“For the reduction of emissions, we have deliberately adopted scientific-based targets, which are verified by the internationally recognized Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi),” explained Büchter, Vice President Global Sustainability at Yanfeng. “The automotive industry remains a major driver of CO2 emissions. As part of an industry which has a considerable impact on global warming, we need to act now in order to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement established in 2015. By setting science-based targets as a binding framework, we have made a concrete, public, and verifiable promise to the environment, society, and our customers.”

By 2030, Yanfeng commits to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions from its own production, its fleet of vehicles (scope 1) and from purchased energy (scope 2) by 50% in comparison with the baseline year 2019. With this, both segments will make a contribution to the limitation of global warming to 1.5°C and are therefore in line with the targets of the Paris Agreement.

Yanfeng has multiple examples of success. To reduce its emissions, the company utilizes power from renewable sources, including photovoltaic systems, for all of its plants in Europe and South Africa. 
The company has also committed to a 27.5% reduction of scope 3 emissions by 2030 from upstream and downstream supply chains, including purchased raw materials and services, business travel, employee commuting, production and the disposal of products, as well as logistics. These targets are applicable for all company locations in Europe, South Africa, the United States, Canada, Mexico and Asia.

“Because we have determined the carbon footprint of our company, we know where we need to take action to reduce our emissions. Together with our commitment to scientifically validated targets we are creating the framework for our environmental sustainability strategy. However, we can only achieve these targets in collaboration with all of our partners in our value chain,” emphasized Gunnar Büchter.

The Science Based Targets initiative was founded in 2015 by the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It provides companies with a clearly defined framework for reducing emissions according to the latest climate science and the targets of the Paris Climate Protection Agreement, in order to make a contribution to limiting global warming.