Emissions

The Group-wide greenhouse-gas accounting system – the tool we use for recording our greenhouse gas emissions – covers three different areas referred to officially as “Scopes”:

• Scope 1 covers direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources of emissions at WACKER sites worldwide. Examples of these include production facilities and power plants generating electricity and steam, as well as waste disposal systems and emissions from mobile combustion (vehicles)
• Scope 2 covers indirect greenhouse gas emissions produced by energy suppliers that generate the electricity, steam and heat that WACKER purchases.
• Scope 3 includes all greenhouse gas emissions in the supply chain that are produced upstream or downstream in relation to WACKER. Examples of such emissions include those created by the production or transportation of raw materials, the generation of fuels or by the disposal of end-of-life products. The GHG (Greenhouse Gas) Protocol divides these emissions into 15 categories, with WACKER reporting on those emissions that are relevant to its operations.

We report our indirect emissions from purchased energy (Scope 2) in accordance with both the location-based method (using the national energy mix) and the market-based method (using the supplier-specific energy mix). WACKER has been publishing Scope 3 data since its 2022 annual report.

In 2023, we once again forwarded our emissions data to CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), which WACKER joined in 2007. In CDP’s Climate Change Report for the chemical sector, Wacker Chemie AG achieved a score of A for the first time (previous year: B, on a scale from A to D, representing the levels Leadership (A), Management (B), Awareness (C) and Disclosure (D)). Details can be found on the CDP website.

Scope 1 Emissions

In the reporting year, direct emissions of CO₂e from fossil sources rose by around 5 percent year over year. Due to lower production-capacity utilization, the direct emissions from fossil combustion processes, particularly at the Burghausen, Nünchritz and Holla sites, dropped. In contrast, however, there were much higher greenhouse gas emissions from unexpected refrigerant emissions at the Charleston (USA), Nünchritz and Burghausen sites.

In the cooling units we use in our production processes at many sites, we have been gradually replacing existing refrigerants with alternative materials that pose as little global warming potential as possible. That helps us keep reducing greenhouse gas emissions from refrigerant leaks.

Scope 2 Emissions

In 2023, the indirect emissions from purchased energy (Scope 2, market-based) fell by about 28 percent year over year. This is attributable to the production-related drop in energy demand and to access to a lower-carbon electricity mix.

As regards location-based balancing, Scope 2 emissions rose during the reporting period due to a higher amount of electricity generated from fossil sources (particularly coal). This was especially the case in Germany.

Scope 3 Emissions

To calculate the indirect Scope 3 emissions relevant to WACKER, we use methods in line with the GHG Protocol (Corporate Value Chain Standard) based on WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) guidance for chemical-sector companies.

At WACKER, indirect Scope 3 emissions belong predominantly to Category 1 (Purchased goods and services) and Category 3 (Fuel and energy-related activities (not included in Scopes 1 or 2)). In the reporting year, Category 1 indirect emissions fell by around 24 percent, mainly due to reduced quantities of raw materials and to raw-material purchases with smaller product carbon footprints. Category 3 emissions, moreover, were cut by about 7 percent, due to the production-related drop in purchased energy and due to access to a lower-carbon electricity mix. The other upstream (2, 4–8) and downstream categories (9, 12, 15) reported on are of minor importance and are thus presented as a single combined figure.

Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions

As we pursue our goal of achieving net zero, we aim to reduce the Group’s absolute greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) to half of our 2020 value by 2030.

The roadmap used to meet these targets comprises three key levers: Silicon production in Holla, Norway; process transformation; and the procurement of renewable energy.

During the year under review, emissions were down 24 percent, so that reductions in emissions were well above the linear trajectory that had been mapped out for a 15-percent reduction in 2023 relative to 2020. The decline in the amount of energy purchased and access to a lower-carbon electricity mix were the main contributing factors here.

WACKER is also committed to reducing its absolute greenhouse gas emissions from purchased goods and services, as well as fuel- and energy-related activities (Scope 3, Categories 1 and 3), by 25 percent between 2020 and 2030.

The most effective lever to meet this target is the procurement of low-carbon raw materials based on silicon or petrochemicals. By cutting emissions (Scope 3) by 38 percent relative to 2020, we surpassed not only the target of a 7.5‑percent reduction as against 2020, but also the target for 2030. This was mainly due to the use of much lower quantities of raw materials and energy. In addition, the purchase of raw materials with a lower carbon footprint, together with the lower‑carbon electricity mix, had a positive impact. We do not rate the substantial reduction in 2023 as a final target achievement, because this particular year was not representative in terms of the quantities procured. The validation of our net zero target made it necessary to review the target set for Scope 3. This meant that target achievement for 2021 and 2022 had to be corrected.

Air Pollutants

During the period under review, nitrogen oxide emissions and total dust emissions were at the prior-year level across the Group.

Groupwide emissions of volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) rose 3 percent year over year, due to the commissioning of our new dispersion plant in Nanjing, China.

It follows that water stewardship is a significant part of our sustainability strategy. The water stewardship program we have developed and introduced groupwide takes a systematic approach to water stewardship at our production sites, committing our business divisions and sites to the responsible use of water resources throughout the entire supply chain.

We also began submitting water data to the CDP in 2018. In 2023, we scored an A- in the CDP’s Water Security Report (on a scale from A to D, representing the levels Leadership (A), Management (B), Awareness (C) and Disclosure (D)). Registered CDP users can download the details.

Groupwide water withdrawal dropped by almost 3 percent during the period under review; withdrawal for WACKER’s own needs fell 2 percent across the Group. This was mainly due to a weather-related drop in the use of cooling water at the Burghausen site.

The Group’s wastewater volume remained on par with the previous year.

We use more than 90 percent of the water withdrawn as cooling water that is then returned to the water cycle.

To assess our water risks, we use the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Water Risk Filter, which rated the maximum global basin risk of our production sites as 3.8 in 2023 (scale: 1 = no risk, 5 = high risk). The basin risk indicators prescribed by the WWF Water Risk Filter comprise several risk types (physical, regulatory, reputational) subdivided into twelve risk categories. We take the information from this classification into account when analyzing water usage at our sites.

Reducing Specific Water Withdrawal

To help decrease the size of our water consumption footprint, we have set ourselves the target of reducing specific water withdrawal by 15 percent across the Group between 2020 and 2030.

Our specific water withdrawal in the reporting year was up 4 percent relative to 2020, so that reductions were once again above the trajectory that had been mapped out. Despite less water being withdrawn, the substantial drop in plant-utilization rates and hence the lower unit of net production output had an adverse impact on the target value across the Group.