Our climate footprint in 2021

We aim to grow our business while reducing our environmental impact. The goals in our Operations Stream are to reduce carbon emissions in our own operations as well as those of third parties, such as suppliers.

Increased share of renewable electricity

In 2021, production was up by 5 percent compared to 2020 and electricity usage increased by the same percentage. The share of renewable electricity was 56 percent because of the shift to renewable electricity on our sites in Poland from January, in Chicago from February and in France from December 2021.

Increased energy consumption

The energy consumption increased by 7 percent. This rise can be attributed to the increase in both electricity and non-electricity consumption required, for example, for ventilation, heating and air conditioning. Other factors were the overall increase in production volume and natural gas usage in 2021 in Europe, which was higher due to colder weather.

Renewable energy
in %

Sweden introduces Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils (HVO)

Beckers Sweden in Märsta uses approximately 4,000 liters of diesel for outdoor forklifts, for trucks to transport finished goods, and for diesel motors as part of the fire system. In dialogue with our suppliers and manufacturers, the site will switch to HVO100 fuel and EcoPar A, cleaner fuels that can be used in all diesel engines. The use of HVO100 will reduce our CO₂ impact by up to 90 percent, while the use of E16 EcoPar A will reduce it by up to 50 percent.

This is just the first quick step to reduce our site CO₂ footprint in in-house diesel usage. The more long-term solution is to shift to electrical solutions.

Slight decrease in CO₂e emissions

Our market-based emissions declined marginally by 0.5 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, from a total of 48,200 to 47,900 tons of CO₂e.

Carbon emissions by activity*

Direct emissions from consumption of fuel in the company’s own and long-leased vehicles including their indirect upstream emissions.

Indirect emissions from the processing and disposal of all forms of waste.

Direct emissions from consumption of fuel (on-site), purchased energy and water, including their indirect upstream emissions.

Indirect emissions from transportation of finished goods using third-party services.

Indirect emissions from transportation of raw materials using third-party services.

Direct emissions from purchased solvents that are considered Volatile Organic Compounds.

Indirect emissions from movement of employees and external people, excluding vehicles owned by the company.

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Reductions in our emissions from switching to renewable electricity on our premises – for example at our sites in Poland, the US and France – are most evident in our carbon footprint calculations. Business travel is still at a lower level than prior to the pandemic. As in 2020, we saw an increase in emissions in outbound third-party deliveries.

Carbon emissions intensity
in CO₂e/ton product

The Emission Factors (EF) we use to assess our climate impact are in the toolopen_in_newOur Impacts. These convert units of business activity into equivalent CO₂ amounts. The EFs are constantly updated based on new science and fluid factors such as grid electricity. They are provided by international agencies on climate change, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In line with our Recalculation Policy, there is no need to recalculate the base year, since the changes to the emission factors in 2021 do not significantly impact the results. If you would like to know more about our climate impact, you will find ouropen_in_newClimate Assessment Summary for 2021 on our website. For data on our climate and environmental impact, please see theeastGRI Report 2021.

Slight decrease in VOC intensity

Reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is key to achieving our aim of carbon neutrality for our sites, as they play a significant role in the formation of ozone and fine particulates in the atmosphere. To do this, we use abatement systems – this means that wherever possible, VOCs are combusted, recovered and refined, and air released to the atmosphere is purified.

Our VOC emissions are down slightly, by 0.3 percent, despite increased production due to new VOC abatement measures. VOC abatement systems, as well as the set up of closed systems such as Beckry^®Mix to avoid VOC emissions, belong to the key investments we are taking in the coming years at our Beckers sites.