Covestro employees travel climate-neutrally

Thanks to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions during production operations, the more than 15,000 employees of materials manufacturer Covestro can travel completely climate-neutrally for the next six years. Just in the period from 2008 to 2012, a modern filtration unit has enabled the company to reduce emissions of CO₂ equivalent during the production of nitric acid at its Dormagen site by 680,000t. The European Union awarded Covestro climate certificates to reflect this reduction. The Group has now voluntarily deleted 180,000 of those to offset the CO₂ emissions of its entire company car fleet and all expected business travel from 2015 to 2020.

But climate-neutral travel does not mean that Covestro employees will now be traveling more frequently. Just the opposite: The company is trying at the same time to eliminate business travel whenever possible, such as through the use of the latest information technology. With 40 video conference rooms around the globe, employees can hold virtual meetings with both internal and external partners without having to leave their office buildings.

"Covestro is advocating sustainability in everything we do," said Richard Northcote, the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer. "Through constant improvement in our processes, our products and our behavior, we aim to consistently reduce our effect – and the effect of our suppliers and customers – on the environment, while at the same time improving the lives of society and creating value. The filtration unit in Dormagen is just one of many good examples of what is possible in the chemical industry as we develop new technologies," he added.