Contributing to a just and green transition
By 2050, it is estimated the global population will exceed nine billion people, all of whom will have the right to be respected and have their basic needs met. However, under today’s pattern of production and consumption, we are already exceeding our planet’s ability to support the current global population. To be able to live within planetary boundaries today, and in the future, we must mitigate climate change, limit global warming to 1.5 degree, and protect natural systems. The societal changes needed for a low-carbon economy are transformative and businesses will play a critical role to drive change.
The combined challenge of rising social inequality, the nature crisis and the climate emergency is the interlinked sustainability dilemma that sits before us, and Hydro should always try to have a holistic approach. In an era marked by a deficiency in sustainable growth, we should also challenge our customers to understand that sustainability always means more than low-carbon.
We will not solve the climate emergency unless we also protect and restore our nature and reduce inequalities. In addition, the transition to a circular economy has become an essential concept for reconciling the objectives of economic growth and sustainable development, by decoupling production from resource depletion.
Against this backdrop, the white paper “Contributing to a just and green transition,” explores Hydro’s role when it comes to the actions we can take to support a just and green transition. Many of the solutions for the climate emergency trigger multidimensional dilemmas, and we are increasingly becoming aware of how energy intensive industries will always have an impact on people, nature, ecosystems services, and land use.
To create long-term value for all Hydro’s stakeholders, we have to adapt to the low-carbon economy, be carbon neutral by 2050 or earlier, contribute to a nature positive world and leave no one behind, all based on circular business models.
What is Hydro’s role in the just and green transition?
Hydro’s integrated aluminium value chain enables us to be a partner in our customers’ and suppliers’ journeys to deliver more sustainable products to the market. We do this by managing our climate, nature and social footprint. We develop ambitious roadmaps in line with global good practice, and build trust through transparency and reporting. This trust and transparency enables our customers to prove they deliver on their own sustainability ambitions and claims.
To be a supplier of materials and solutions that enable the just and green transition, we have developed roadmaps, targets and implemented concrete actions. Transparency along the value chain is key to achieve this as all industrial activity has a footprint and an impact that needs to be addressed and mitigated.
The Brundtland Commission (1987) defined sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. For the past decades, Hydro has translated this statement into our business model. Sustainability in Hydro means to deliver the transparency and change required to mitigate the impact on climate, nature, and people to secure a green and just transition.
Within our roadmaps we address the key environmental and societal challenges and dilemmas that arise from our industrial activity on people, the climate, and on nature, and their interconnections.