Our commitment

Embracing sustainability

Beckers’ overall strategy is bringing sustainability to the market. As a chemical company our actions have a significant impact on the environment and we are aware of our responsibility towards future generations. Sustainability is a central element of our identity and therefore we are not only looking at improving our own performance, but we are also inviting all partners along the value chain, including suppliers and customers, to join us. In 2020 we’ve launched our 2030 Sustainability Strategy and have set ambitious goals in three streams: people, products and operations with impact

 

Our 2030 Sustainability Strategy

People with impact

People with impact are value creators. At Beckers, we want our colleagues to feel motivated and empowered to take the lead on the challenges of tomorrow. Their well-being is important to us, as we see people as the cornerstone of a sustainable business. We want the communities we operate in to benefit from our presence.


Our goals are

  • Female employees >31%
  • Female executives >40%
  • Female new hires >40%
  • Employee engagement in line with top performing companies
  • Zero accidents
  • Total number of children and youth impacted positively

 

Products with impact

Products with impact deliver sustainable value. By 2030, our ambition is to deliver surface solutions that help advance society while protecting the planet. At Beckers we want to push the boundaries for surface performance by innovative value creation. Our products are our legacy. They always have an impact in terms of how they look and the protection they offer. Our ambition for the decade ahead is that the paint we provide delivers real sustainability value

Our coatings will be based on components that are safe and responsibly developed and provide functional sustainability benefits. We will leverage our value chain to create breakthrough innovation.

Our goals are

  • Net-sustainable sales >50% of revenue from BSI Achiever class
  • Zero products from BSI Concern class
  • Net-sustainable innovation100% of all new products from BSI Achiever class

 

Operations with impact

Operations with impact push the boundaries for what can be done. We want to drive our industry’s transformation by creating a net positive value loop in our production and along our supply chain. We have a complex value chain that depends on a challenging sector regarding sustainability – the chemical industry. We therefore push the boundaries for what can be done and to ensure our activities go beyond expectations to create positive impact.

Our operations embrace the concept of circular economy and our sites will become carbon neutral. Our supply chain partners shall operate according to the same standards as Beckers.

Our goals are

  • >55% CO2e reduction (absolute) of scope 1 & 2
  • >50% CO2e reduction (intensity) from third-party logistics
  • Renewable energy use >70%
  • Zero landfill waste
  • Waste efficiency <35 kg/ton (incl. reused)
  • Incinerated waste reduction: 70% without heat recovery
  • Incinerated waste reduction: 15% with heat recovery

  • Volatile organic component (VOC) reduction 30%
  • 50% water withdrawl reduction (absolute, m3)
  • 50% water withdrawl reduction for water-stressed sites (intensity, m3/employee)
  • 100% of suppliers signed Code of Conduct
  • > 85% raw material suppliers EcoVadis assessed and approved
  • 100% of high-risk suppliers are audited

Beckers Sustainability Policy

At Beckers, we recognize that our day-to-day business operations have an impact on the environment and society. We have an obligation to all stakeholders to act in a proactive, systematic and goal-oriented manner, with a view to mitigate harmful impact and to enrich the life of those affected.

The Beckers Sustainability Policy establishes guidelines for making sustainability integral to our policies and principles.

Download Beckers Sustainability Policy

 

Committing to the SDGs

Our vision is to become the most sustainable industrial coatings company in the world. This vision addresses economic, social and environmental sustainability and is underpinned by the three streams of our sustainability strategy: people, products and operations with impact.

Since 2009, we have used the internationally-recognized Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) for strategic sustainability planning. This framework provides structure and guidance with four sustainability principles (4 SPs), which clearly define the system conditions needed for achieving success.

In 2017, we aligned our strategy with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals were established in 2015 to help end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. By aligning with the SDGs, we become part of a global movement to work together for change.

Currently, we have prioritized a list of eight goals for Beckers to focus on going forwards. These goals represent sectors influenced by our business and areas of our vision for sustainability where we judge we can make the greatest contribution.

SDG

UN Global Compact

At Beckers, we constantly broaden our sustainability activities and engage to become a more sustainable company. To underline our commitment to sustainability, we have joined UN Global Compact. Its 10 principles give us clear guidelines on responsible behavior and we will continuously report on our progress.


Beckers and the GRI standards

We are continuously improving how we manage sustainability at Beckers. When it comes to reporting our sustainability performance we have used the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines since 2012. 

In 2022, we conducted a major review of our material topics. This was to ensure that all our topics are still in alignment with our priorities as well as those of our stakeholders, and that they are aligned with the new 2021 sustainability standards set by the independent standards organization GRI. Based on a formal stakeholder survey, our Beckers Sustainability Council discussed and determined the topics that represent our greatest impact on the world we operate in, as well as sustainability topics that affect our organization. While the essentials of the material topics have not changed, we made some additions to elements that connect them. Apart from that, some minor changes were made to the structure and wording of some of the topics. Our ten material topics are well-stablished in sustainability principles and allow us to align with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals as described above.

Our ten chosen material topics are:

  • Sustainable product portfolio
  • Breakthrough innovations
  • Diverse, motivated and empowered employees
  • Safety and well-being
  • Social engagement
  • Climate action
  • Resource efficiency
  • Supply chain sustainability
  • Governance (new material topic since 2022)
  • Human rights (new material topic since 2022)

Read more about each topic in our Sustainability Report and in our Beckers GRI Index.

Sustainability Report

 

Innovating for sustainability

Innovation is a central part of our value proposition strategy. And, because more than 90% of our innovative breakthroughs increase the sustainability of our coatings in some way, we are always finding new ways to offer new value to our customers.

Beckers has always invested heavily in R&D, from the 1960s when we pioneered the development of coil coatings in Europe, right up to the present day. We set up our first Long Term Development lab in the mid-1990s to address the need for basic research on coil coatings. This is where Beckry®Tech, the first coil coating to deliver ultra-durable performance, was developed.

Other innovations accredited to Beckers’ LTD lab include the award-winning Beckry®Therm, an energy-saving coatings system, Beckry®Shine, the first coil coating to incorporate ‘flip’ pigments, and Beckry®Pur, a coating that achieves the same corrosion resistance as plastisol with only a fraction of the dry film thickness.

Our research teams are dedicated to reducing environmental impact, improving performance, developing functional and smart coatings.

 

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