Annual Report 2023

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Creating tomorrow’s solutions

Principles and Goals

Our corporate policy guidelines are based on three pillars: our purpose, our goals and strategies, and our ethical principles. These guide our actions and set the standards to which we hold our performance. We pursue strategic planning and value-based management in our development of intelligent solutions for sustainable growth.

Sustainability has been firmly entrenched in our business processes for years. At WACKER, we aim to balance economic, ecological and social factors in everything we do. The fact that sustainability appears in two of our five strategic goals underscores its importance.

Our corporate management is involved in issues of sustainability, including the managers in charge of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS), Product Safety (PS) and Sustainability. The Executive Board members sit on the Sustainability Council and are kept informed by the Chief Compliance Officer of issues discussed by the Human Rights Committee.

The WACKER Group’s Purpose

In line with its purpose as an innovative chemical company – Our solutions make a better world for generations – WACKER makes an important contribution to improving the quality of life of people all around the world. We want to continue developing and supplying solutions that meet our own expectations – namely to add value for our customers, shareholders, employees and society, and to achieve sustainable growth.

We have described our vision and goals in detail in the Group management report.

WACKER’s Sustainability Targets

Global warming due to rising greenhouse gas emissions is a socially and economically relevant environmental factor. We want to be at the vanguard in the fight against climate change and reduce both our own emissions as a company and those of our products. The sustainability targets we have therefore set are ambitious. For example, WACKER intends to cut its absolute greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) by 50 percent by 2030 relative to 2020 and to achieve net zero by 2045.

WACKER is striving to ensure that its entire product portfolio meets defined sustainability criteria by 2030. We also expect all our key suppliers to meet defined sustainability standards by 2030. During the same period, we aim to reduce by 25 percent the emissions from the upstream products (Scope 3, Categories 1 and 3) that we use. In addition, WACKER has set targets for specific water withdrawal and specific energy consumption, striving to achieve a reduction of 15 percent in both by 2030.

The targets to cut greenhouse gases are science-based, meaning they are consistent with the “1.5 °C” target of the Paris Agreement. Not only the targets for 2030 but also our aim of achieving net zero by 2045 have been validated by the independent Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

In addition, we have set ourselves diversity targets. By 2030, we would like women to hold about one in three management positions and around one in two management positions to be located outside of Germany.

Safety has top priority at WACKER. Our goal every year is to avoid experiencing any chemical accidents with missed workdays or severe plant-safety incidents.

Sustainability Strategy: SustainaBalance®

SustainaBalance® is WACKER’s holistic sustainability strategy to achieve its medium- and long-term sustainability targets. This strategy is based on three pillars designed to promote the balance between ecological, social and economic factors: Value Up, Footprint Down and Collaboration Beyond.

SustainaBalance® is directly related to the 17 goals of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

WACKER’s SustainaBalance® is a commitment to responsible stewardship and contributes to the implementation, in particular, of seven UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

The Three Pillars of SustainaBalance®

Arrow pointing up in a circle (icon)

Value Up

By empowering our teams, we enable our customers to provide more sustainable solutions.

Arrow pointing down in a circle (icon)

Footprint Down

We create efficient and safe processes, use resources responsibly, avoid waste and minimize our footprint.

Circularity symbol in a circle (icon)

Collaboration Beyond

As a contributing member of society, we strive for a sustainable value chain together with all our partners.

WACKER’s Sustainability Targets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SustainaBalance®

 

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

 

Sustainability indicator1

 

Base year

 

Target year

 

Target2 (%)

 

Status 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Value Up, Footprint Down, Collaboration Beyond

 

4, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 17

 

Net Zero

 

2020

 

2045

 

-100

 

-28

Value Up

 

7, 9

 

Products meeting defined sustainability criteria3

 

2020

 

2030

 

100

 

94

Value Up

 

8

 

Management positions held by women

 

 

2030

 

~33

 

21

Value Up

 

8

 

Management positions outside of Germany

 

 

2030

 

~50

 

32

Footprint Down

 

12, 13

 

Absolute greenhouse gas emissions4

 

2020

 

2030

 

-50

 

-24

Footprint Down

 

12, 13

 

Specific energy consumption (per metric ton of net production)

 

2020

 

2030

 

-15

 

+3

Footprint Down

 

12

 

Specific water withdrawal (per metric ton of net production)

 

2020

 

2030

 

-15

 

+4

Footprint Down

 

8, 12

 

Chemical accidents with missed workdays5

 

Annual target

 

Annual target

 

0

 

2

Footprint Down

 

8, 12

 

Severe process safety incidents5, 6

 

Annual target

 

Annual target

 

0

 

0

Collaboration Beyond

 

4, 17

 

Key suppliers7 meeting sustainability criteria

 

2020

 

2030

 

100

 

79

Collaboration Beyond

 

13, 17

 

Absolute greenhouse gas emissions in upstream supply chains8

 

2020

 

2030

 

-25

 

-38

1

Gross production corresponds to the total production (target products and byproducts) of a plant or site. Net production is calculated by subtracting the internal reuse of products from the gross production of a plant or site.

2

The target-related success level is not based on linear progression, but on individual projects that are implemented at different stages throughout the target period.

3

In accordance with WACKER Sustainable Solutions.

4

Scopes 1 and 2 in accordance with GHG Protocol, science-based target.

5

Absolute target.

6

In accordance with WACKER Process Safety Incidents, Severity Levels 1 and 2.

7

Corresponds to 80 percent of the volume procured.

8

In accordance with Scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services (Cat. 1) and fuel- and energy-related emissions (Cat. 3), science-based target.