ABB emissions Achieving carbon neutrality across our operations

We have committed to neutralizing ABB’s carbon footprint by 2030. From 2019 to 2021, we already reduced our own GHG emissions by 39 percent. In 2021, we reduced our GHG emissions by 28 percent. Our 2019 baseline for our Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions was 668 kilotons, and we have already identified areas where we can reduce these direct and indirect emissions by at least 80 percent by 2030. These areas include the use of renewable energy, electrifying our entire vehicle fleet, and implementing energy-efficiency measures at our sites. Further solutions for the remaining emission will be explored. In the event that no other solutions are found, we will look for appropriate offset options.

In 2021, we worked to translate ABB’s target of carbon neutrality in our own operations and our commitments to the EV100, RE100 and EP100 initiatives, among others, into specific programs and KPIs, for implementation by our Group’s Business Areas and Divisions. In addition, we created an ABB-wide carbon emissions baselining and forecasting roadmap, which sets forth expected progress on a year-by-year basis at a granular level.

Case study An innovative arrangement to reduce ABB’s carbon emissions

Reveal case study

ABB India’s Distribution Solutions facility in Nashik (built in 1978) developed and implemented a unique project in 2021 to reduce the site’s carbon emissions, by installing four photovoltaic power plants, with a capacity of 1,400 kWp, generating enough energy to cover up to 40 percent of the site’s electricity needs.

This installation, carried out in different steps and completed in November 2021, has already saved 1,570 tons of GHG emissions in 2021. ABB will enhance this project by deploying a digital building and energy management solution, to further optimize and minimize energy consumption and costs.

In the course of making a major contribution to ABB’s commitment to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2030, the facility became the first of the approximately 10,000 factories that lie within the Nashik Industrial Area to be recognized with a gold certification by the Indian Green Building Council.

Close case study

Mission to Zero sites

In 2021, we continued to improve the energy efficiency of ABB sites around the world. More than 100 energy-efficiency projects were implemented in 2021 across ABB, saving 17.5 GWh of energy. Additional energy reviews and audits at both the Business Area level and Group level are underway or scheduled. The results will be used to implement operational and infrastructure changes to reduce energy consumption. Related projects include installing energy management and monitoring systems, building on-site capacity to generate renewable energy, upgrading motors and drives, making changes to production processes and simply upgrading to LED lighting. Also in 2021, the ABB Real Estate function’s energy savings program reaped a total of 83.5 GWh per year and $18.5 million in savingsThe reported figures should be considered as an indication of the potential impact resulting from EE-projects within ABB worldwide and not as resulting from project-specific measurement and verification (M&V) activities. between 2018 and 2021 from 243 completed, ongoing and planned energy-saving projects in ABB buildings worldwide. Even considering the decreasing emission intensity of the energy purchased globally by ABB, these projects enable us to cut our GHG emissions by 22.2 kilotonsRegardless of the related energy source, the CO₂ emissions resulting from energy savings are estimated at a given emission intensity of 0.266 kilotons CO₂ per GWh – the average emission intensity of the ABB Group in 2020 (Source: ABB Sustainability Report 2020). per year.

ABB electricity consumption and share of green electricity in 2021

ABB electricity consumption and share of green electricity in 2021

The process of electrifying vehicle fleets across our Group is well underway. ABB is on track to fulfill its commitment to the EV100 initiative to electrify its fleet of more than 10,000 vehicles by 2030, with actions currently ongoing across the world, including Sweden and the United Kingdom. In 2021, 44 percent of ABB’s global new vehicle orders were for either EVs or plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs).

Sweden and United Kingdom fleet conversion

Sweden and United Kingdom fleet conversion

Our direct emissions of GHGs from on-site handling of sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), as well as leakage of SF₆ from our production processes, were also addressed in a dedicated, global program. In total, we reduced ABB’s direct emissions of SF₆ by 32 percent over the past year. In 2021, we emitted 2.21 tons of SF₆, down from 3.26 tons in 2020.

Case study Blazing a trail to the
low-carbon future

Reveal case study

In 2019, ABB launched the Mission to Zero™ program at its Lüdenscheid, Germany site to meet the rising demand for sustainable, future-proof smart buildings. Mission to Zero provides comprehensive consulting and delivery services, technology, and financing for facilities seeking to reduce emissions and achieve carbon-neutral operations.

The program continues to expand, with three additional sites added in 2021 – Beijing (China), Porvoo (Finland) and Ede (Netherlands) – all of which are running ABB digital and smart energy management solutions. At present, and in addition to Nashik (India), the program is onboarding ABB sites in Dalmine and Frosinone (Italy), Senatobia, Mebane, Jonesboro and Vega Baja (USA), Xiamen (China) and Schaffhausen (Switzerland). While these examples illustrate how the Mission to Zero program will play a key role in helping ABB meet its commitment to carbon-neutral operations by 2030, its ultimate goal is to build on that success and make it available to our customers and suppliers in support of the global effort to mitigate climate change.

The Mission to Zero program builds on that success and seeks to deploy replicable, scalable and profitable solutions worldwide, which can also be integrated with third-party solutions. The program enables commercial and institutional buildings to be smarter, safer and more sustainable via a bundled modular offering of digital products and solutions that are easy to install and operate. Since many customers lack expertise in energy management, ABB offers an end-to-end approach and one-stop shopping for building automation and smart energy management solutions. These include ABB Ability™ Building Ecosystem, NeoGear low-voltage switchgear solutions and ABB Ability Energy and Asset Manager.

Close case study