We're all in this together

‘A successful transformation towards greater sustainability can only be achieved by working together in a spirit of partnership across the entire value chain.’ said Achim Döll, Vice President of Purchasing Strategy and Strategic Supplier Management Sustainability at Schaeffler – voted one of the UN’s 50 Sustainability and Climate Leaders of 2021. As preferred supplier partners, Schaeffler and ERIKS are on this path together. So what can we learn from Schaeffler’s progress towards a more sustainable future?
 

By 2040, Schaeffler intends to have achieved climate neutrality throughout its entire supply chain. This is one of the drivers for partners such as ERIKS to work towards the same goal: to ensure they can meet Schaeffler’s demands of its suppliers. At the same time, Schaeffler is taking actions internally to decarbonise its own operations and optimise its own sustainability.

More than 20,000 green ideas

In over 50 countries, at 200 Schaeffler locations, on one day in June, around 83,000 employees spent 90 minutes focussing on climate protection.

Guided by some 9,000 leaders, teams of colleagues developed ideas for reducing CO₂ emissions in areas where they had the most knowledge. Far from being entirely theoretical, the day began on a highly practical footing, with participants encouraged to use the most climate-friendly commuting option available to them – whether that was by foot, bike, bus, train or electric car.

This proved a highly effective way to focus minds on the issue, and – as Schaeffler’s CEO Klaus Rosenfeld explained – helped create ‘an interactive and inspiring experience to make Schaeffler’s pathway toward climate neutrality tangible.’

It also helped to show that not all carbon-reducing and sustainability initiatives have to be high-level or large-scale. Simply changing cleaning products to sustainable versions, installing LED lighting with motion sensors, or even changing to reusable rather than disposable cups and cutlery at lunchtime, can have a massive impact when applied and multiplied across a whole organisation.
 

The colour of steel

The modern world is built from steel, but iron and steel production together accounts for 11% of global CO₂ emissions. Not very green.

Fortunately, there are innovations in the sources of energy used for steel production – and Schaeffler is committed to making the most of them.

H2 Green Steel (H2GS) is planning an all-new steel mill in Sweden which will rely on electricity and hydrogen from renewable sources such as wind and hydropower. By 2030 the mill will be producing five million metric tons of virtually CO₂-neutral steel, and Schaeffler intends to be a major customer. By purchasing 100,000 metric tons from the mill, the company will reduce its annual CO₂ emissions by 200,000 metric tons.

Meanwhile, as an example of the circular economy which plays such an important role in sustainability, Schaeffler already returns 600,000 metric tons of steel scrap annually to steel mills for recycling.
 

Offshore, on target

As a clean source of energy derived from a sustainable source – water – hydrogen is likely to have an important role to play in the future. As a member of the Hydrogen Council, Schaeffler is playing its part in developing the solution.

Since last year, the company has owned Dutch start-up business Hydron Energy B.V., which is involved in the SEA2H2 project producing green hydrogen offshore. With the long-term objective of producing green hydrogen, using green energy from offshore windfarms. This could be a significant step in the development of a global hydrogen economy, and in enabling a future of clean mobility.
 

For all our tomorrows

What one company does – on however large a scale – will not change the world. But if every company follows suit – however small the scale – then ultimately, inevitably, the world will change.

CO₂ emissions are now included in Schaeffler’s procurement policies. It seeks to work with sustainable companies, and to support customers in their journey towards sustainability. We are all, unavoidably, in this together. Working together is the only way to achieve success.