Rotork, the Bath-headquartered global advanced engineering group, has become the first UK firm in its sector to have its ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets been officially verified.
Earlier this year the group, which makes flow control equipment for the global oil, gas, water and chemical industries and is Bath's largest manufacturer, pledged to the significant cuts in-line with those required to meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals.
Its directors also approved near-term emissions reduction targets which aim for its own operations to be net zero by 2035 and for those in its supply chain by 2045.
The validation by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a partnership that includes the United Nations Global Compact and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), means Rotork is going further than the SBTi’s own recommendation that businesses halve their emissions before 2030 and achieve net zero before 2050.
It is also more ambitious than the UK’s commitment of achieving net zero by 2050.
Rotork, which employs about 3,200 people in 17 manufacturing plants across the world including in the UK, US, India and China, has committed to:
- Reducing absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% by 2030 from a 2020 base year.
- Reducing absolute scope 3 emissions from its use of sold products 25% by 2030 from a 2020 base year.
- Achieving 25% of its suppliers by emissions covering purchased goods and services will have science-based targets by 2027.
Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources and scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of electricity, steam, heating and cooling bought and used by the business, while scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s supply chain.
Rotork CEO Kiet Huynh, pictured, said: “We are extremely pleased that the SBTi has approved our near-term greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
“Rotork is one of the first UK-based companies in the electrical equipment and machinery sector to receive this approval for near-term 1.5oC aligned targets.
“For everyone at Rotork, environmental responsibility is an important commitment, and this approval validates our approach.
“As we strive to eliminate our emissions, we also have a broader role to play in enabling the transition to a sustainable, low carbon, future. Our products and services are used in many of the flow-intensive new energy technologies that will help deliver a decarbonised economy and enable our customers to reduce their emissions and achieve their environmental goals.”
