Neste on a journey to a carbon neutral future

Neste´s purpose is to create a healthier planet for our children. The company is committed to reduce their customers' climate emissions by 20 million tons annually by 2030, and to reach carbon neutral production by 2035.

Published: 6 Oct 2020
Author: WBCSD Communications
Type: Member Spotlight

Neste’s transformation journey has taken it from being a local oil refining company to become a global leader in renewable and circular solutions. The long-term strategy has rapidly moved the company to more boldly realize its sustainability aspirations while growing profitably. Today, Neste is the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel and renewable jet fuel refined from waste and residues, introducing renewable solutions also to the polymers and chemicals industries. It is also a technologically advanced refiner of high-quality oil products, exploring ways to start using waste plastics as a raw material to produce new plastics.

In March 2020, Neste published its climate commitment to reach carbon neutral production by 2035. At the moment more than 70 different measures and actions have been identified to decrease GHG emissions in Neste’s production*. For example, Neste:

  • Continues to focus on energy efficiency to optimize the use of fuel gas, electricity, hydrogen and steam in its production. The improvements in the turnaround at Porvoo refinery in 2020 will decrease production emissions by more than 100 kt CO2eq annually;
  • Increases the use of renewable electricity at its production sites. As an example of this, Neste has already agreed to start using wind power in Finland;
  • Increases the weight of greenhouse gas emissions in the investment calculations and business case evaluation;
  • Explores new, less emitting production methods, for example utilizing biogas or electrolysis for hydrogen production;
  • Has started a project for GHG emission reductions at the Porvoo production site, focusing on carbon capture & storage; and
  • Identifies reliable compensation models for the remaining part which cannot be achieved by emission reductions.

“Neste’s purpose is to create a healthier planet for our children. We do this by offering renewable and circular solutions to our customers. But what is more, we also need to commit to reducing the direct climate impact of our own activities. Therefore, we have set a concrete milestone to reach carbon neutral production by 2035. This is an enormous undertaking, one which will require new ways of thinking, innovation and plenty of cooperation,” says Peter Vanacker, President and CEO of Neste.

The commitment is in line with Finland’s ambitious target for carbon neutrality by 2035 and ahead of the European Union’s respective target for 2050.

The commitment complements Neste’s other strategic climate commitment of reducing customers’ greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 million tons annually by 2030. In 2019, Neste´s customers were able to reduce their carbon emissions by 9,6 million tons.

*) Production covers emissions in Scopes 1 and 2 as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.

More information at neste.com

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