Germany, as one of the major chemical manufacturing nations, has committed to achieve this goal by 2050. But companies need to translate this industry vision into their specific context.
System changes of the scale of CO₂ neutrality for a whole industry sector require a new mindset. Major transformations command long lead times and require consistent and persistent follow-through. It is all but clear whether enough value is created to justify the huge investments and how new value generated is distributed among critical players and investors.

CHEManager asked executives and industry experts to share their opinions on this industry transformation, which is a multi-stakeholder challenge and comprises economical, technical, societal and political aspects. We proposed to discuss the following aspects:

• What is your strategy / timeline to become carbon neutral and what are the key challenges on the path to achieve this goal?
• What political / regulatory mea­sures are needed to encourage companies to invest in carbon neu­tral technologies?
• What economical / societal benefits do you expect or hope for by decarbonizing your business?
• How do you plan to involve external stakeholders critical for achieving CO₂ neutrality?

Richard Haldimann: Addressing climate risks and opportunities has been embedded in Clariant’s sustain­ability journey over the past 10 years, but we are committed to speeding up our transformation. Our vision is to be carbon-neutral by 2050. To get there, we have just committed to ambitious 2030 climate targets, approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. They set out absolute reductions in emissions from our operations and purchased energy (-40%) as well as from our raw materials (-14%).
These new science-based targets are complemented by other targets to ensure continuous improvement in our environmental footprint, in all important parameters by 2030. The biggest lever we have as a specialty chemical company in supporting customers in their transition to a climate neutral economy is through our enabling solutions, be it low carbon intensity surfactants or catalysts.
Internally, we are both steering and incentivizing the improvement of our carbon footprint. Like applying carbon pricing for evaluating capital expenditures, reflecting our support for a global CO₂ price. Clariant will focus on improving energy efficiency through digitalization and increasing the use of low carbon electricity and fuels. To ensure this stays high on the management agenda we have made carbon reductions bonus relevant.
Outside of our operations, we are acceler­ating innovation in our value chains with increased use of waste streams and sustainable bio-based materials. For example, our high performing, EcoTain labelled glucamides for personal care are based on renewable sugars. They demonstrate a significantly re­duced carbon footprint versus alternatives.
Clariant sees partnerships as critical for achieving CO₂ reductions. Examples include our strategic collaborations with sustainable raw material suppliers and customers to help decarbonize value chains. Such as with Neste for low carbon intensity raw materials used in flame retardants, and Carbon2Chem, a cross-industry project for the reduction of industrial CO₂ emissions in steel production.