First nominated, then a finalist and now a winner: The technology Group SCHOTT is one of the most sustainable companies in the glass and ceramics category with its “Climate Neutral 2030” strategy program and has received the 16th German Sustainability Award (DNP) for it. This makes the Mainz-based company one of the 100 pioneers of transformation in the German economy. The official DNP award ceremony will take place in Düsseldorf on November 23, 2023, as part of the German Sustainability Day with many guests of honor in attendance, such as the Federal Minister for the Environment Steffi Lemke and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

As a manufacturer of specialty glass and other high-tech materials and a pioneer in an energy-intensive industry, the company wants to become climate-neutral in its production by 2030 (Scope 1& 2 Greenhouse Gas Protocol). SCHOTT is pushing this goal with an action plan consisting of four fields of action. The main focus is on technological change with new melting technologies based on electricity and hydrogen. “My thanks go to our dedicated team, whose pioneering spirit and great passion have made this success possible,” explains Chairman of the Board of Management Dr. Frank Heinricht. “Tests to date with up to 100% hydrogen content and the electrification of our melting tanks have confirmed that the transformation can succeed technologically. What is important now for rapid implementation are appropriate framework conditions such as the availability of green hydrogen and electricity from renewable energies at competitive prices.”

Other fields of action in the SCHOTT strategy program, in addition to technological change, are the switch to 100 percent green electricity and the improvement of energy efficiency. The last step is compensation for the remaining emissions. The Group has already been able to reduce its emissions that are harmful to the climate by more than 60 percent since 2020 and has been covering 100 percent of its electricity requirements worldwide with renewable energies.

SCHOTT is also making progress in other areas of sustainable corporate management and is clearly committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “We will implement our sustainability strategy step by step throughout the company and together with our partners,” says Dr. Frank Heinricht. “For us, it’s clear that for responsible corporate governance, we must reconcile profitability with ecological and social action.”

Things remain exciting for SCHOTT because in addition to the German Sustainability Award, which, according to the organizers, is “Europe’s largest award for ecological and social commitment,” the five winners who have made particularly exemplary achievements in the five transformation fields of climate, resources, nature, supply chain and society will be honored separately at the event in Düsseldorf. And SCHOTT has been nominated in the “Climate” category.

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