June 22 was Climate Action Day at all Schaeffler locations worldwide, from Herzogenaurach, Germany to Taicang, China, and from Port Elizabeth, South Africa to Fort Mill, USA. Every one of the Schaeffler Group’s roughly 83,000 employees stopped work for 90 minutes to focus on climate issues. Taking part in about 4,000 workshops, they came up with a wide range of ideas for reducing CO2 emissions by means of green materials, green production, green products, and their own actions in their respective areas of the company. The workshops were held virtually or in small groups, depending on the circumstances, across all places of work, whether office or shopfloor.

A shared journey to climate neutrality

Schaeffler is committed to the 1.5-degree target set by the Paris climate agreement and has committed to its own ambitious group-wide climate targets. “The global Climate Action Day was an important milestone and a strong signal on our joint path to climate neutrality. It highlights the immense energy and momentum we have here at Schaeffler for building a more sustainable future,” said Schaeffler CEO Klaus Rosenfeld. “Because we can only achieve our ambitious climate targets if everyone is committed to helping and working together.”

The Schaeffler Group will be climate-neutral by 2040. This target encompasses the company’s entire supply chain. Schaeffler’s own production (Scope 1 and 2) will be climate-neutral even sooner – by 2030. 

Thousands of ideas for climate protection  

Climate Action Day was a global event that involved Schaeffler’s entire roughly 83,000-strong workforce. It focused attention on what climate issues and climate protection mean for Schaeffler and created a shared sense of the importance of achieving the company’s climate targets. “Climate Action Day was an interactive and inspiring experience aimed at making Schaeffler’s pathway to climate neutrality more tangible, so that we can spark passion, curiosity and engagement around climate protection and sustainability at Schaeffler,” Klaus Rosenfeld said. 

Schaeffler’s employees worldwide put forward more than 20,000 climate-protection ideas ranging across the company’s entire value chain and involving everything from the use of sustainable materials to greater use of alternative energy sources, to leasing e-bikes. The company is now further developing and reviewing these ideas.  

Donations for sustainability projects

Even before the workshops began, Schaeffler employees were invited to get Climate Action Day off to a strong start and actively support the company’s climate targets by taking part in a “Climate Ride” initiative. For this, employees were encouraged to travel to work in an eco-friendly way – by walking or cycling, using public transport, carpooling, or driving an EV. They could also choose to work from home. For each of these clean modes of getting to work, employees collected “action points” which Schaeffler will now convert into monetary donations to sustainability projects worldwide.