One activity that the CHIRON Group is focusing on is the interaction of economic, social and ecological aspects. The CHIRON Group takes its responsibility seriously and is tackling global challenges such as climate protection, resource efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. In the last year, what did they achieve together? The new Sustainability Report 2023 provides information on this.
»We are one«: This is the guiding principle of the Sustainability Report 2023, which was published by the CHIRON Group a few weeks ago. Firstly, this statement stands for the global »Sustainability@CHIRON Group« program. For a continuous improvement process in the global production network, the avoidance of environmental pollution and the efficient use of resources.
Secondly, the guiding principle recognizes the increasing number of proactive contributions from our international locations that go above and beyond the global strategy. Examples of this: the »Low carbon journey, green-mind CHIRON« initiative at CHIRON China, 80,000 »Busy Bees« at the Spaichingen site and a reforestation project near Rottweil, where a tree is planted for every completed customer survey questionnaire.
Official commitment: Significantly reduce greenhouse gases
The CHIRON Group aims to achieve a net zero emissions balance in Scope 1 and 2 by 2025. It wants to further develop its products so that they enable the best production results with less energy input. The CHIRON Group is clearly committed to the goals of the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi). And fulfills its obligation to implement the measures approved by the SBTi in May 2024 and to consistently pursue the defined targets: »CHIRON Group SE undertakes to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions in Scope 1 and 2 by 50% by 2028, starting from the base year 2018. CHIRON Group SE also undertakes to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions in Scope 3 by 25% within the same period.«
In Scope 3, which considers the indirect environmental impacts in upstream and downstream processes of the value chain, the influence and control options are lower than for the direct impacts of the CHIRON Group's business activities. »Nevertheless,« says Global Program Manager Sustainability Benjamin Kurth, »by looking at the entire product life cycle and supply chain, we can make sustainable decisions to minimize these indirect effects.«
Green energy production driven forward
The photovoltaic systems at the Taicang Innovation Factory in China and the Zadar site in Croatia are examples of the successes in 2023 towards climate-neutral production (Scope 1 and 2) and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This means that the PV potential across all locations has increased to 3,908 MWh, with a maximum total output of 1,942 kWp. In addition, a geothermal system in Taicang provides environmentally friendly cooling in summer and ensures the best working and assembly conditions even at outside temperatures of up to 30 °C.
The online version of the Sustainability Report 2023 and the reports for 2021 and 2022 are available on the CHIRON Group website under »Sustainability«.