Lanxess signs UN Global Compact

Launched in 2000 by the then UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, the United Nations Global Compact is a global initiative for corporate social responsibility that sets out principles in the areas of human rights, labour standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption. Today the Global Compact boasts over 8,000 signatories from 135 countries; Germany’s Lanxess has now added its name to this list.

“We are delighted to now belong to the group of signatories that are promoting the sustainability of the global economy through their entrepreneurial responsibility,” said Axel C. Heitmann, chairman of the Lanxess AG Board of Management. Heitmann added that Lanxess has set itself clear targets for climate protection, among other areas. Between 2007 and 2009, the specialty chemicals company cut its direct greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50 per cent The set target of an 80 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2007 levels, initially to be met by 2012, was achieved in 2009.

Now the company says it is going a step further and aims to deliver a 10 per cent reduction in specific CO2 emissions and specific energy consumption for each of its business segments by 2015. Moreover, its global emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are also to be cut by 30 per cent by 2015. “These measures will help us remain competitive in the global market in the long term,” Heitmann continued.

Sustainability initiatives such as these have helped Lanxess improve its oekom research Corporate Responsibility Rating to C+ in the “social” and “environmental” areas. The company also recently met the criteria for inclusion in the FTSE4Good Index, which lists companies performing particularly well in the areas of environmental protection, human rights and social standards. The FTSE4Good Index, created in 2001 by the Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange, provides investors around the world with a basis for evaluating companies with regard to their management responsibility, and is thus a criterion for decisions about sustainable investment. Companies listed in FTSE4Good must meet stringent ethical, social and ecological criteria. Among these criteria are sustainable environmental management, positive dialogue with stakeholder groups, and observation of and support for universal human rights.