The urgency of the climate change problem prompted AkzoNobel to establish a new Position Statement on Climate Change and Man-made Carbon Emissions and Carbon Policy in 2009.
AkzoNobel endorses the Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change issued by the Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change. The communiqué states that the Copenhagen agreement must establish a global emissions cap and long-term reduction pathway for all greenhouse gas emissions and sources for the period 2013 to 2050. Developed countries will need to take on immediate and deep emission reduction commitments that are much higher than the global average, while developing countries must draw up their own emission reduction plans in line with their common but differentiated responsibilities and capabilities. Deployment of clean technologies will be accelerated at sector level through robust funding solutions, technology transfer and capacity building. The least developed economies need additional assistance including increased and adequate financing and expanded cooperation to help them adapt to and join the new low-carbon economy. The full text of the Copenhagen Communiqué can be found here.
While our significant energy-using business units already have a long track record of improving energy efficiency and adapting fuel mix to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and potential carbon costs, we recognized that managing carbon along the supply chain and during product application by our customers would provide even greater opportunities – across the total business.
Carbon policy work initiated in 2007 emphasized that the impact of carbon on our business extends well beyond emissions from our own production processes. Early in 2008 we embarked on a coordinated program to develop a policy which would be relevant for our diverse business portfolio. The Industrial Chemicals business led the way, developing a framework for measuring carbon footprint of products and facilities, based on the international Greenhouse Gas Protocol and life cycle thinking, along with a rigorous process to identify and quantify improvement opportunities. The framework was tested with the World Resources Institute and several Dutch and Swedish NGOs and is described in more detail in the AkzoNobel 2008 Report .
In the course of 2008 six business units, from across the business areas, have tested this framework for their product portfolio. The pilots included Decorative Paints UK who had independently developed the ‘impact analyser’, a product foot-printing tool based on a similar framework, in partnership with the UK sustainability organization Forum for the Future. In parallel the AkzoNobel Sourcing Department worked with suppliers to measure the carbon footprint of eighteen key raw materials.
The outcome of the projects provides a strong, credible basis for the carbon policy and improvement targets now being developed - which will help to drive carbon costs (and emissions) from our products.
AkzoNobel’s Carbon Policy – Targets and Ambitions - AkzoNobel will measure the cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of its key value chains in 2009 and update these measurements every 3 years.
- AkzoNobel will reduce its cradle-to-gate carbon footprint by 10 % per metric ton of product by 2015 compared to 2009.
- AkzoNobel aims to control its absolute scope 1 & 2 greenhouse gas emissions (based on its current business portfolio) no higher than 2009 levels by offsetting organic growth entirely by energy efficiency and fuel mix improvements.
- AkzoNobel strives for a paradigm shift in carbon management through continuous innovation, aiming to reduce cradle-to-gate carbon footprint by 20-25 % per ton of product by 2020, compared to 2009.
- AkzoNobel will provide carbon-efficient solutions to customers contributing to the existing AkzoNobel objective of 30 % annual sales from eco-premium solutions by 2015.
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We support transparent disclosure and business initiatives calling for urgent inter-governmental action. We are signatories of the UN Global Compact ‘Caring for Climate’ platform as well as the Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change Bali (2007) and Poznan (2008) Communiqués urging action towards an international UN Climate Change treaty at the 2009 Copenhagen conference.
Since 2007, we publicly disclose our Policy, Management and Performance on Energy Efficiency and Carbon Footprint by our annual reporting to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). Our 2007 and 2008 Reports to CDP can be found here .
Our 2008 performance regarding energy and carbon efficiency can be found here .