Aluminium giant EN+ Group to develop net-zero strategy

Almost 600 companies have committed to climate action through the SBTi

Should it meet the aims of this pledge, the Russian firm will be targeting net-zero operational emissions by mid-century at the latest, in line with the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

In order for the targets to be verified, they will need to be submitted to, and approved by, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) within the next 24 months. EN+ Group will work with UN Global Compact, one of the SBTi partners, to achieve this.

The SBTi recently introduced a string of changes designed to place a renewed focus on assisting businesses in setting emissions reduction goals aligned with the 1.5C ambition of the Paris Agreement. The body published an update to its target validation criteria in April, in a bid to encourage more businesses to set ambitious carbon reduction aims in line with a 1.5C pathway. A key change is that a “well-below 2C” pathway will become a minimum requirement, up from the current 2C criteria. 

“Building a prosperous, net-zero carbon economy by 2050 requires a transformation of unprecedented pace and scale,” EN+ Group’s executive chair Lord Barker of Battle said.

“Our ambition is to lead the transformation of the global aluminium industry, a material that will be central to the low-carbon global economy. Partnerships and joint initiatives are a key part to meeting the challenge of climate change.”

Almost 600 companies have committed to climate action through the SBTi, but the majority of these targets are aligned to the Paris Agreement’s lower ambition to limit global warming to no more than 2C

Business transformation

EN+ Group has been working with UN Global Compact since early 2019, placing it among a 9,500+ network of companies seeking to improve human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption measures.

It is notably aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% from smelters and 10% from refineries compared with 2014 levels, and cutting power consumption at select sites by 7% from 2011 levels – both goals with a 2025 deadline.

EN+ Group also recently joined the UN’s Energy Transitions Commission, which was founded to help businesses collaboratively work to develop a net-zero future for heavy industry.  

edie recently spoke exclusively to Lord Barker to explore, in more depth, the implications of these commitments on the wider aluminium sector, and how they have helped to transform not only the Group’s CSR approach but its economic success. You can read that feature in full here.

Sarah George

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