OQ Chemicals to introduce comprehensive sustainability programme

OQ Chemicals announced the introduction of a company-wide sustainability programme during the recent AFPM International Petrochemical Conference (USA). With the main aim of sustainably reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the programme called "reduce” has set clear goals for OQ Chemicals to become climate-neutral by the middle of the century.

"In 2019, we started to systematically question our existing approaches. Now we are taking decisive action to raise sustainability and future competitiveness of our company,” stated Oliver Borgmeier, CEO of OQ Chemicals. "With ‘reduce’, we are tackling the challenge to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions drastically over the coming years with a strategic, company-wide, and fully comprehensive programme. Our goal is clear: to become a climate-neutral company by the middle of the century, meaning by 2050 – or even before,” Borgmeier continued.

Christoph Balzarek, EVP Corporate Development at OQ Chemicals and global programme lead for "reduce”: "This programme is the result of a process started already years ago, bundling all our activities under one roof. It represents both a very structured approach and a clear roadmap towards our goal of climate neutrality.”

"While this long-term goal is around two decades in the future, we are already in the middle of implementing it,” Balzarek added. "Concrete measures for the next years are clearly defined, and intermediate targets are in sight. With the year 2017 being the baseline, OQ Chemicals will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 18% by 2025, and by 30% by 2030.”

OQ Chemicals is supported by EFESO Consulting, an international group specialised in operations strategy and performance improvement. Marcia De Troyer, Vice President at EFESO: "All along the global value chain, chemical companies are defining their way to climate neutrality. In this environment, we regard ‘reduce’ as a very much structured, detailed, and thus effective programme. As a goal, ‘mid of century’ first sounds vague, but with such a structured and pragmatic approach that OQ Chemicals is pursuing, we consider the goal of climate neutrality to be reached earlier than the year 2050.”

The "reduce” programme is based on the standards of Greenhouse Gas Protocol and concerns direct emissions from production activities (Scope 1), emissions based on energy consumption (Scope 2), as well as indirect emissions of OQ Chemicals, for example associated with raw materials, processing, transportation, and marketing of the products, as well as leased assets, purchased goods and services (Scope 3).

"reduce” covers all emission-relevant aspects of the company from supply chain and procurement through operations to marketing and sales. The programme includes all production sites of the company with the focus first on the main ones at Oberhausen (Germany) and Bay City (USA), with the former being subject to Emission Trading System (ETS) of the European Union. "reduce” consists of seven working streams, including a "breakthrough” working stream for innovation strategy and processes that helps to also identify technology leaps and drive successful pilots.