HANOVER, Germany—Continental has taken another step toward carbon neutrality, announcing that all of the electricity for its global production sites in fiscal 2020 came from renewable energy sources.
The manufacturer purchased approximately 4 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of green energy in 2020, reducing its direct and indirect global CO2 emissions by 70 percent year-on-year to just under one million metric tons, according to a report by the auditor KPMG.
"Sustainable business is the future," Dr. Ariane Reinhart, an executive board member for human relations and sustainability at Continental, said in a release. "With our ambitious goals, we are decisively pursuing the transformation to a sustainable economy.
"The result of the audit shows that we take our sustainability ambitions seriously and are meeting the targets we have set ourselves."
Conti described the transition to green electricity as an "important milestone," marking its first step towards ambitious group-wide decarbonization targets.
Conti aims to make processes at all of its more than 500 locations carbon-neutral by 2040.
To achieve that, Continental said it will be making "massive investments in energy efficiency, zero-carbon technology and the use of green electricity."
By 2050 at the latest, the group expects its "entire value chain" to be carbon-neutral.
"Climate change is one of the most important challenges of the 21st century, and the preservation of natural resources is vital for both ourselves and for future generations," said Thomas Sewald, head of environmental and climate protection at Conti.
"That is why I am proud that we as a company are doing our part."