Engineering major ABB said it has strengthened its commitment to reduce carbon emissions. On its way to reaching its ambitious science-based targets, the company commits to electrifying its vehicle fleet by 2030, sourcing 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and establishing energy efficiency targets, including the systematic use of energy management systems, it said in a statement.
As part of its new Sustainability Strategy and its ambition to enable a low-carbon society, ABB has committed to partner with its customers and suppliers to reduce their emissions and achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations by 2030, it added.
Ahead of the World Environment Day on June 5, ABB announced that it has joined three initiatives led by the international non-profit Climate Group in line with its action plan to reduce its own emissions.
Firstly, ABB said it commits to electrifying its fleet of more than 10,000 vehicles by 2030. ABB in Sweden, for example, has already started to convert its around 700 company cars to all-electric vehicles, while ABB in the UK announced last year that it will be transitioning its over 500 company cars to an all-electric fleet by 2025.
Secondly, ABB commits to sourcing 100% renewable electricity until 2030, the statement said. In 2020, 32% of all the electricity used by ABB was either purchased as certified green electricity or generated by the company’s own solar power plants.
Thirdly, ABB said it commits to establishing energy efficiency targets and will continue deploying energy management systems at the company’s sites. Already more than 100 ABB sites are covered by externally certified or self-declared energy management systems, it said.
Further, the company’s own reduction targets have now also received approval by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), confirming that they are in line with the 1.5°C scenario of the Paris Agreement.
The SBTi is a partnership between non-governmental organisation CDP, United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). SBTi defines and promotes best practices in science-based target setting and independently assesses companies’ targets.
ABB has also joined the Business Ambition for 1.5°C Campaign, a global coalition of UN agencies, business and industry leaders, led by the UNGC.
“At ABB, we want to lead by example across our own operations and the confirmation that our ambitious targets are now scientifically verified is an important milestone for the company,” its Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer Theodor Swedjemark said.
As part of the strategy and starting in 2021, ABB has also added specific targets related to sustainability into its senior management remuneration.
