WE GO BEYOND
At Evonik, we have set ourselves the goal of creating a better life for current and future generations. We work towards this goal every day with our strategy and ambitious objectives. Our aim is to drive the transformation of industry and society and shape the fundamental change that comes with it. In doing so, we contribute to a sustainable future - resource-efficient, innovative, and profitable. All of this is expressed in our promise of performance, "Leading beyond Chemistry".
Sustainability Report 2023
WE GO BEYOND – Embracing change and going beyond the familiar is the key to a sustainable world for us. At Evonik, we have been on this path for a long time and are paving it with our passion for outstanding products and technologies. Competitiveness and sustainability complement each other to form a future-proof business model: the more resource-efficient, profitable and innovative, the more future-proof.
Welcome to Evonik's Sustainability Report 2023!
At Evonik, we have set ourselves the goal of making life better for current and future generations. This is what we are working on with our strategy and ambitious goals, day after day.
In recent years, sustainability has become an integral part of our core processes. In this report, we make transparent how we are implementing the transformation to Next Generation Evonik – in line with our title "Implement!". With a special focus on our three most important sustainability topics – Green Energy, Portfolio Transformation and Circular Economy, we explain what we are trying to achieve? Have already achieved and still want to achieve.
In a special section in the middle of the report, we show you vivid examples of our day-to-day work – together with employees as well as customers, suppliers and other partners.
This report acknowledges what has been achieved so far. At the same time, however, we are also aware of.
We are aware that we still have a long way to go. That's what we're going to do consistently in the direction of "Next Generation Evonik" – always with an understanding of the different perspectives of our stakeholders.
EVONIK CARBON FOOTPRINT 2023
Protecting the climate and the environment is a global challenge. Evonik takes climate and environmental protection very seriously as a central element of its corporate responsibility. Evonik pays particular attention to greenhouse gas emissions along the value chain.
The Evonik Carbon Footprint includes Evonik's direct energy and process emissions (Scope 1), emissions from purchased electricity and heat (Scope 2), and relevant upstream and downstream emissions (Scope 3). These include emissions from the production of purchased raw materials, services and capital goods, energy-related emissions outside of Scope 1 and Scope 2, emissions from inbound and outbound transport, from the disposal of waste, from business travel and employee commuting, from the energy demand of office buildings, and emissions from the use, disposal and recycling of products sold.
NEXT GENERATION SOLUTIONS
With this brochure, we would like to introduce you to selected products and solutions that are characterized by a distinct sustainability profile: Evonik's Next Generation Solutions (NGS). We pay particular attention to the contribution of the NGS to the four Sustainability Focus Areas (SFA), which bundle our contributions to sustainable transformation and describe their sustainability benefits ("handprint").
First, we will introduce Evonik's SFA and Portfolio Sustainability Assessment (PSA) methodology, and then explain the handprint evaluation of some NGS. These assessments serve as evidence of a positive PSA score and allow for a better understanding of how an NGS contributes to the particular SFA.
The purpose of the 2023 Supplement is to provide more detailed information on selected products and solutions with a clearly positive sustainability profile. After introducing the SFAs and the Evonik Portfolio Sustainability Assessment (PSA) methodology, the handprint evaluation of some NGSs is detailed. The handprint of selected NGSs will be described including the report of the greenhouse gas emission reductions – so-called ”avoided emissions“ for the year 2023. Their associated environmental or social impact will be detailed paying special attention to their contribution to one of the four sustainability focus areas if credible quantification data is available. Where possible, a quantitative estimation of the handprint is given. Due to the profound interest in quantitative and precise information on handprints in some value chains and good data availability, several examples from automotive and food applications are described in this brochure.
SUSTAINABILITY ELEMENTS IN THE FINANCIAL REPORT 2023
The contents of the sustainability elements in the financial report include the aspects of employee, environmental and social concerns, respect for human rights, the fight against corruption and bribery, and the supply chain. Here we report on concepts, processes, measures and key figures for the individual aspects.
SUSTAINABILITY KEY FIGURES 2023
The following tables provide an overview of Evonik's most important company-specific key figures. They are structured along our six fields of action. The 15 key topics of Evonik are highlighted in color. Detailed information can be found in the respective chapters of the Sustainability Report 2023.
SUSTAINABILITY AT A GLANCE 2023
Implementing sustainability
WE GO BEYOND – Enabling transformation and going beyond the known, that is the key to a sustainable world for us. At Evonik, we have been on this path for a long time and are paving it with our passion for outstanding products and technologies. Competitiveness and sustainability
Sustainability Ratings and Rankings
CDP
CDP Climate Change again awarded us a grade of A- and CDP Water Security awarded us a grade of B. We also participated in CDP Forest, where we were awarded a grade of B-.
In addition, Evonik achieved an A- in the CDP Supplier Engagement Rating in 2023.
EcoVadis
As a founding member of the Together for Sustainability (TfS) initiative, Evonik drives forward transparency and sustainability in the supply chain and is subject to annual assessments.
Morningstar Sustainalytics
An analysis by the Morningstar Sustainalytics rating agency ranks Evonik’s sustainability performance among the top 5 percent of the roughly 600 chemical companies evaluated.
MSCI ESG Ratings
Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) has awarded Evonik an AA rating for its sustainability performance. Evonik is therefore in the leader category. We scored particularly highly on corporate governance.
DAX
Since 2023, Evonik has been listed in the DAX® 50 ESG index.
ESG INVESTING AWARD
Evonik was runner-up at the ESG Investing Award 2023, gaining second place in the category BEST COMPANY FOR SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING: INDUSTRIALS.
EURONEXT
In the Euronext index family of VigeoEiris, which evaluates corporate ESG performance, Evonik is included in the Europe 120 and Eurozone 120 indices. The evaluation is based on up to 330 indicators covering 38 sustainability criteria.
FTSE4GOOD
Evonik is a member of the FTSE4Good Europe Index and the FTSE4Good Developed Europe Index. These index families of the Londonbased FTSE Group rate companies in categories such as environmental management, human and labor rights, health and safety, sustainability in the supply chain, and corporate governance.
ISS-ESG
Evonik’s sustainability performance is rated B- by ISS-ESG. Evonik therefore retains its prime status, the highest level awarded, ranking it among the top 15 percent of companies in the chemical sector.
SOLACTIVE
Evonik is listed in the Solactive Europe Corporate Social Responsibility Index. The composition of this index is reviewed every six months using the Vigeo Eiris ESG methodology. This covers ecological and social aspects and corporate governance.
STOXX®
Evonik is listed in the STOXX® Global ESG Leaders Index. This index lists the best 25 percent of sustainable companies in the investment universe on transparency in environmental, social, and governance performance.
Awards and Accolades
ARC
For the 2022 Sustainability Report, Evonik received the ARC Award in bronze in the "PDF" category and the ARC Award Silver in the "Microsite" category.
FOX
Our 2022 Sustainability Report won "Gold" at the FOX Award Finance and "Silver" at the FOX Award Visuals.
LACP
The League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) honored Evonik's 2022 Sustainability Report with the Vision Award in Gold.
Responsible Care
In the Responsible Care national competition "Our sustainable and economical use of energy" of the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), the Herne and Rheinfelden sites each achieved first place with projects on waste heat.