Climate Strategy and Targets

Climate neutrality is a challenge for the whole society

The Paris Climate Agreement from 2015 is an important step towards keeping the increase of global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. All states who signed the agreement are obliged to emit less greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than can be removed by sinks like forests or by using future technologies. The objective is climate neutrality on national levels. In comparison to today, this means an almost complete reduction of greenhouse gas emissions – most of all of CO₂.

Current research studies like the reports of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) are increasing the awareness in politics and society for the necessity to act fast and ambitious.

thyssenkrupp aims to become climate neutral by 2050 at the latest and sets ambitious interim targets

Since many years we systematically drive the energy and climate efficiency of our production and together with our suppliers and customers, we develop efficient solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Our climate action efforts are also acknowledged externally on a regular basis. For the eighth year in a row, thyssenkrupp was awarded with the CDP A-List in 2023. We have thus once again been recognized as one of the world's leading companies in climate protection.

Now we are taking the next steps in our climate strategy and set ourselves ambitious targets. Until 2050 at the latest and in some businesses and countries, such as Germany in line with the requirements of the German Climate Act, we strive to become climate neutral already in 2045. This ambition includes our direct emissions (scope 1), the indirect emissions from purchased energy (scope 2) as well as the indirect emissions in our value chain (scope 3).

In fiscal year 2023 / 2024, we again significantly raised our ambitions on the path to this long-term target so that we can achieve emission reductions in line with the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Climate Agreement. We submitted this commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and will have our reduction targets validated by this organization in line with climate science and the SBTi Corporate Net Zero Standard.

Our businesses have developed roadmaps and action plans for meeting these ambitious targets. Success in meeting thyssenkrupp's climate targets was integrated into long-term compensation for the Executive Board and top-level managment (Management Compensation) in fiscal year 2021 / 2022.

We pursue our climate targets within our Climate Action Program

To systemize our efforts in pursuing our climate targets we have initiated our thyssenkrupp wide Climate Action Program for Sustainable Solutions (CAPS). Within its three pillars #IMPLEMENT , #ENABLE und #ENGAGE we bundle our activities to most effectively realize synergies.

The three pillars of our Climate Action Program

Energy efficiency is a thyssenkrupp wide priority. Since 2013, we have been implementing our GEEP program (Groupwide Energy Efficiency Program) including concrete measurable ambitious targets.
The conscious use of renewable energies is an important lever, because the availability of energy will remain a necessity, despite all energy efficiency efforts.
Within the steel production, we follow two approaches to reduce CO₂ emissions. On the one hand, Carbon2Chem (C2C), where we expect a technical availability even before 2030. Carbon2Chem produces valuable chemicals using waste gases from the steel production and delivers a sustainable carbon source for unavoidable basic elements of chemistry as alternative fuels, fertilizers or plastics.
On the other hand, we believe in the avoidance of CO2 (CDA – carbon direct avoidance) by using “green” hydrogen instead of coal as a reduction agent, so that no carbon dioxide is produced at all. We will successively replace carbon by hydrogen as a reducing agent and thus avoid the emission of carbon dioxide altogether. Here, we are relying on a new process which combines a 100 % hydrogen-capable direct reduction plant with an integrated electrical melting unit in order to produce climate-friendly pig iron. Through this innovative concept we can continue offering our customers the full range of high-quality steel grades and thereby contribute to making the downstream stages in the value chain climate-neutral. This integrated approach will enable climate neutrality by 2045 for our own steel operations.

The indirect climate effects of our supply chain exceed our direct emissions by a multiple. Especially in the use phase of our products by our customers, high potential exists to avoid greenhouse gas emissions. That is where we are developing and offering a variety of intelligent solutions:

The greenhouse gas neutral cement plant is based on our Oxyfuel technology to produce cement. Considering the process, CO₂ cannot be fully avoided. By enriching it, CO₂ can be captured and used by a Carbon2Chem plant or delivered into an optional CO₂ infrastructure.
Greenhouse gas neutrality will not become reality without green hydrogen. Therefore, we built up alkaline hydrogen electrolysis, which is a proven concept and cost efficient. Our technology enables a flexible operation, e.g. to ensure a flexible demand side management of renewable electricity.
The fertilizer production is critical to ensure the nutrition of a growing world population. EnviNOx avoids laughing gas emissions, that are 300 times more harmful than CO₂, and additionally nearly all NOx emissions.
The mobility of the future can become climate friendly because of our plant for alternative fuels or our contribution to electric mobility.

We are convinced that technologies for climate protection should be implemented where they can contribute best. Therefore, we need suitable national and global financial funds and a supportive regulatory framework.

The transformation can be accelerated by a monetarization of the additional climate value, a global creditability of mitigation efforts (article 6 of the Paris Agreement) and suitable financial tools for financing climate protection projects.

At thyssenkrupp we are firmly committed to the international targets of the Paris Climate Agreement and their national implementation. In doing so we want to make a significant and rapid contribution to decarbonization while at the same time maintaining a high-performance industrial region. Climate protection though is a true challenge for society-at-large and requires common solutions and joint implementation from companies, politics and civil society alike. Our direct and indirect engagement is consistently in line with our commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement thyssenkrupp plays an active role on all levels to advance Climate Action:

Climate protection only works globally and requires an adequate regulatory framework on all policy levels. thyssenkrupp is engaged in the political discussions and is a regular at the UN climate conferences (COP). We follow the process on the EU Long-Term Strategy and the Commission Agenda, to ensure compatibility of climate protection and global competitiveness.
We advance our positions also through federations and trade associations and are active in key bodies such as BIAC (Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD) in Paris, the climate activities of the German Federation of Industry (BDI) in Berlin.
Our employees are the backbone of successful climate action and are multipliers of our efforts.
Bringing climate action into the supply chain and to our customers is core business for us. In addition to bilateral activities we engage in overarching activities such as “Wirtschaft macht Klimaschutz” of the German Federal Ministry for Environment.
Involving science and research happens constantly. Amongst many others we are in the advisory board of the German Ministry for Research and Education for its framework project “Dialogue Climate Economy” and play a leading role at “IN4Climate.NRW” at state government level in North-Rhine-Westfalia. We are in constant exchange with a large number of political ThinkTanks and Research Organizations in all areas of climate.
thyssenkrupp supports the efforts of the UNFCCC Technology Executive Committee (TEC) process to identify amongst others required climate technologies to achieve climate ambition and national designated targets particularly in developing countries. One of the official elected representative of business and industry in the process is currently from thyssenkrupp.