Austria's Lenzing releases Sustainability Report 2021

Lenzing continues to march purposefully towards group-wide climate neutrality. It has also been recognised as sustainability champion several times worldwide – one of only 14 companies awarded AAA rating by CDP, according to the report that has been prepared in accordance with the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Austrian Sustainability and Diversity Improvement Act (NaDiVeG) and audited by KPMG Austria GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungs- und Steuerberatungsgesellschaft.

“Our innovations in relation to the circular economy and biodegradability stem from a deep sense of responsibility to our planet and a desire to act in ways that future generations can be proud of. We hope that you will discover and share this sense of responsibility when you read the Lenzing Sustainability Report 2021,” noted Robert van de Kerkhof, member of the managing board of Lenzing Group.

With the implementation of the two key projects in Brazil and Thailand, as well as with the investments at the existing Asian sites in China and Indonesia amounting to €200 million, Lenzing continues to march purposefully towards Group-wide climate neutrality. In 2019, Lenzing became the first fibre manufacturer to set a target to reduce its carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and to be net-zero by 2050. This carbon reduction target has been verified and approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative, the report stated.

Lenzing is also taking new, innovative paths in terms of its non-financial reporting. It will offer its sustainability report in digital form from 2022. “We have set ourselves the goal of also reflecting Lenzing’s high level of innovation in terms of its communications, and we are breaking new and innovative ground in this area. This year, we are pleased to be able to present our reports in digital and thereby interactive form for the first time. This not only makes our reporting more user-friendly, but also takes place exactly where the majority of our users are – online,” said Dominic Köfner, vice-president corporate communications & public affairs.

The partnership with Swedish pulp producer Södra marks a further milestone in Lenzing’s efforts to realise its ambitious climate and sustainability goals. These two global market leaders, which have been proactively promoting the circular economy in the fashion industry for many years, are joining forces to give the issue a further boost and to make a decisive contribution to resolving the global textile waste problem. An expansion of capacities for pulp recovery from waste textiles is also planned. The goal is to be able to recycle 25,000 tonnes of used textiles per year by 2025.

Sustainability is not only a very important element of strategy at Lenzing, but also a guiding principle for innovation and product development. Lenzing continued to expand its product offering for the textile and nonwovens sectors in 2021. The third quarter saw the presentation of the first Tencel lyocell fibres made from wood- and orange-based fibre pulp. The upcycling of orange peels as part of the Tencel limited edition initiative represents a further successful step by Lenzing to develop new closed loop solutions together with partners along the value chain. The introduction of the first carbon-neutral fibres on the global nonwovens market under the Veocel brand comprises a further product innovation from the reporting year that exemplifies Lenzing’s ambitious path in climate protection.

The content of the Sustainability Report 2021 is based on results of the new materiality analysis. The regular update is an integral part of Lenzing’s sustainability strategy "Naturally Positive". In 2021, the materiality analysis was updated and expanded. For the first time, a so-called double materiality analysis was carried out. It was developed in three phases and, in contrast to the 2015 version, produced new material aspects such as biodiversity and ecosystems, health and safety, and digitalisation and cyber security.