Ambitious climate targets of Salzgitter AG confirmed by the Science Based Targets Initiative

Salzgitter AG is also pursuing ambitious sustainability goals with its Group strategy and the focus on the circular economy. With regard to climate targets, both short-term and long-term science-based emission reduction targets have been developed based on standards of and validated by the Science Based Targets initi-ative (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 at 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, explained: "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. Far more, Salzgitter AG is underlining 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."

Significant programs and measures have already been initiated and are being implemented to achieve this goal. The SALCOS® - Salzgitter Low CO₂ Steelmaking transformation program deserves special mention here. With SALCOS®, Salzgitter AG is leading the way in low-CO₂ steel production and the production of low-CO₂ steel and steel tube products. In addition, green electricity is finding increasing use, for which so-called PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) have already been concluded.

In achieving its climate targets, the Salzgitter Group takes a comprehensive, holistic approach and therefore takes both the direct effects of production and the impacts in the upstream and downstream value chains in Germany and abroad into account. The focus is particularly on the sustainable procurement of goods and a CO₂-reduced utilization phase for systems and machines.

The SBTi is a corporate climate action organization that allows companies and financial institutions worldwide to make their contributions in combatting the climate crisis. The organization develops standards, tools and guidelines that enable companies to set greenhouse gas emission reduction targets that meet the necessary requirements to keep global warming below catastrophic levels and achieve a net-zero target by 2050 at the latest.

Partners of the initiative are the organizations CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, the We Mean Business Coalition, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

To date, more than 8,000 companies worldwide have joined the SBTi. This high and increasing number underlines the significance and responsibility of the emissions-intensive industries for the development of the global climate.