Oerlikon Group publishes first sustainability report, plans to be operationally climate neutral by 2030
March 2, 2021
Oerlikon Group, Pfäffikon, Schwyz, Switzerland, has published its first sustainability report, Innovation for a Sustainable Future, as part of its commitment to sustainability. Based on the materiality analysis, Oerlikon has selected eight out of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) where the company can make the most difference for its stakeholders.
Environmental, social and governance targets for 2030 have been set by the group in areas that align most closely with its operations, policies and capabilities. These targets, for example using only energy from renewable sources and increasing the number of women in leadership roles, have been selected with care and consideration, in areas where Oerlikon can make the greatest impact.
“Sustainability has been an integral part of our strategy that drives our innovations and operations to serve our customers’ needs for many years,” stated Dr Roland Fischer, CEO Oerlikon Group. “With the report, we now make a public commitment and join the ranks of people proactively engaging with sustainability and inspiring others to do the same.”
“Setting ambitious targets, such as achieving climate neutrality in our operations by 2030, clearly underlines our commitment,” continued Dr Fischer. “We also intend to have 100% of our R&D investment in new products to cover the ESG criteria. We have always seen innovation and sustainability as interdependent – for example, in 2019, our innovative technology solutions for jet engines helped our customers in the aerospace industry to save 25 million tons of CO2. At the same time, the CO2 impact of our own global operations was only 157,000 tons.”
Oerlikon explains that it has many other tangible examples of how its engineering and processing of materials and surfaces contribute to sustainability in collaboration with its customers. The group’s technologies lengthen the useful life of machinery and tools, improve automotive and aerospace fuel efficiency and pioneer advances in textile manufacturing and the future of mobility.
The group’s Additive Manufacturing division, Oerlikon AM, offers a broad portfolio of AM-tested metal powders, as well as custom alloy development services. Helping customers in key industries to achieve more with less is stated as being an integral part of Oerlikon’s value proposition, technologies and operations.
Oerlikon’s 2020 Sustainability Report is prepared according to the internationally recognised GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards, underlining the group’s commitment to transparently sharing its sustainability achievements and progress, and is accessible online here.
