Monday 10 May 2021
Johnson Matthey commits to net zero goal by 2040
Johnson Matthey, a British multinational chemicals and sustainable technologies company, has announced its ambition to become net zero by 2040.
It has set a target for an absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions of at least 33% by 2030 and an absolute reduction of upstream Scope 3 emissions of at least 20% during the same period.
The company has also signed the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign, which gives Johnson Matthey automatic membership to the UNFCCC's Race to Zero campaign ahead of the COP26 climate summit taking place in Glasgow, Scotland, later this year.
In addition, Johnson Matthey has announced the official opening – performed by UK Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng - of its new battery technology centre near Oxford, enabling the company to drive rapid improvements in battery performance and playing a key role in developing “battery materials of the future”.
It enhances the company's existing battery technology capabilities and testing capacity, accelerating the further development and customisation of its eLNO® materials for battery electric vehicle (EV) applications, with the ambition to make its production carbon neutral by 2035.
Chief Executive Robert MacLeod said: “This new facility represents an important milestone on our journey towards developing a sustainable battery materials ecosystem and emphasises the progress we are making on the commercialisation of our battery materials business.
“Johnson Matthey has a growing range of solutions to help society decarbonise at scale and at the same time we are doing our bit by driving our own operations and supply chains to achieve net zero by 2040.”
Mr Kwarteng added: “I am delighted to open this exciting state of the art Battery Technology Centre at the heart of Oxfordshire's innovation economy. This centre has a vital role to play in our plans to drive forward new, cost-effective technology that will make adopting electric vehicles more convenient for motorists as we transition away from diesel and petrol cars.
“Backing new battery technology and electrifying the auto supply chain is at the heart of our plans to put the UK at the forefront of the global green industrial revolution and to build back better from the pandemic and I'm delighted Johnson Matthey is playing a key role in this endeavour.”
