Energy, Emissions and Climate Change

Lubrizol believes climate change is a significant challenge to a sustainable future and that the business community has a critical role in helping to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the negative impacts of climate change.

Our efforts to manage our energy consumption and reduce GHG emissions include the use of cleaner-burning natural gas for heat and transportation, recapturing energy that can be used for heat, and upgrading the efficiency of our lighting and production and office equipment. Three of our facilities – Ritterhude, Germany; Hamburg, Germany; and Songjiang, China – have achieved ISO 50001 certification for their energy management systems. However, our energy, emissions and climate change story doesn’t end here.

Environmental Footprint and Goals

We conducted our first corporate cradle-to-gate environmental footprint in 2010, with an update in 2014 and an entirely new assessment completed in 2020. With each iteration of our evaluation, we have been able to make a more comprehensive and inclusive assessment of our footprint. This most recent assessment utilized 2018 data and included an increase of 24 sites (9 LZA and 15 LZAM) from the count included in the 2014 update. These additional sites represent a broad expansion in our product and manufacturing portfolio and associated raw materials. Our 2020 assessment demonstrates an absolute cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of 4.9M MT CO2 equivalents.

Consistent with previous footprint assessments, the most significant contributor to the footprint was raw materials (74%), followed by site energy usage and emissions (22%) and transportation (4%). We also found that certain raw materials and a few large manufacturing sites are the key drivers for the overall footprint. With this information, we can seek opportunities to address our impact.

2020 Goals

2020 will mark the final year of rating our performance against the environmental goals we set for ourselves in 2013. We remain committed to reporting on our performance annually (refer to the Global Sustainability Scorecard on our website), and to developing updated, more impactful metrics and goals that break out Scope 1,2, and 3 emissions in the near future.

2020 Responsible Care^® Awards

Congratulations to our Louisville, Kentucky and Franklin, Wisconsin facilities for earning 2020 Responsible Care^® Awards. These awards highlight the commitment to continuous improvement in environmental management and to Responsible Care that these facilities demonstrate routinely.

Energy Efficiency

• Energy Reduction via Computer Software: Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing, Louisville, KY*
• New Chiller Install: Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing, Franklin, WI

Waste Minimization

• Water Reduction via Computer System, Louisville, KY

* These awards were announced at the virtual 2020 Responsible Care & Sustainability Conference, hosted by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), to recognize chemical industry leaders for their exceptional environmental, health, safety and security (EHS&S) performance and commitment to sustainability and sound chemicals management.