Carbon Neutrality
1.5°C might not sound like much, but it is the key to a livable future – for us and for our planet. To prevent major and irreversible effects of climate change such as the continued melting of the polar ice caps, global warming must remain below this level. In 2015, 195 countries agreed to limit global warming to well below 2°C as part of the Paris Agreement. To achieve this goal, the world must be carbon-neutral by the second half of the 21st century. At Continental, we are committed to the Paris Agreement and aim to achieve complete carbon neutrality across our entire value chain by 2050 at the latest. However, becoming carbon-neutral is not the sole responsibility of Continental, but requires a joint sustainability effort.
“Working together with our customers, suppliers and other partners to achieve 100 percent carbon neutrality is an integral part of our sustainability ambition,” says Dr. Ariane Reinhart, Executive Board member for Human Relations and Sustainability. “Realizing this ambition reflects our belief in the power of innovation and collaboration to create sustainable industries.”
Every step in the production process counts
A look at our latest sustainability report shows that our efforts to achieve a carbon-neutral value chain are paying off. In 2023, we reduced our own carbon emissions to 0.89 millions of CO2, 10 percent less than in the previous year. Looking beyond our own factories, it is also vital we become carbon-neutral along the entire value chain, which includes pre-production, global transportation and the emissions that only arise when products are used. Altogether, we produced around 103 million tons of CO2 in 2023, 3 million tons less than in the previous year.
“Carbon neutrality goes far beyond carbon-neutral factories. It’s about the big picture – every step in the production process, both within our operations and across our supply chains. These aspects are therefore also reflected in our ambitions, strategies and initiatives,” says Dr. Steffen Schwartz-Höfler, head of Sustainability at Continental.
Healthier for us and our planet
A key part of becoming carbon-neutral is phasing out fossil fuels and switching to renewable energies. We have been purchasing green electricity exclusively at all our plants worldwide since 2020. This means that our electricity procurement is already carbon-neutral and we have reduced our own emissions by around 70 percent. But on the way to achieving complete carbon neutrality in our production processes, we are continuing to reduce our energy consumption – with energy efficiency measures involving the use of new technologies. Ultimately, the remaining unavoidable residual emissions must be neutralized, for example through negative emissions. Negative emissions actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere, ease the global CO2 budget and complement comprehensive reductions in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
The non-profit international organization Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) granted us its highest award for our climate change mitigation in 2023. Here, Continental is one of only 1.7 percent of companies in the world to achieve an “A” in the global ranking. Through our efforts and the rigorous implementation of our defined measures, we are steadily moving closer to our goal of achieving 100 percent carbon neutrality along the entire value chain.
Carbon neutrality is a state in which carbon emissions from human activities have no impact on the climate. No additional burden is placed on the climate. A carbon-neutral economy either releases no climate-damaging greenhouse gases or completely neutralizes emissions through so-called carbon sinks such as new forests. To achieve a completely carbon-neutral economy, we are already working on reducing our emissions as much as possible – for example by using renewable energies, energy-efficient technologies and sustainable production methods.
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