Sustainability

It's how we've always done business.

Our decades-long commitment to sustainability has given us deep insights into the field. And the more we learn, the more we realize the scale of the problem.

Sustainability’s multiple, interconnected and ever-changing challenges make achieving it extremely complex. That’s why we approach the task with a mixture of ambition and humility. We know we need to aim high, so we can make real contributions to the transformational changes our world needs. But we also know we can’t do it alone. That’s why we listen, learn and work to build partnerships that unlock new opportunities.

Everything we do is driven by three commitments

woman on a hike standing and drinking coffee

Accelerating towards a climate- neutral society

55 billion tonnes. That’s what our combined CO₂ equivalent emissions come to in just one year. Together with our customers, we’re lowering emissions in industry and food production. We’re also removing fossil-based ingredients from everyday products and capturing carbon. All to protect the planet we love.

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asian woman staning the the vegtables department of a supermarket

Transforming food systems

9.7 billion people will need food in 2050. That means we need to rethink food production from field to fork. With biosolutions, our customers are growing more per acre and ensuring better quality, more nutritious food. They’re generating less food waste and serving up plant-based and alternative proteins. This is the recipe that can help us meet our future needs.

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young man standing outdoor smiling among friends

Enabling healthier lives

In supermarkets and health stores around the world, more and more people are looking for ways to improve their wellbeing and health. Our biosolutions provide supplements for better gut health. They also make lower-sugar, higher-fiber dairy possible. And they lead to healthier baked goods. These are just some of the ways they enable healthier lives.

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Learn more about...

...how we work with sustainability

Our long-standing commitment to people, profit and the planet has put sustainability right at the heart of our business. With our biosolutions contributing to several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), you could say that sustainability is our business.

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...how we perform on sustainability

Actions speak louder than words. That’s why in 2002, we became the first company to have a fully integrated triple bottom line report. It’s also why we’re continuously setting and achieving ever more ambitious sustainability targets.

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...how we are impacting the world with biotech

Every day, companies around the world bring more sustainable choices to customers and consumers. Their goal is to drive the transformation our world needs. With our biosolutions, we help them succeed.

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“A defining moment for our world”

Ester Baiget
CEO of Novozymes

As climate, energy and food crises converge, we urgently need sustainable growth that protects the health of people and our planet. There are already solutions out there, but they can’t reach their full potential without a willingness to invest in the future.

Our CEO and President Ester Baiget explains the three key actions we need to take at this defining moment for our world.

Advocating for transformational change

Fund our future, not the past

In 2020, fossil energy received 70% of global energy subsidies, while renewables received just 20%. While we need to mitigate the short-term energy crisis, we also need to mitigate the climate crisis. By ending the fossil fuel subsidies that fund the past, we can level the playing field. This will foster innovation and enable sustainable solutions.

Reveal the hidden costs of CO₂

Understanding the real cost of the choices we make today helps us make the right choices for tomorrow. Clear greenhouse gas pricing mechanisms would make the environmental cost of production transparent. That would incentivize fossil-based industries to shift toward more sustainable practices. These include carbon capture and reuse and plastic recycling.

Drive the green transition through policies

Governments across the world need to get more ambitious. We urgently need policy frameworks that incentivize the green transition. Though imperfect, the European Green Deal and Inflation Reduction Act can inspire other countries and regions. Policies like these will promote the uptake of green solutions and put us on course for a healthier planet.

Explore our technology in action

Enabling healthier lives and provides smallholders with a steady income all year round.

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Making dairy healthier with biosolutions

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girl sitting on the shoulders of her dad

Limiting buildup of lead in children with biosolutions

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A new approach to a common gastric infection with biosolutions

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Leading the way with science-based targets

The Science Based Targets initiative provides a clearly-defined pathway for companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reach net zero by 2050. Climate action is an integral part of our business strategy. We have been leading the way for many years. We were among the first few companies to set a validated science-based target in line with the 1.5°C pathway.

As of November 2022, Novozymes is amongst the first group of companies in the world to have committed to SBTi’s new Corporate Net-Zero Standard by having a net-zero by 2050 science-based target verified by the SBTi. While more than 2,000 companies have SBTi commitments, only about 85 companies have a net-zero science-based target verified by SBTi as per October 25, 2022.

Being a manufacturing company, we have significant climate impact in our value chain. That’s why our science-based targets cover scopes 1, 2 and 3. We’re fully committed to a net-zero future across all three scopes. There’s no time to waste.

Our journey towards a net-zero future

Drive market transformation and advocate for climate action

Accelerating efforts

Our operations
Shift to greener heat, steam, and other energy sources.
Pilot emerging technologies to further decarbonize operations e.g. climate smart cooling.

Our supply chain
Pursue supply chain partnerships to develop decarbonization technologies.
Explore sourcing of raw materials from regenerative agriculture.
Scale up decarbonization in logistics together with freight forwarders.

2025
65% absolute CO₂ emissions reduction from operations
100% renewable electricity purchased

Leading the way

Our operations
Shift to greener heat, steam, and other energy sources.
Pilot emerging technologies to further decarbonize operations e.g. climate smart cooling.

2025
65% absolute CO₂ emissions reduction from operations
100% renewable electricity purchased

Fulfilling our promise

We are commited to high standards and ambitious actions to improve our footprint on the climate across scopes 1, 2 and 3.

We will balance the remaining up to 10% emissions through trusted third-party verified offsets that benefit people and societies.

2030
75% absolute CO₂ emissions reduction from operations
35% absolute CO₂ emissions reduction from supply chain*

* Supply chain emissions coming from purchased goods and services, fuel and energy-related activities, upstream transportation and distribution, waste generated in operations and business travel.

ESG ratings & rankings

Our strong ESG performance is recognized by many ESG rating agencies and platforms, and we continue to support the global call for collective action on material ESG issues.

Platinum medal

Ecovadis is a global collaborative platform providing sustainability ratings to customers. We have been awarded a Platinum Medal and placed among the top 1% of companies assessed by Ecovadis in 2022.

Certified Nasdaq ESG Transparency Partner

We have received the Nasdaq ESG Transparency Partner badge in 2021 for our participation in Nasdaq’s ESG Data Portal recognizing our ESG performance.

CDP Climate Change A list and ‘A-‘ CDP Water security

In 2022, we secured leadership ranking recognized on CDP’s Climate Change A List and received an “A-“ score for water security disclosures,

Read our disclosures in full here

Score ‘AAA’

In 2022, we received a rating of AAA (on a scale of AAA-CCC) in the MSCI ESG Ratings assessment.

ESG Risk Rating: Low Risk

We have secured a ‘Low Risk ESG Rating’ by Sustainalytics in 2021.

Further information is available on their website.

Constituent of the ESI

We have been a constituent of the ETHIBEL Sustainability Index (ESI) Excellence Europe and the ETHIBEL Sustainability Index (ESI) Excellence Global since mid-2020.

Detailed selection methodologies are available on the Forum ETHIBEL website

Prime status

We have been awarded Prime status by ISS ESG Corporate Rating. For further information on the underlying methodology of the rating please refer the ISS ESG methodology page.

Constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series

FTSE Russell (the trading name of FTSE International Limited and Frank Russell Company) confirms that we have been independently assessed according to their FTSE4Good criteria and have satisfied the requirements to become a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series. The FTSE4Good indices are used by a wide variety of market participants to create and assess responsible investment funds and other products.

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Sustainability

Our decades-long commitment to sustainability has given us deep insights into the field. And the more we learn, the more we realize the scale of the problem.

Everything we do is driven by three commitments

Accelerating towards a climate- neutral society

Transforming food systems

Enabling healthier lives

Learn more about...

...how we work with sustainability

...how we perform on sustainability

...how we are impacting the world with biotech

“A defining moment for our world”

Advocating for transformational change

Fund our future, not the past

Reveal the hidden costs of CO₂

Drive the green transition through policies

Explore our technology in action

Capturing emissions from industry with biosolutions

Shrinking laundry’s carbon footprint with biosolutions

Cutting emissions from bread waste with biosolutions

Plugging into the power of plants with biosolutions

Producing low climate-impact proteins with biosolutions

Improving food security in the face of climate change with biosolutions

Enabling healthier lives and provides smallholders with a steady income all year round.

Making dairy healthier with biosolutions

Limiting buildup of lead in children with biosolutions

A new approach to a common gastric infection with biosolutions

Leading the way with science-based targets