The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) has presented Kluber Lubrication with its European Responsible Care Award in recognition of its plan for climate action.
More specifically, Kluber’s Climate Protection by Solvent Replacement project was cited as part of the Climate Neutrality category. Cefic pointed out in particular the ambitious nature of the concept, the structuring of the plan, the focus on occupational safety and the open communication with staff.
By using different solvent in its production processes, Kluber has managed to lower the emissions from its Scope 1 CO2eq by a substantial margin. Scope 1 covers those emissions that result directly from an organisation’s activities. In 2019, more than 32,500 tonnes of emissions were due to solvents, but this plummeted to 1,937 tonnes in 2022.
Kluber Lubrication’s sustainability manager, Markus Hermann, explained how the company developed the new solvent:
“We managed that through the close cooperation of Research and Development, Production and other departments. By working together, a new substance was found in 2020 that not only delivers the required performance, but also cleans more efficiently and protects our climate.”
The new solvent has a CO2eq impact of 55 kilograms per kilogram of solvent, compared with approximately 10,000 kilograms for the solvent previously used in production. This change in solvent helped Kluber, which makes lubricants like gear oil and slideway oil, to meet its 2025 target of reducing its CO2 emissions by 75% three years ahead of schedule, and even exceed it slightly with a 76% reduction.
