H11. Climate impact and Science Based Targets

Essity’s target for 2030, with 2016 as the reference year, is to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions for Scope 1, 2 and 3 and is approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. The target applies to wholly owned companies. In terms of fuel use within the company (Scope 1) and purchased electricity and steam (Scope 2), Essity has raised its ambitions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2030 compared with 2016. In addition, Essity has undertaken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 18% within Science Based Targets’ Scope 3, which applies to the most important suppliers of raw materials, transportation and waste.

Scope 1 and 2

Essity’s acquisitions, the Australian hygiene company Asaleo Care and the Latin American hygiene company Familia, were integrated in 2021. Emissions for the base year of 2016 were therefore restated to include equivalent emissions from Scope 1 and 2. The outcome for 2021 was –15% (–11; –5).

Scope 3

The most important categories in Scope 3 were emissions from purchased raw materials, transportation (inbound and outbound), waste from the company’s own production and product waste after use. The categories represent the majority of total Scope 3 emissions in the value chain. Essity calculates these emissions using data from several providers in the company’s value chain. To ensure that Essity has complete and reliable data, Scope 3 emissions are reported with a one-year delay, including emissions from recently acquired companies. The outcome for 2020 was –9% (–4) for Scope 3.

Scope 3 emissions, Science Based Targets, results

Read more about how Essity works with greenhouse gas emissions and Science Based Targets in the chapter Reduced environmental impact.