Climate Impact

portrait thomas kuenzel

Thomas Künzel

Lead of Climate Impact

Phone: +43 503041022315

Following the path to zero emissions

Protecting our climate lies at the core of our sustainability ambitions. Against this backdrop, we have set out to become climate neutral by 2050. This will be possible by a broad focus on green energy and energy efficiency solutions. For this purpose, we are currently implementing a decarbonization pathway, with the highest priority being the reduction of our greenhouse gas emissions. We have also set ourselves the objective of reducing our Scope 1&2 emissions by 50% until 2029 compared to 2019. In order to achieve the goal of climate neutrality, further measures are being taken in the area of energy efficiency and the substitution of fossil fuels. Unavoidable emissions are to be captured using carbon capture methods, stored or reused. Only residual emissions are neutralized through offsetting in accordance with strict guidelines.

our fields of action

Aiming for the goal of a 50% reduction in Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2029 in relation to the baseline year of 2019, a detailed and specific roadmap has been implemented. Intensive work on further improving our energy efficiency and increasing use of green energy will have a positive impact on the achievement of the goal. In addition, all production sites have their own roadmaps for scope 1 & 2 emissions. Their development and progress will be monitored by us.

100% of our high performance metals melting are electricity based technologies (EAF, VIM, etc.). Therefore, the use of green energy is an extremely important area for our sustainability efforts. Against this background, we have already taken first steps concerning independent and on-site production of renewable energy. Insights from some of our projects include for example the combination of hydropower and photovoltaic energy production, the independence of purchased renewable energy, cooperations in the area of biomethane production to substitute fossil fuels and more. Alternatives to natural gas are constantly being evaluated. Moreover, we set a specific focus on the expansion of own production of renewable energy.

Based on established structures concerning energy efficiency initiatives, we set a structured focus on a massive increase of energy efficiency in many different areas. Those include: Regenerative and recuperative burner systems for natural gas fired furnaces; moreover the reduction of heat losses, increased utilization of waste heat, improved hot delivery/pre-heating, electric energy savings through LED-lighting, increased hydraulic systems and inductive heating and the installation of photovoltaic systems.

inSPire blog articles related to Climate Impact:

a pair of hands holding a small globe Division blog

Climate Impact at HPM: Our contribution to climate protection

Within the High Performance Metals (HPM) Division, the “Climate Impact” pillar is dedicated to the topic of climate protection as part of inSPire. The focus is on decarbonization through improved energy efficiency, electrification, and the use of renewable energies.

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a pair of hands framing the sun setting in a nature setting Division blog

Decarbonization: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions for a positive effect on the environment

Significantly reducing our emissions is one of the High Performance Metals (HPM) Division’s explicit goals. Reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions is therefore a key area of action under the Climate Impact pillar of our inSPire sustainability framework. And a wide range of measures are bringing us closer to that goal: ambitious decarbonization roadmaps and real-world projects for greater energy efficiency, less natural gas, and an increased use of renewable energies.

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power lines Division blog

Energy supply of the future: Promoting environmentally friendly energy

Sustainable sourcing is much more than just an economic responsibility. When procuring raw materials, companies must ensure reWe have been working for some time already on integrating all aspects of sustainability into daily operations with our “inSPire” framework. Thanks to our newly developed carbon footprint calculations at product level – eco2nboard – we are now able to evaluate the environmental impacts of HPM products even better, and make them available to our customers in a transparent format.

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power lines at sundown Division blog

HPM focuses its efforts on energy efficiency: Making full use of potential

Efficiency is a top priority for us here at the High Performance Metals (HPM) Division—and this also concerns our energy use. There is great potential here for cutting emissions and costs, as well as for promoting alternative energies.

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