THERE’s no concern more crucial today than the need to prevent climate change because, as Professor Mike Berners-Lee puts it, ‘There is no Planet B‘. Globally, Sika is among the growing number of businesses striving to make meaningful changes to its product portfolio and manufacturing operations before it is too late.
Sustainability is fast becoming a key factor in the purchasing process. Even those who aren’t driven to operate sustainably because it’s ‘the right thing to do’ may be forced to change their procurement policy or manufacturing practices to avoid missing out on business opportunities. Increasingly, specifiers and contractors may find customers demand sustainable products are used for their projects to help them meet their own sustainability commitments.
Doing the right thing
It’s said we’re often judged by the company we keep and when you choose a Sika product, you can be reassured you’re partnering with a business that has always been a pioneer in supplying solutions that meet the highest environmental standards.
Sika actively aligns itself to the most rigorous green building certification standards including LEED and BREEAM. We have been rated Silver by EcoVadis in recognition of our business approach to sustainability and have committed to achieve Net Zero by 2050.
To get there we’re focusing on education and capacity-building to improve material efficiency and circularity – the reuse of materials. We’re accelerating the use of alternative low-carbon supplies, continuing to make operational efficiencies and partnering with key suppliers who support our goal. Building on their 118 new inventions in 2023, our teams of researchers at 104 technology centres worldwide continue to develop yet more innovative solutions for construction and industry.
Challenging targets
Far from being empty words, we’ve set ourselves some challenging targets. By 2028, we will make a 15% reduction in waste created and water discharged for every ton of product sold, measured against a 2023 baseline.
We’ve also set a goal to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 20% compared to 2022 and to align Scope 3 emissions with our net zero pledge by 2050. Sika supports the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) and following our official commitment in September 2022, we have developed and submitted our emissions reductions targets in line with the latest SBTi criteria in October 2023, with the validation process taking place in the first semester of 2024.
Going forward, as the first company in the speciality chemicals and building materials sector to develop and implement the Sustainability Portfolio Management (SPM) concept, all new products will be scientifically evaluated against 12 sustainability and six performance criteria.
As part of our drive to deliver more value with less impact on the environment, we’re harnessing technology innovations to great effect. For instance, our cleanroom flooring systems release 1,000 times fewer harmful VOC emissions and particulates than standard low volatile organic compounds (VOC) systems.
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