Siemens Energy Halves its Operational Emissions
Siemens Energy AG
Siemens Energy improved in almost every aspect of sustainability this past year, according to its fiscal year 2022 Sustainability Report, recently released.
"Global electricity demand will increase by 25% by 2030,” said Christian Bruch, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer for Siemens Energy. “Satisfying this hunger for energy sustainably, safely, and affordably is one of the core tasks of our time. Our mission is to support our customers in their transformation to greater sustainability. But this also means we must set a good example and apply the highest standards in our operations. Our goal is to be a leader within the energy industry when it comes to sustainability, corporate governance, and social issues. We're on a good path, but still a long way from where we want to be."
A significant reporting parameter across the entire value chain is greenhouse gas emissions. Here, an important distinction is made between Scope 1 (emissions that the company is directly responsible for or in control of, like gas consumption), Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased energy, like electricity consumption), and Scope 3 (indirect emissions in the upstream and downstream supply chain).
Siemens Energy released 21% fewer greenhouse gases in the fiscal year 2022 than the previous year in its direct area of responsibility (Scope 1 and 2). In fact, since the baseline year of 2019, the company has cut its greenhouse gas emissions in this area by 50%. The initial goal was to cut emissions by 46% by 2025. Siemens Energy plans to be totally carbon-neutral by 2030.
The company's success in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is partly because it uses renewable energy. 90% of the electricity that Siemens Energy needs to run its business comes from renewable sources. The planned target was 84%. When it wasn't possible to buy renewable energy directly from the supplier, old contracts were replaced more quickly by new ones or backed up by guarantees of origin. Green energy is expected to meet electricity needs by September 30, 2023.
Siemens Energy also reports emissions from the operation of its own products across their whole life cycle in Scope 3. More than 99% of Siemens Energy's greenhouse gas emissions come from these, and they are the biggest threat to climate neutrality. This category emitted 46 million metric tonnes fewer greenhouse gases last year (a 3% decrease compared to 2021).
In total, there was a 12% decrease compared to the 2019 baseline. This is mostly due to Siemens Energy's coal phase-out, which began in 2020. This highlights the importance of switching from coal to gas for power generation as soon as possible, in addition to using renewable energies: Nearly 40% of the world's power is still provided by coal; switching to gas might reduce emissions by 50% at each plant.
The report, which is 96 pages, highlights Siemens Energy's environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) accomplishments in the previous fiscal year as well as opportunities for improvement. Women make up about 20% of Siemens Energy's workforce, for example.
Last year, it increased by another percentage point to 22% in the first two management levels (Gas and Power, excluding Siemens Gamesa). Siemens Energy, on the other hand, has ambitious goals, aiming for 30% by 2030. Under the newly established organisational structure, which went into effect on October 1, 2022, the company hopes to make rapid growth in this area.
Siemens Energy will take further measures to become a leading ESG company. Among other things, the amount of green power made by the company itself will grow, building technology will become more automated, and the company's own energy needs will be cut even more. With the appointment of Group Compliance Officer Dr. Anita Schieffer to the newly created position of Human Rights Officer, the course is set to meet new requirements for international companies, such as those in the Supply Chain Act.
Source: Siemens Energy
Click here to learn more about Siemens Energy's Sustainability report 2022
