Chr. Hansen decouples climate impact from economic growth
15 Nov 2021 --- Chr. Hansen is launching a new program aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by 2030, named “Think Climate. Naturally.”
“As we decarbonize our operations, by, for example, switching to 100% renewable electricity, the emissions from our products will decrease as well. We expect this to be something that our customers value as it helps them to lower their scope three account for sourcing of raw materials,” Camilla Lercke, director of sustainability and ESG at Chr. Hansen, tells NutritionInsight.
The Denmark-based bioscience company is decoupling its climate impact from economic growth in a bid to pursue a low-carbon future, it states.
Meeting targets
The company’s first target is to reduce greenhouse gases by 42% across scopes one and two by 2030. The two scopes cover the direct emissions from Chr. Hansen’s operations and indirect emissions associated with its consumption of grid-supplied energy.
Specifically, this translates to a 1.5 degree aligned reduction pathway, which reflects the Paris Agreement ambitions, the company says.
Chr. Hansen notes that emissions across scopes one and two make up 13% of the company’s total greenhouse gas emissions for the financial year 2020 to 2021.
The second target is a 20% reduction of greenhouse gases from scope three by 2030. This scope relates to indirect emissions associated with activities across the entire value chain.
Scope three makes up 87% of Chr. Hansen’s total emissions for the financial year 2020 to 2021 and ranges from the sourcing of raw materials to the transportation of products and employee commuting, according to the company.
The company’s plans aim to achieve cost and carbon savings.Enabling sustainability
As part of the Think Climate strategy, Chr. Hansen will also be running a supplier engagement program that aims to encourage suppliers to change to low-carbon practices.
“This means that it will become increasingly more attractive for us to purchase, for example, raw materials, from suppliers that can prove a lower emissions factor per kg/product. We see this as sound business preparing for a future where materials and products with high carbon intensity are likely to be impacted by regulations and fees,” says Lercke.
The move is a natural step for the company, which is seen as a sustainability enabler by its customers and partners, according to CEO Mauricio Graber.
“Our microbial solutions enable healthier living for humans, animals and plants – leaving a positive ‘handprint’ in society and on our planet,” he highlights.
The cost of change
Though the company did not disclose a concrete number on how much these changes will cost Chr. Hansen, Lercke states there is no impact on the guidance for the 2022 financial year.
“Actions in our decarbonization roadmap have different business cases and levels of maturity. Many projects are already funded or even deliver good economic business cases, achieving cost and carbon savings at the same time. In the mid-to-long term, some actions require acceptance of longer return on investments and added costs,” she notes.
“While taking climate action, we intend to closely follow how the net-zero methodology develops and what it would require from Chr. Hansen,” adds Lercke.
In July, Chr. Hansen reported an 8% organic growth for Q3 for 2020/21, saying it expected e-commerce growth and “fully-focused” bioscience transformation.
Last year, the company announced it was allocating approximately three-quarters of its R&D spending toward NPD for its 2025 strategy.
By Andria Kades
