Waiblingen, 27.06.2024 | Corporate Press Release
STIHL joins the Science Based Targets initiative
Climate change mitigation is a key concern for STIHL and an essential part of its sustainability strategy. The family-owned company has now joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), committing itself to science-based climate targets in accordance with the criteria of the globally recognized organization.
By signing and submitting the SBTi commitment letter, STIHL has underscored its dedication to protecting the climate. The company has also agreed to set its emissions targets on a scientific basis, obliging it to make a contribution to limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius — and ideally to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius. “Our alignment with the SBTi is a decisive step on our path to a more sustainable future,” says Dr. Michael Prochaska, STIHL Executive Board Member for Human Resources and Legal Affairs, who is responsible for coordinating the sustainability initiatives. “In doing so, we are living up to our responsibility as a global company to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.”
Over the coming months, STIHL will draw up a detailed action plan and corresponding climate targets. The climate targets must be submitted to the SBTi within 24 months of signing the commitment letter. After that, they will be validated by the SBTi to ensure that STIHL’s corporate strategy is in line with global climate protection requirements.
In focus: ecosystems, circularity, care
STIHL made sustainability a cornerstone of its strategy and corporate structure long before committing to the SBTi. In 2021, the previous approach and ongoing activities were bundled into a Group-wide sustainability strategy. The family-owned company has set itself ambitious goals in three focal areas — ecosystems, circularity, care — and they are being pursued consistently. As a result, almost all STIHL production and sales companies have been greenhouse gas neutral (Scope 1 and 2) since the end of 2023. This was achieved primarily through the gradual switch to green electricity and a mix of carbon offsets and CO2 capture through agroforestry. Detailed information on STIHL’s commitment to sustainability can be found in its latest Sustainability Report: STIHL Sustainability Report 2023
About the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) was launched by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI), and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in 2015. It supports businesses in setting climate targets that are in line with the latest scientific findings on global warming and aligning their actions toward helping the world achieve the aims of the Paris Agreement, which calls for limiting the global temperature rise to between 1.5 degrees and well below 2 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial age. https://sciencebasedtargets.org/
