Stahl publishes environmental report
Leather chemicals manufacturer Stahl has published a report on its performance in environmental and social governance in 2020. The report outlines the company’s sustainable development achievements last year and offers a reminder of what its future ambitions are in this area.
The group had already published a series of environmental and social commitments and targets, some for 2023 and others for 2030. Stahl has said these commitments underpin its efforts to help shape “a better chemicals industry, one that enables high living standards within planetary boundaries”.
One of its highlights include a transition to renewable feedstock. In 2020, Stahl has said, it took concrete steps toward eliminating non-renewable carbon resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas as feedstocks for its raw materials. It exceeded its five-year CO2 emissions target, and has set new goals for 2030. The company also launched two new portfolios of products based on renewable feedstocks.
In 2020, Stahl also implemented new criteria for safety, health, and environment (SHE) standards and process safety. Part of this is to report more accurately on safety incidents. It will roll out globally its methodology for hazard identification and risk assessment.
Another achievement last year was reaching level-three status, the highest level, in conforming with the requirements of the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) programme. This applied to 1,200 products in Stahl’s global portfolio. It said it wanted to “go beyond minimum information disclosure and regulatory compliance”.
Outgoing chief executive, Huub van Beijeren, said at the time of publishing the report that, if 2020 taught Stahl anything, it was that there are always new challenges for businesses and for wider society to face. He said he was pleased the group had still been able to take important steps forward in meeting its ambitions.
“We established a clear roadmap for what we want to achieve in the medium term,” he said, “supported by strict targets for 2023 and 2030. Stahl is committed to being a catalyst for positive change and we continue to view environmental and social challenges as an opportunity to create a better future.”
