Salzgitter’s climate targets confirmed by Science Based Targets initiative

Salzgitter AG is pursuing ambitious sustainability goals with its Group strategy and focus on the circular economy. With regard to climate action, it has developed both short-term and long-term science-based emission reduction targets based on and validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

The Salzgitter Group’s SBTi reduction targets are also based on the Paris Climate Agreement and are aligned with the 1.5°C target. The target year for the short-term goals is set for 2028. This timeframe underscores the Salzgitter Group's role in pioneering industrial transformation. All Group companies in Germany and abroad are now responsible for helping to achieve this goal. Over the long term, Salzgitter AG aims to achieve the net zero target by 2050 at the latest.
As Gunnar Groebler, Chairman of the Executive Board of Salzgitter AG, explains: “The transformation of industry towards low-carbon processes and products not only requires a pioneering spirit but also international comparability in companies’ approaches. The Science Based Targets are not only an expression of this commitment, rather, Salzgitter AG is using them to highlight its confidence in the transformation that has been initiated and the market prospects for low-carbon products, while meeting customer requirements at the same time. The SBTi helps tremendously in creating this transparency and making it comprehensible based on scientific criteria. Once the industrial transformation is concluded in the year 2033, we will be in a technological position to achieve our science-based net zero target much earlier – provided that the external framework conditions are in place to ensure long-term economic success.”
The company makes special reference to its Salcos - Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking transformation programme. According to Salzgitter AG, the Group is leading the way in low-CO2 steel production and the production of low-CO2 steel products and tube products with this programme. In addition, it is increasingly using green electricity, and has already concluded PPAs (power purchase agreements) for its use.
The Salzgitter Group takes a comprehensive approach in achieving its climate targets and therefore considers both the direct effects of production and the impacts along the upstream and downstream value chains in Germany and abroad. The focus is particularly on the sustainable procurement of goods and a CO2-reduced utilisation phase for systems and machines.
The SBTi is a corporate climate action organisation that allows companies and financial institutions worldwide to contribute to combating the climate crisis. The organisation develops standards, tools and guidelines that enable companies to set greenhouse gas emission reduction targets that meet the necessary requirements in order to keep global warming below catastrophic levels and achieve a net-zero target by 2050 at the latest. The organisations CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, the We Mean Business Coalition, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) are partners of the initiative. To date, more than 8,000 companies worldwide have joined the SBTi. This high and increasing number underscores the significance and responsibility of the emissions-intensive industries for the development of the global climate.
Source: Salzgitter AG