Covestro has again been awarded an „A-“ rating in this year’s climate protection ranking by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). This underpins Covestro’s climate protection efforts and maintains its position among the leading companies in this segment. After already achieving very good results last year, Covestro participated in the survey again this year and con-vinced with its complete focus on the circular economy.
“We were able to maintain our A- rating in our second participation. A great result that we are proud of,“ says Dr. Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro. “The rating shows us that we are on the right track in driving climate protection forward and that it is important to report transparently on our progress. Our ambitious climate targets underpin our claim. One thing, however, must be clear: climate protection must be viewed in terms of society as a whole. Only if we all contribute, we can achieve the Paris climate goals in the long term.“
Top grade A in four categories
Covestro received the highest possible grade A in four out of ten categories, “Business Strategy Financial Planning & Scenario Analysis“, “Scope 1 & 2 emissions (incl. Verification)“, “Governance“ and “Opportunity Disclosure“. Overall, the company achieved the grade A- and is thus in the leadership range. This means that Covestro is one of 24 percent of companies in the chemical industry peer group that received such a good rating and is rated higher than the average for this group, which is B-. The assessment is based on a scale from A to D-. The highest grade is awarded to companies that demonstrate a high degree of transparency in connection with actual climate protection performance. The CDP ranking is considered one of the world’s most renowned for environmental reporting and environmental management by companies. A total of almost 15,000 companies took part in this year’s rating.
"Sustainability is not a nice add-on but a business crucial strategy. The interest on sustainability and how to become fully circular is high, not only amongst investors, but also among many other stakeholder groups, such as employees, customers and policy-makers.," explains Lynette Chung, Chief Sustainability Officer of Covestro. "Ratings provide guidance and assess-ment here. With our climate targets, we show that we are a pioneer in our industry. Our efforts in these areas have already been positively recognized in the CDP ranking and confirm our ambitions."
Circular economy essential in corporate strategy
Despite the various challenges Covestro faced in 2022, the Group succeeded in advancing the circular economy, focusing on climate neutrality and implementing sustainable solutions. A key component of the company’s “Sustainable Future“ strategy is its focus on the circular economy. In March this year, Covestro announced its ambitious climate targets: Net-zero emissions for scope 1 and scope 2 by 2035.
As a pioneer on the path to a circular economy, Covestro is constantly working on new solutions in the areas of alternative raw materials and innovative recycling, is focusing on renewable energies and is strengthening, seeking and expanding partnerships. For example, Covestro is focusing on white biotechnology and this year opened a new research laboratory that aims to promote recycling processes based on enzymes and microorganisms. The new research group “NEncy“ is also working on recycling old products and plastic waste through enzymatic recycling.
To make production processes and sites even more sustainable, Covestro already has wind energy supply agreements with suppliers Ørsted and ENGIE and is concluding further renewable energy purchase agreements. The recent multi-year agreement with CGN in China, dated December 2022, provides for the annual purchase of 300 gigawatt hours of wind and solar power. This means that 30 percent of the electricity required at Covestro’s Shanghai site will be covered by renewable energy.
