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Eliminating our carbon footprint

Together with our value chain partners

Eliminating our carbon footprint - together

It couldn’t be clearer. As a society we are in a race against time to avert climate disaster and achieve net-zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. And that includes DSM.

Sustainability is at the heart of our purpose of creating brighter lives for all. Which is why, together with our value chain partners, we are committed to eliminating our carbon footprint for the next generation.

Not only is our strategy based on the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations; we also measure our progress using Science Based Targets. The good news is that we have already reduced our own GHG emissions by 35% versus 2016 - way ahead of our original targets.

In fact, we’re proud to be one of few companies to achieve an ‘A’ rating from the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project). But there is still much work ahead. So, what are we doing to achieve net-zero?

Inside DSM

We continue to scrutinize and improve every stage of our product lifecycle.

That means designing products using new carbon-friendly techniques and materials; and manufacturing them in a more sustainable way. In fact, supported by a dedicated global team, our manufacturing sites are continually implementing carbon footprint-reduction and energy efficiency measures.

These operations are increasingly run by renewable energy. Our commitment is to source 100% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030 at the latest. We also continue to identify new opportunities for the broader use of renewable energy sources - like steam produced from biomass residues.

Furthermore, we steer our investment towards projects with positive impact on DSM’s GHG emissions by putting a value of €100 on every ton of CO2 reduced.

Outside DSM

But reducing the carbon footprint of our products is only part of the story. Many of DSM’s products also enable our customers to reduce their own GHG emissions. For example, animal farming accounts for 14.5% of all human-derived GHGs emissions: which we are helping our customers tackle with feed solutions like Bovaer® for cattle and Balancius™ for poultry.

Meanwhile, in the same way that we help customers reduce their emissions, DSM’s suppliers are helping us achieve the same. We are now targeting 200-plus companies through a major supplier engagement program called CO2REDUCE which will enable them to reduce their own emissions, including switching to renewable electricity (just like we have). As a result, we have already co-developed more than 25 GHG-reduction roadmaps with our suppliers and counting.

Beyond DSM

Because climate change is everyone’s problem, we are committed to working with our entire ecosystem to tackle it: through actions, but also through advocacy and education. We continue to work with NGOs, investors, tech pioneers (to name a few) in order to share insight, improve understanding and ultimately accelerate our transition to a net-zero world. 

DSM is also exploring further options to make the highest impact contributions beyond our value chain, as a means to accelerate the global net-zero transition.

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