Saint-Gobain Group to reach carbon neutrality by 2050
In 2019, Saint-Gobain announced its commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050. Though our history of reducing our environmental impact extends far beyond 2019, we now have clear objectives and a defined methodology to reach our goals.
Our Pillars of Action
At Saint-Gobain Boron Nitride, our vision is to "be the enabling ceramic materials performance partner to transform the industrial world to be sustainable." It is our ambition to provide customers with solutions to help them decarbonize and reduce their own environmental footprint. Together with the other businesses of Saint-Gobain, we are committed to deliver results that support carbon neutrality by 2050.
We are taking steps to lower our impact and understand the environmental footprint of our products. The pillars of action below provide key guidelines for our Sustainability Roadmap.
Reduce our Environmental Impact
Decrease our Carbon Footprint
We are conducting Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) on our products, consistent with ISO 14040 and 14044. This will help us understand where to focus our efforts to make the biggest impact in reducing our carbon footprint. We will keep sustainability as an integral part of new product development to minimize the environmental footprint of both manufacture and usage of our products.
With a variety of products and packaging requirements, packaging waste can be a challenge. We are committed to optimizing our packaging to maximize utility and minimize waste for our customers. Additionally, we are exploring opportunities to develop a circular economy within our industries. If you are interested in participating in this effort, please contact us!
Supply Chain & Operations
Saint-Gobain has developed our sustainability objectives according to the GHG protocol, splitting our emission targets into Scope 1 (direct emissions from our plants), Scope 2 (electricity-related emissions), and Scope 3 (value chain emissions). Saint-Gobain Boron Nitride has committed to the following objectives by 2030 to reduce the impact of our supply chain & operations:
Product Quality & Safety
In many cases, BN is a small part or additive in our customers' products. Maximizing the value that BN can bring can extend the lifespan & increase the efficiency of their products and systems. The example below shows how some of the properties of BN thermal fillers can benefit automotive thermal management:
| Benefits of BN Thermal Fillers for Automotive Thermal Management | |
|---|---|
|
Lightweighting for automotive thermal management solutions |
|
|
Reduced wear on production and assembly tooling |
|
|
Lower risk for thermal runaway and fires in EV battery thermal management |
|
While BN has clear benefits, it can be a challenging material to work with. Our development efforts are focused on improving ease of use and maximizing the benefits BN products can bring to our customers' products.
Process Efficiency
BN is often used as a process aid to protect tooling from harsh environments, increase yield, and more. Improving the quality & range of BN products we offer can:
- Increase operating life of consumable components, thus reducing process waste
- Enable new technologies needed for decarbonization
- Enable use of lighter metals, such as aluminum, which sometimes require advanced forming technology