Building Sustainability Into the Core of a Multinational Industrial Conglomerate
As one of Germany’s largest and oldest industrial companies, thyssenkrupp has significant environmental footprints from its steel mills, manufacturing plants, and mining operations. With over 100,000 employees globally, thyssenkrupp was facing increasing pressure from regulators, investors, customers, and other stakeholders to minimize its impacts and demonstrate environmental responsibility.
However, transforming sustainability performance within long-established industrial value chains is an immense challenge. thyssenkrupp’s carbon-intensive production processes, large water consumption, and waste generation required a systematic approach.
HAAMI Sustainability Solutions Approaches was engaged to conduct a comprehensive review of thyssenkrupp’s sustainability initiatives and identify opportunities for improvement. Our team of experts analyzed energy and water usage, material flows, waste management, and greenhouse gas emissions across their facilities.
We found numerous areas where impacts could be mitigated through technological enhancements, process optimizations, and training programs. thyssenkrupp’s older assets and infrastructure needed upgrades to boost efficiency. Recycling initiatives and circular economy principles also had potential for further integration into operations. Employees at all levels required training on sustainability concepts, measures, and best practices tailored to their roles.
In addition, thyssenkrupp lacked consolidated reporting on its environmental performance indicators. And the company needed to establish measurable emissions reduction targets in line with climate science.
HAAMI presented a detailed suite of solutions to address these challenges:
- Implementing IoT sensors, controls, and analytics to digitize and optimize energy, water and material usage
- Process enhancements such as regenerative burners, heat recovery, and closed-loop water supply
- Expanded internal recycling and waste-to-energy programs to achieve zero waste
- Control technology upgrades to minimize air and water pollutants
- ISO 14001-certified Environmental Management System
- Customized online sustainability training modules for all employees
- Robust data collection and central reporting on key impact metrics
- Science-based target setting and detailed decarbonization roadmap
We supported thyssenkrupp over 15 months to execute these solutions, providing change management guidance to drive adoption.
The results have put thyssenkrupp firmly ahead on its sustainability journey:
- Greenhouse gas emissions per ton of steel produced reduced by 18%
- Freshwater usage decreased 22% through recycling and efficiency projects
- Over 80% of solid waste now diverted from landfills through waste-to-energy and circular processes
- ISO 14001 certification obtained within 11 months across key facilities
- All 40,000 staff trained on sustainability fundamentals for their roles
- Comprehensive, third-party verified ESG report published with 2025 and 2030 emissions reduction targets
Today, thyssenkrupp serves as a model for how legacy industrial companies can profoundly transform their sustainability capabilities. By incorporating environmental stewardship into its operations, thyssenkrupp has enhanced process efficiency, lowered costs, reduced risks, and built competitive resilience for the long-term.
