Sustainability - embedded in Victrex's culture and part of our purpose
Victrex’s purpose is to bring transformational and sustainable products which address the world’s material challenges, every day. We are committed to creating and delivering sustainable benefits and solutions to our customers and our markets, alongside maximising our resource efficiency across our global footprint and being a socially responsible business.
We offer sustainable products which are aligned to global megatrends: CO2 reduction through lighter and durable polymers replacing metal in Aerospace, Automotive and Energy, with a typical weight saving of 60%; Medical through enhanced clinical and patient outcomes, and in Electronics where our solutions support efficient processing and manufacture. With faster processing times compared to metal and recyclability potential, our polymers are tailored to support a greener planet, as well as enabling manufacturing cost savings.
We have a bold Sustainability (ESG) strategy, which is aligned to net zero 2050 across all scopes via the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi – which we received validation for in May 2024), and ambitious targets to increase the proportion of sustainable products – which support CO2 reduction or bring clinical benefit – as well as minimising use of resources such as energy, waste and water.
Our strategy has Sustainability at its core and seeks to build on the competitive advantage we already offer to our customers and our markets. Our focus is on three key areas:
- People – further inspire our employees and communities to positively impact sustainability development
- Planet – we focus on minimising resources (carbon, waste and water)
- Products – our sustainable products support CO2 reduction, as well as offering recyclability
Victrex has clear long term targets and interim deliverables for each of the People (Social Responsibility), Planet (Resource Efficiency) and Products (Sustainable Solutions) goals which are regularly reported on in our annual report.
Our sustainability vision builds on the progress we have made in recent years and the focus now is on delivery of our decarbonisation strategy, aligned to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), which we committed to in 2021, with targets submitted in 2023 (validated in 2024). Our Sustainability & ESG agenda is focused on three key pillars: People, Planet & Products.
One of the big features of Victrex’s sustainability strategy, and indeed our purpose, is how our transformational and sustainable solutions bring environmental and societal benefits. Our sustainable products help bring lightweight alternatives in high performance applications, supporting the reduction of CO2 in Aerospace and Automotive markets, as well as offering recyclability potential and faster processing, whilst in Medical, our materials can demonstrate clinical benefit against metal applications. Beyond our products playing a role in a better society, we also have clear goals to improve our resource efficiency, including reductions in energy, waste and water usage metrics, and a strong focus on our social responsibility.
Areas of focus include increasing re-use and recycling rates of our PEEK polymers in applications and the future possibilities from a circular economy and re-use of materials, as well as our desire to exceed 70% of Group revenue from products with positive environmental and societal benefits by 2030 (from around 50% today). To underpin this goal we will also be developing more detail on product impact through lifecycle analysis, tracking the carbon footprint of our products from cradle to gate, beyond just our own scope 1 & 2 emissions. Indeed, a Lifecycle Analysis assessment in 2022 showed that Victrex PEEK’s global warming potential (GWP) was favourable against the industry average of PEEK (based on GaBi data).
Our vision is clear: through increasing the use of our sustainable and recyclable products which support CO2 reduction, offsetting and minimising resources – carbon, waste and water – used in our operations, Victrex seeks to align to net zero 2050 across all scopes.
Sustainability remains an integral part of our business model, and our investment case, as well as demonstrating our approach as a responsible business. With our Polymer & Parts strategy focused on moving further downstream to supply semi-finished products and components – beyond manufacturing polymers – we have an opportunity to deliver further benefits to our customers, our markets and ultimately society. Whether it be in Aerospace and Automotive, where CO2 reduction, electrification and lightweighting are key themes, or in Medical, where our polymers are delivering real performance benefits to patients, sustainability remains key to supporting our customers, differentiating our business and ultimately bringing tangible benefits to society and the environment.
Jakob Sigurdsson
Chief Executive Officer
