Arkema Says It's Committed to Keeping Global Warming 'Well Below 2°C'

Arkema said it is taking action with an ambitious climate plan that is aligned with the Paris Agreement.

As such, the Group has set a new strategic environmental objective: To reduce its absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 38% in 2030 compared to 2015.

By 2018, thanks to efforts made at all of its sites around the world, the Group had exceeded its 2025 target of reducing its direct intensive greenhouse gas emissions by 50% compared to 2012.

Today, Arkema is entering a new phase with the decision to increase its efforts and contribute to limiting global warming at the end of the century to well below the 2°C (35.6°F) trajectory according to the recognized Science-Based Target methodology.

That results, for the Group, in a new long-term objective of reducing its absolute emissions by more than 1.7 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent compared to 2015 to reach less than 3 million metric tons in 2030, regardless of the increase of its production volumes, i.e., a decrease of 38% over 15 years.

Arkema takes into account all the GHG emissions generated by its industrial operations in this new objective:

• The direct emissions linked to its production, known as Scope 1, and those caused by substances that deplete the ozone layer (ODS – Ozone-Depleting Substance);
• Indirect emissions linked to the purchase of energy, known as Scope 2

This climate plan was drawn up following a detailed study of growth projections for the Group’s activities, plans to improve industrial processes and reduce energy consumption, and the possibility of purchasing electricity from increasingly low-carbon sources.

"Corporate mobilization is crucial given the climate emergency we’re facing, and it is our responsibility and in everyone’s interest to act quickly," said Thierry Le Hénaff, chairman and CEO of Arkema. "By committing to a particularly ambitious climate plan, the impact of GHG emissions will, now more than ever, be a factor in all our decisions, whether for industrial investments, energy supply contracts or acquisition projects. We’re calling on each of our business lines to contribute to this reduction."

In connection with this new climate plan, Arkema has decided to revise its target for reducing its net energy purchases compared to 2012 by aligning it with the 2030 long-term target:

• Energy (net purchases): 20% reduction in consumption intensity (versus 15% in 2025);
• In 2019, there was a 9% reduction

The initiatives undertaken by Arkema to reduce its environmental footprint have enabled it to achieve, as early as 2018, two of its other strategic environmental objectives set for 2025 compared to 2012. These relate to intensive emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air and intensive emissions of chemical oxygen demand (COD) into water.

Ever committed to reducing the environmental footprint of its operations, Arkema is also announcing a revision of these two objectives with a new long-term target for 2030 compared to 2012:

• Air (VOC emissions): 65% reduction in intensive emissions
• In 2019, there was a 40% reduction;
• Water (COD emissions): 60% reduction in intensive emissions;
• In 2019, there was a 50% reduction