Assum­ing responsibility

Irre­spec­tive of whether they are used in waste­water treat­ment, asep­tic pack­ag­ing or soil reme­di­a­tion, Evonik Active Oxygens’ prod­ucts have a posi­tive envi­ron­men­tal impact. The Busi­ness Line is there­fore system­at­i­cally imple­ment­ing the Group’s sustain­abil­ity strat­egy. However, Evonik Active Oxygens is meet­ing key require­ments of its customers in their markets, first and foremost.

As a specialty chem­i­cals company, Evonik is aware of its respon­si­bil­ity and has firmly entrenched sustain­abil­ity in its corpo­rate strat­egy. In line with its “Lead­ing beyond chem­istry to improve life, today and tomor­row,” mission, the Group is system­at­i­cally align­ing its own prod­ucts and processes with sustain­abil­ity. By facil­i­tat­ing contin­u­ous effi­ciency gains in the use of energy and raw mate­ri­als, which trans­late into falling CO₂ emis­sions. At the same time, Evonik’s prod­ucts and solu­tions help to improve the cost-effec­tive­ness and sustain­abil­ity of customer applications.

All this makes sustain­abil­ity a driver of growth and corpo­rate success for Evonik: “What matters to me is not purely quan­ti­ta­tive growth, but qual­i­ta­tive growth,” says Chris­t­ian Kull­mann, Chair­man of Evonik’s Exec­u­tive Board. “Compa­nies that grow add value and create pros­per­ity. Those that grow prop­erly also create sustainability.”

More infor­ma­tion on Evonik’s sustain­abil­ity strat­egy can be found here.

Major chal­lenges

Evonik Active Oxygens has customized the Group’s ambi­tious targets to its own markets. The aim is to oper­ate the busi­ness on a completely climate-neutral basis by 2040. This is impor­tant, because demand for Evonik Active Oxygens’ prod­ucts and processes is grow­ing rapidly. The drivers of this growth are social trends such as urban­iza­tion, mobil­ity and health. And increas­ing produc­tion volumes usually mean increas­ing emis­sions. “This presents us with special chal­lenges,” says Head of Busi­ness Line Michael Träxler. “At Active Oxygens, we want to reduce our CO₂ emis­sions signif­i­cantly over the next few years, despite increas­ing produc­tion figures.”

Drive trans­for­ma­tion

The busi­ness has there­fore launched a far-reach­ing sustain­abil­ity initia­tive: life cycle analy­ses help to iden­tify and quan­tify the emis­sion sources at exist­ing produc­tion facil­i­ties. The main emis­sion sources are hydro­gen, elec­tric­ity and steam. Active Oxygens is work­ing to elim­i­nate these emis­sion sources. Devel­op­ment and imple­men­ta­tion are actioned along defined, measur­able mile­stones. The trans­for­ma­tion to produc­tion plants with a 100 percent sustain­able supply of hydro­gen, elec­tric­ity and steam is an essen­tial part of this journey.

More infor­ma­tion on our Roadmap.

Sustain­able prod­ucts in Evonik’s portfolio

Active Oxygens’ prod­ucts are back­ing up Evonik’s claim to make people’s lives sustain­ably better today and tomor­row. Prod­ucts such as hydro­gen perox­ide, peracetic acid and persul­fates signify this. They all have a posi­tive envi­ron­men­tal hand­print now. They all have the poten­tial to become 100 percent green as well.

The Busi­ness Line also has the neces­sary exper­tise to provide customers with inno­v­a­tive prod­ucts and solu­tions for their own busi­nesses. Inputs that enable them to advance their own prod­ucts and processes towards sustain­abil­ity and meet the major envi­ron­men­tal chal­lenges of the future. “We give them the know-how they need to be success­ful and oper­ate sustain­ably,” Träxler says. “Because that’s our mission: at Evonik Active Oxygens, we want to lead beyond chem­istry by creat­ing solu­tions for a sustain­able future.”