Committed to a climate-friendly future: Rhenus Lub joins SBTi
Reading time: 4 Min. | 14.08.2024
Committed to a climate-friendly future: Rhenus Lub joins Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
Lubricant manufacturer Rhenus Lub is intensifying its commitment to sustainability. The long-established company from Mönchengladbach recently became a member of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a collaboration between the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the Global Compact initiative of the United Nations (UN Global Compact), the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
By defining science-based targets, companies ensure that their emissions-reduction objectives are in keeping with their sector and their company size. Within this framework, Rhenus Lub has committed to reducing its CO2 emissions in Scope 1 (direct emissions) and 2 (indirect emissions from purchased energy) by 50 per cent relative to 2018. By doing so, the company intends to play its part in limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C in line with the Paris Agreement. “We want to reduce our emissions significantly, measurably and transparently by 2030,” says Isabella Kleeschulte, who has been actively pushing ahead with the topic of sustainability as a partner in the family-led company since 2021. “To this end, we look at the emissions associated with every process: from production to our vehicle fleet and the lighting and temperature regulation in our buildings. We also examine and reduce the production of greenhouse gases in our supply chains.”
Net-zero standard for sustainable results
Membership of the SBTi requires companies to set themselves short-term reduction targets as well as reducing emissions in Scopes 1, 2 and 3 (indirect emissions within the supply chain) by more than 90 per cent by 2050. The long-term goal are net-zero emissions. Unavoidable emissions can be neutralised using measures such as direct air capture (DAC) that extract CO2 from the atmosphere. There is also the option of supporting climate-protection projects.
Rhenus Lub is already committed to the environmental compatibility of its systems and products: the Mönchengladbach site has used 100 per cent genuine green electricity for many years, the company participates in energy audits in accordance with DIN 16247-1, identifies further potential savings in energy efficiency analyses, and makes extensive use of reusable or recyclable packaging. Moreover, Rhenus Lub develops lubricating greases with the EU Ecolabel and sustainable metalworking fluids based on a high biogenic carbon content.
“Climate protection concerns us all,” says Isabella Kleeschulte. “We’re making no compromises on the path towards a sustainable future.”