Hilti meets CO2 milestone
26 January 2024
The Hilti Group reports that at the end of 2023 it reached CO2 neutrality in its own operations as planned. The company says the achievement marks the first milestone its journey towards net zero by 2050.
Hilti has implemented a four-step approach to eliminate CO2 emissions. This follows the principles of ‘reduce, replace, produce and offset’ and is part of a package of comprehensive measures to meet the criteria set by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
"Reaching CO2 neutrality within our own operations is the first tangible milestone on our journey towards net zero emissions,” said Hilti Group CEO Jahangir Doongaji. “Despite this important achievement, we also recognise the importance of addressing emissions along the entire value chain. Our commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative will support our customers' sustainability ambitions and contribute to combating climate change."
In line with Hilti’s sustainability priority to reduce its energy consumption and, in turn, its CO2 emissions, the company has managed to reduce 60% of its own emissions, compared to a ‘do nothing’ scenario, since 2019.
In addition to various energy efficiency measures, a key driver to achieve this number was the replacement of fossil-based energy sources with more sustainable alternatives.
By the end of 2023, the company had already shifted about half of its global vehicle fleet from petrol and diesel engines to electric models and full hybrid vehicles.
Hilti says that since 2020 it has been using 100% green electricity worldwide, either acquired through the purchase of high-quality green electricity certificates in line with standards defined by green electricity suppliers EKOenergy and Green-e, or generated by its own photovoltaic systems, pictured above, in which the manufacturer plans further significant investment.
The remaining 40% of CO2 emissions worldwide are being offset with projects that Hilti has developed together with the charitable Hilti Foundation and the ClimatePartner agency.
The group says that all projects undergo third-party verification which is conducted in accordance with recognised standards for offsetting projects.
