Kao to run climate neutral operations in uk and germany by 2022

Kao, the Japanese manufacturer and supplier of professional salon products such as Goldwell, has announced that it will be running climate neutral operations in the UK and Germany by 2022. The UK facilities have already achieved this goal for the year 2021, the German operations will follow on January 1st, 2022. For this project, Kao has teamed up with ClimatePartner, a solution provider for corporate climate action. The collaboration is an addition to Kao’s commitment to reducing its environmental footprint. 

Kao Climate Neutral Plan

Kao EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) has applied several measures to work towards climate neutral operations. Since 2014, all Kao operated factories and owned offices in EMEA have been using 100% renewable electricity. Furthermore, energy saving measures have been implemented, resulting in a 31% reduction in energy consumption since 2010. Additionally, Kao has reduced its waste water volume by more than 12% since 2016 and completely switched to sustainably sourced paper (FSC certified) in 2015.  By 2025, Kao plans to further reduce its carbon footprint in the EMEA region by continuing to cut water consumption, installing LED lights in its facilities, switching to low energy consuming cold mixing process and reducing waste in its production sites. Additionally, Kao is looking to certify selected brands and products as climate neutral. By 2030, it plans  to replace any fossil fuel heating with alternative heating technologies. As part of its Kirei Lifestyle Plan, Kao aims to reduce its global CO2 emissions to zero by 2040.  “Becoming climate neutral in two key markets of the EMEA region is a big milestone for us on our way to zero CO2 emissions,” said Guido Kirchhoff, vice president supply chain at Kao EMEA. “However, we do not stop here. Reducing our carbon footprint continues to be one of our key priorities at Kao and we are already planning the next steps to further minimize our emissions along the entire supply chain. The collaboration with ClimatePartner is a great support and will help us on our path to full climate neutrality for all EMEA branches of Kao," Guido added.

Kao's Collaboration with ClimatePartner

Kao has been working with ClimatePartner, which has helped to calculate its carbon footprint, identifying the biggest emission sources and suitable future countermeasures. These are divided into direct emissions such as heating (Scope 1), indirect emissions from purchased electricity (Scope 2) and other indirect emissions like commuting and waste treatment (Scope 3). By using renewable energy in the UK and German facilities, Kao is already able to completely avoid all Scope 2 emissions. However, the emissions categories Scope 1 and 3 were identified as more challenging to tackle as they account for more than half of the emissions from the UK and German facilities.  To achieve its goal of climate neutrality in the UK and Germany, Kao is offsetting its unavoidable emissions by collaborating with ClimatePartner. “Our vehicle fleet and our employees’ commute have already been on our agenda for several years. It has been insightful to see that we have not been moving the needle enough in this area," says Guido. "While we are working on this and other projects such as improved waste management in our production sites, our collaboration with ClimatePartner will help us to reduce our carbon footprint while also supporting local communities in their own efforts to lead a more sustainable life”, they added.

Strengthening Renewable Energy

Another element of Kao´s offsetting activities is the support of a wind farm project in Tangier-Tétouan, Morocco. This project helps to reduce the country’s dependency on fossil fuels and empowers women in the region by improving their economic and social status and is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The wind farm comprises 40 turbines with an overall capacity of three megawatts each. The electricity generated is fed into the national grid, reducing Morocco’s dependence on fossil fuel imports, which currently stands at 95%. Furthermore, the project empowers local women through the establishment of agricultural cooperatives and women’s associations, training in cooperative management and handicrafts as well as medical care, helping to strengthen their role in society and improve their employability. The project is W+-certified, a standard that recognises projects that support women to act collectively to address climate change, poverty and food insecurity.  “While working with Kaowe have seen how committed the company is to achieve more sustainability for everyone around the globe," said Tristan A. Foerster, CEO and co-founder of ClimatePartner. "We, therefore, are very happy to be able to continue to accompany Kao on its journey to become climate neutral and to support the company offset its currently unavoidable carbon emissions with certified carbon offset projects.”