Lenzing Group’s current carbon footprint

Lenzing’s scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions

The GHG Protocol classifies emissions into three scopes: Scope 1 emissions cover all direct emissions from a company’s activities or activities under their control, including fuel combustion on site, e.g. from burning coal and own vehicles. Scope 2 emissions cover indirect emissions from electricity and heat purchased and used by the company. Scope 3 emissions are defined as all other indirect emissions from the organization’s activities occurring from sources that it does not own or control and covering emissions along the value chain¹², for example, purchased goods and services such as chemicals and logistics.

Lenzing Group’s carbon footprint

Despite Lenzing’s business model, which is firmly rooted in the use of wood from sustainable forests and plantations that sequester carbon, the company does not assume that this alone is enough, given the current climate science. A company can claim carbon neutrality while continuing its own high-carbon activities as long as it offsets its carbon emissions. Thus, Lenzing goes further by drastically reducing the current fossil-based emissions from its own production and supply chain and innovating new technologies for further decarbonization to pave the way towards carbon neutrality by 2050. The Group advocates this bold approach to its industry rather than being complacent about the inherent climate advantage of the wood-based fibers business model.

Energy sources of the world, Lenzing Group and Lenzing site

The production volume of pulp and cellulosic fibers is directly linked to the amount of consumed energy and, hence, emissions related to energy use. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and correspondingly challenging market environment forced temporary shutdowns of production lines or even whole sites, which led to a significant decrease in primary energy consumption (table “Primary energy consumption of the Lenzing Group”). In 2021 production volumes were back on pre-crisis level – Total primary energy consumption was on the same level as 2019, but share of renewable fuels increased slightly. Specific energy consumption index improved by 0.7 percent compared to 2019.

In 2021, compared to 2019, absolute scope 1 emission decreased slightly, absolute scope 2 emissions stayed the same and scope 3 emissions decreased. In 2021, CO₂ intensity for scope 1, 2 and 3 has slightly increased compared to 2019, mainly because of less pulp volumes sold to the market.