Engel aims for net-zero emissions, commits to SBTi standard
Canadian Plastics
Plastics Processes SustainabilityThe company is reducing all Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 50 per cent and Scope 3 emissions by 42 per cent by 2030 compared with 2022.
Engel’s headquarters in Schwertberg, Austria. Photo Credit: Engel
Austria-based injection molding machine and automation maker Engel has set science-based reduction targets to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions at its production facilities, subjecting them to a review under the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).
In a news release, Engel said that it’s one of the first companies in injection molding machine manufacturing to involve itself in the SBTi. The decisive factor for SBTi approval is that the defined targets help meet the Paris Climate Agreement, company officials said.
Engel says it’s reducing all Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 50 per cent and Scope 3 emissions by 42 per cent by 2030 compared with 2022. Scope 1 emissions are those that a company owns or controls directly. Scope 2 emissions are created by a company causes indirectly and those that come from the energy it uses and how it’s produced. Scope 3 emissions aren’t directly produced by a company, but are emission that it produces indirectly across its value chain.
“In our opinion, the greatest leverage for reducing greenhouse gases, beyond material- and energy-efficient solutions and the expansion of renewable energy sources, can primarily be achieved by digitalizing production processes and establishing a circular economy,” said Stefan Engleder, CEO of the Engel Group of Companies. “For this fiscal year, we have budgeted 10 million euros for the expansion of our own renewable energy production alone. Beyond this, we are increasingly focusing our development activities on efficient and recyclable solutions.”
Currently, Engel uses 100 per cent “green” electricity in all its Austrian plants, including a growing proportion generated by its own photovoltaic systems. In addition to that, Engel says that it offers molders proprietary technologies to process recycled plastic waste. Last year, Engel improved its sustainability ranking from the global environmental consultancy Eco Vadis from silver to gold status.
SBTi is an initiative of leading NGOs and business associations, including CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), UNGC (United Nations Global Compact), WRI (World Resources Institute) and WWF (World Wildlife Fund), to develop methods and criteria for effective climate protection in the enterprise and validate the targets set by companies.
