Sustainability Strategy

TARGET 2023: All new product developments with "Sustainable Solutions"

Innovation drives growth and sustainability

Since the early days of Sika, continuous innovation has been the key driver of the company's successful growth strategy. Sika innovates to reduce the environmental footprint, to increase the efficiency of products and solutions along the entire value chain, and thus responds to the market demand for sustainable solutions.

Implementing life-cycle thinking into practice from product development to application at customer’s site marks Sika's aim to move away from being a mere product supplier to a provider of innovative solutions which enhance the efficiency, durability, and aesthetic appeal of buildings, infrastructure, and installations. Integrated concepts and solutions address the entire life cycle of a built structure, from initial construction and maintenance through refurbishment or expansion to deconstruction. Sika’s sustainable solutions include a product portfolio which is supplemented by services, tools, and reference projects to quantify the sustainability performance. Quantifiable data on solutions provide evidence about the promised value.

Increasing customer benefit and reducing environmental impact

The contribution of Sika’s solutions with regard to sustainability megatrends is evaluated from a life-cycle perspective along the value chain. The sustainability profile of products, systems, and services is closely linked to their excellent performance. Sika stands for products which are technically superior, user-friendly, and sustainable during their life span from application to deconstruction. Sika’s products are designed for long-term use, providing more value and causing less impact than comparable alternative products over their life cycle.  

TARGET 2024: 12% reduction of CO₂-emissions per ton sold

Efficiency

Availability and efficient use of energy and resources are crucial to sustainable development. Therefore, Sika sees it as a global and local responsibility to minimize the impact on climate change by reducing energy consumption, with the positive effect of lowering costs and increasing competitiveness.

Low-carbon economy

The transition to a low-carbon economy catalyzes at Sika the development of new technologies and operational practices. The target to reduce CO₂ -emissins by 12% per ton sold now will lead innovation and transformation tomorrow.

TARGET 2023: 10,000 working days of volunteering work per year; 50% more projects, 50% more direct beneficiaries

Sika wants to sustain local communities in order to help people to help themselves. Fields of activities are:

• buildings and infrastructure for social and ecological projects or
• education, preferably in connection with construction-related professions or
• ecological water projects correlating indirectly with Sika's field of waterproofing activities

The main goals, among others, are to support communities in infrastructure development for social projects, to promote trainings in construction professions and trades, and to provide emergency aid to disaster-stricken regions.

TARGET 2023: 15% less energy consumption per ton sold; 50% renewable electricity rate

Efficient use of energy

Apart from raw materials, energy is the main resource input for Sika’s operations and thus a relevant cost factor. Therefore, the efficient use of energy is highly important for the company. CO2 emissions are a consequence of fossil fuel consumption, which can be limited by increasing energy efficiency. The CO₂ footprint of purchased electricity depends on the power production in each country and cannot be influenced easily.

For self-produced electricity, Sika seeks to use low-CO₂ energy sources where possible, for example natural gas instead of oil. Sika is committed to reducing the use of nonrenewable energy, thus minimizing negative impacts on climate change, reducing costs, and increasing competitiveness.

TARGET 2023: 15% less waste gerneration per ton sold; 25% higher recycling rate of total waste; 15% less water consumption per ton sold

Waste – raw materials waste

Efficient use of input materials is important for all Sika companies. Sika’s production processes are material intensive, using high volumes of resources like sand, cement, fillers, organic raw materials, and packaging and transportation materials. The major commercial impact of input materials makes their efficient use and reuse a mandatory element at Sika. Efficient production means reducing and reusing production scrap and packaging materials as well as improving packaging design, resulting in higher productivity and lower material use.

Water - an undervalued resource

Sika takes measures to use  water economically by reducing consumption, treating water, and using  lower-grade water qualities especially in geographies with water  scarcity. Efficient production projects have been implemented using  closed-loop cooling, cooling towers, and switching from public to  groundwater in order to reduce the amount of processed drinking water
used in production. With these measures, the reuse of treated wastewater, and the collection of rainwater at various production sites, Sika reduced its water consumption on a large scale over the past  years.

TARGET 2023: 50% less accidents; 0 fatalities

Safe and effective equipment, organization, and work processes

Health, safety, and well-being of all employees and partners are essential for the success of Sika's business, and are core concerns throughout the organization. This requires focus and a systematic approach: Management commitment, risk analysis, health and safety standards, employee involvement, and training and education are key components of Sika’s health and safety framework.

Health and safety culture

Sika strives to live up to its commitments regarding health and safety: “Nothing we do is worth getting hurt for”. The company has implemented management systems according to ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 in all major sites. A strong safety culture is embedded in every Sika site.