire value chain by 2050. Our path to Net Zero is based on the following science-based medium and long-term CO2 reduction targets:
