September 20, 2024

By Tatianna Yung, Senior Project & Program Manager

This year was another record-breaker for high temperatures around the world, as July 2024 had two of the hottest days on record. We also experienced the first full year of exceeding the 1.5 °C warming limit. As we continue to see the impact of climate change, companies around the world must implement decarbonization strategies to help turn the tide.

Trinseo’s decarbonization strategy is focused on addressing our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, with the goals of:

• Reducing our Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions intensity by 35% by 2035
• Increasing our share of electricity from non-fossil sources to 30% by 2030; and
• Establishing, reporting and managing our Scope 3 emissions by 2025.

Since these targets were announced in 2020 as part of our 2030 Sustainability Goals, we have made significant progress, such as implementing Scope 1 reduction projects at our facilities, including replacing diesel with natural gas operations at our site in Zhangjiagang, China; advancing our Scope 2 strategy through renewable energy installations at four of our facilities; and setting our baseline data for Scope 3.

However, we recognize that there is still much to do. Scope 3 GHG emissions alone are a significant challenge, as they make up an estimated 90% of Trinseo’s total emissions. As we begin to report and manage our Scope 3 data, we are now better equipped to analyze this data and implement a strategy for reducing our overall footprint.

Scope 3 Implementation

Collaboration is essential to building a Scope 3 strategy. Our Scope 3 journey began in 2022 with mapping our value chain with an external consultant based on Trinseo’s business nature and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Accounting & Reporting Standard – 11 out of 15 categories were identified as relevant to us. Through cross functional team efforts, we set boundaries, collected internal primary and secondary activities, selected the most relevant emissions factors sources, and built our first model to calculate our Scope 3 GHG Inventory. Through this approach, we learned that our major emissions came from CAT 1 Purchased Goods and Services (> 80% of total emission). We then developed a program for Scope 3 management, which included the governance body, supplier engagement approach, training, reporting and developing a Scope 3 reduction target setting roadmap.

Scope 3 Management

Last year, we established a cross-departmental working group – called the Scope 3 Council – that brings together members of our Procurement, Supply Chain and Sustainability Business and Services teams. The Scope 3 Council, which is integrated into our formal governance structure, has been instrumental in educating our internal and external stakeholders about our Scope 3 knowledge, data management and strategy. This Council helps Trinseo strengthen our relationships with key strategic partners so that, together, we can reduce our GHG emissions throughout the supply chain.

As part of our ongoing communications with our value chain around Scope 3, we have hosted a series of webinars and meetings with our partners to help us better understand their challenges and discuss strategies for improvement.

Additionally, the Scope 3 Council has overseen Trinseo's first-year calculations of our Scope 3 emissions. This year, we engaged with ERM CVS, an independent third-party assurance provider, to have our 2023 Scope 3 Inventory verified. I am very proud that we recently achieved limited assurance. For more information on ERM CVS’ limited assurance, see the Assurance Report here Similar to other companies across chemical industries, Scope 3 downstream emission especially Category 10, 11 and 12 are challenging for us to calculate due to limited available data and standard methods. In the absence of standardized methodologies, we are developing more accurate calculation models for these categories which will be aligned with our business nature.

As we begin to calculate our data for the third year, Trinseo will continue to further analyze and track trends in our Scope 3 emissions and eventually define reduction targets.

Scope 3 emissions require us to look at the bigger picture beyond our own operations and work together with partners who share our values. It is just one of the puzzle pieces that need to come together as part of a complete decarbonization strategy. Without a synergized approach to Scope 1, 2 and 3, companies will not achieve emission reductions that have a positive impact on our climate and the communities where they operate.

Trinseo continues to advance our Scope 3 goal, and with it our decarbonization strategy, so that our efforts are purposeful and results-driven. We are working together, both internally and externally, so we can pursue effective projects that will benefit our operations and partners. I am energized by the path Trinseo is taking for Scope 3 emissions management and cannot wait to see where our partnerships take us.