​HELLA aims to reduce CO2 emissions in its value chain by at least 38% by 2030. A completely balanced CO2 balance is targeted for 2050 at the latest. The targets meet the ambitious requirements of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Tuesday 2022-08-23

​Two years ago, HELLA set itself climate targets and has now specified them. HELLA has set itself three milestones as interim goals on the road to climate neutrality:

• HELLA will produce in a climate-neutral manner by 2025 and, to this end, switch to 100% electricity from renewable sources while also saving energy. The objective was extended from the production sites to HELLA's development, sales and administration sites.
• By 2030, HELLA plans to reduce CO2 emissions in the entire value chain by at least 38% compared to the base year 2019.
• By 2050 at the latest, HELLA will exclusively supply climate-neutral products thanks to a CO2-neutral value chain. FORVIA will save 90% of CO2 emissions as early as 2045.

2025: Climate-neutral HELLA production thanks to investments in solar energy and energy savings

HELLA's global production activities resulted in CO2 emissions of 298,000 metric tons in fiscal year 2021/2022. The main driver here was energy consumption in the form of electricity, gas and refrigerants. In order to sustainably reduce the resulting CO2 emissions, the company's own energy requirements must be covered from renewable and thus climate-neutral sources. Remaining emissions can be offset through certified climate protection projects.

In the past fiscal year, HELLA's manufacturing sites already covered 26% of their electricity needs with certified green electricity. In the next three years, HELLA will not only invest more in the purchase of green electricity, but also in its own generation of solar power. Currently it is planned to have photovoltaic systems installed at 26 sites by 2024. In Germany, for example, a large-scale project is being implemented at the HELLA Distribution Center in Erwitte (output: 4.5 MWp): With an open-space system and photovoltaic panels on the hall roofs, the site will completely cover its own energy requirements during the day and provide surplus green electricity for Plant 2 in Lippstadt. Furthermore, a solar plant is currently under construction at the Recklinghausen site in Germany (output: 1.4 MWp); a plant is also to be installed in Hamm within the next six months (output: 1.4 MWp). Further solar plants will be added in the near future at the Banovce (output: 1.4 MWp) and Kocovce (output: 3 MWp) sites in Slovakia and in Xiamen in China (output potential to be determined). Talks are also currently underway on photovoltaic projects at four locations in sunny Mexico.

Energy that is not consumed in the first place is the best climate protection. For this reason, the company is pushing energy savings in manufacturing with its "Think Act Save!" initiative. In the past fiscal year, numerous measures at all production sites worldwide saved around 11 gigawatt hours of electricity, roughly equivalent to the average annual consumption of 3,000 households in Germany. For example, parts of injection molding machines were isolated, production equipment was consistently shut down when not needed, and leaks in compressed air systems were closed. Further energy-saving measures are about to be implemented. In addition, the Think.Act.Save! program will be further expanded in the current fiscal year 2022.

2030: 38% reduction in CO2 emissions in the value chain

Looking at HELLA's entire value chain, around 9.44 million tons of CO2 were generated in the base year 2019. These emissions are mainly caused by the extraction of raw materials, production at suppliers, transport in the supply chain and to customers, the use phase of HELLA products in vehicles, and the disposal of products at the end of their life. HELLA aims to reduce these CO2 emissions by more than a third by 2030. To this end, the company plans to consistently carry climate targets and specifications on CO2 values for certain materials into the supply chain. At the same time, the company's own logistics processes are to be made more efficient and climate-friendly. There is also climate protection potential in product design: For example, the proportion of recycled and thus low-CO2 plastics and metals in HELLA products is to be significantly increased. This is not least in response to the requirements of many automotive manufacturers, such as Daimler, BMW and Volvo.

2050: Balanced CO2 footprint

HELLA products will become completely climate-neutral by 2050 at the latest, and customer-specific products will leave no carbon footprint as early as at the end of the 2030s. Under the FORVIA umbrella, 90% of emissions are to be avoided by 2045 and the remaining 10% are to be bound in products, such as foams for seats.

Scientifically based, SBTi certified FORVIA climate targets

FORVIA milestones are climate-neutral production by 2025, reduction of CO2 emissions in the value chain by 46% by 2030, and net-zero CO2 products in 2045. The FORVIA efforts to protect the climate, to which HELLA is making a significant contribution, are scientifically sound and meet the requirements of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The independent climate protection organization Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has verified FORVIA's target setting and action planning under the ambitious new "net zero standard." According to this standard, emissions must be effectively avoided for the most part ("net zero"), i.e. they may not be offset elsewhere.

FORVIA was the first company in the automotive industry and one of the first 20 companies worldwide to be certified to the new standard. The Science Based Targets Initiative is a collaboration between the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It defines and promotes best practices in science-based goal setting and independently evaluates companies' goals.