How is Avanti Committed to Positively Impacting the Climate?
So far, this series has been devoted to personal lifestyle changes that we can individually adopt to make a positive impact on our planet. For the next couple of months, we want to focus on sustainability from a different perspective. You’ve heard us say that we are committed to being Climate, Land, and People Positive by 2030, but what does that mean and how are we planning to accomplish it?
This all starts with our purpose – Smart science to improve livesTM. We seek to improve lives not only by offering products that do so, but also through our business operations. This means that sustainability is a key aspect of our purpose and something that we are fundamentally committed to.
The United Nations have developed a blueprint to achieve a better, more sustainable future for all – the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). These goals were set to address challenges that we face globally including poverty, climate change, environmental degradation, inequality, peace, and justice. To address these issues, in 2019 we became a signatory for ‘Business Ambition for 1.5°C’. This means that we are committed to being a net zero organization by 2050 and reducing scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions in line with the most ambitious Science Based Targets (SBT) pathway. The SBT pathway is set to limit global rises in temperature to no more that 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels which will allow us to avoid the most devastating effects of climate change.
Then in 2021 we became only the third major chemical company to have our SBT verified. Scope 1 and 2 emissions are committed to be reduced by 46.2% from a 2018 baseline, and scope 3 emissions by 13.5% through collaborations within our supply chain. With these goals in mind, we are committed to being the most sustainable supplier of innovative ingredients.
There are three key areas where we strive to make a positive difference - climate, land, and people. This blog will focus on our commitment to being Climate Positive. Don’t forget to tune in next month to find out more about our commitment to being Land and People Positive!
Climate
Our commitment to making a positive difference on our climate starts with the SBTs mentioned above. By 2050, we will have met those goals and reduced our scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions significantly. Another way we plan to make a positive difference is through the ingredients that we supply. Our ingredients will be used to avoid four times the carbon emissions associated with our business operations. Over 75% of our organic raw materials will be bio-based and absorb carbon as they grow.
Our climate positive actions can be summed up in three major initiatives: carbon cover, reducing emissions, and sustainable innovation. Carbon cover means reducing our net carbon footprint. Our commitment to reducing our net carbon footprint connects with three major UN SDGs: affordable and clean energy, climate action, and one that links businesses and organizations together, partnerships for the goals.
Reducing emissions tackles three UN SDGs as well, two that we have already mentioned and one additional SDG. Reducing emissions helps address affordable and clean energy and climate, but will also address industry, innovation, and infrastructure which will help provide roads, water, sanitation, and electricity in many developing countries.
Our sustainable innovation commitment addresses industry, innovation and infrastructure and climate action, as well as responsible consumption and production. This final SDG is about doing more with less. It is also about disconnecting financial success with the degradation of the planet. A company’s finances and the climate can both succeed at the same time, and we’re here to prove it.
Avanti and Croda are dedicated to being a sustainable supplier of ingredients. We have set ambitious targets for one simple reason – we must. Without the most ambitious of goals, we will not see the level of positive impact that is needed to sustain our planet. We are working every day to meet these goals and help save our planet. And remember, we all have to work together to make this happen.
Tune in next month to find out how we are positively impacting land and people, and how we plan to continue doing so in the future!