Schaan (FL), January 18, 2024 – At the end of 2023, the Hilti Group has reached CO2 neutrality in its own operations as planned. This achievement marks the first milestone on the company’s journey towards net zero by 2050.
As an essential part of its sustainability strategy, the Hilti Group has implemented a four-step approach to eliminate CO2 emissions. This approach follows the principles “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.
"Reaching CO2 neutrality within our own operations is the first tangible milestone on our journey towards net zero emissions. Despite this important achievement, we also recognize 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," comments CEO Jahangir Doongaji.
In line with Hilti’s sustainability priority to reduce its energy consumption, and thus its CO2 emissions, the company has managed to reduce 60 percent of its own emissions, compared to a “do nothing” scenario, since 2019. In addition to various energy efficiency measures, one of the key levers 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 gasoline and diesel engines to electric drives and full hybrid vehicles.
Since 2020, Hilti has been relying on 100 percent green electricity worldwide, either acquired through the purchase of high-quality green electricity certificates in line with the highest standards defined by “EKOenergy” and “Green-e,” or generated by its own photovoltaic systems. Additionally, Hilti is heavily investing in the further expansion of its own photovoltaic installations. In 2023, the company significantly expanded its worldwide photovoltaic generation to more than 9,000 megawatt hours.
The remaining 40 percent of CO2 emissions worldwide are being offset with projects that Hilti has exclusively developed together with the Hilti Foundation and ClimatePartner. All projects undergo third-party verification which is conducted in accordance with either the "Gold Standard" or the "Verra Verified Carbon Standard" for offsetting projects.
Hilti reports its environmental performance with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards in its annual Sustainability Report.
Hilti’s sustainability report can be downloaded here.
Peter Rupp, Head of Corporate Sustainability at Hilti, further explains how we reached this milestone. Watch the full video:
