Based on science
Binding targets, validated by the SBTi: the KHS Group and its parent company Salzgitter have jointly committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) enables companies to set specific targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. To that end, the independent climate protection organization has developed standards, tools and guidelines. At the end of 2023, KHS and all other companies in the Salzgitter Group submitted binding short-term and long-term targets for science-based CO2 reduction. These were derived on the basis of the Paris Climate Agreement and are in line with the 1.5°C target. Now, they have been transparently validated by the SBTi in a recognized audit procedure.
36% reduction by 2028
The KHS Group has set itself the short-term target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions at all its sites by around 36% by 2028 compared to the base year of 2021. This includes both emissions directly generated by combustion (scope 1) and those indirectly generated through the use of purchased electricity (scope 2). In the same period the greenhouse gas emissions from the upstream and downstream value chain (scope 3) will be lowered by 20%.
“We used the time it took us to receive validation to adopt specific decarbonization measures. We’ll implement the first steps soon.”
CEO of KHS
“The Group’s long-term, science-based target is to achieve net zero by 2050 at the latest,” explains Kai Acker, CEO of KHS GmbH. “Our short-term goals, which have been approved by the SBTi, are just as ambitious: even before 2021, we’d already fully switched to green electricity at our German sites. Now, we’re focusing on further energy efficiency measures as well as our international plants, which operate in very different energy markets.”
An ambitious plan
“We only have a few years left in which to achieve our intermediate goal,” emphasizes Acker. “We therefore used the time it took us to receive validation to adopt specific decarbonization measures. The first steps will be implemented soon. Our ambitious plan not only motivates us and gives us a specific obligation, but also shows our customers that we act responsibly and transparently when it comes to protecting our climate.”
