Stepan Company understands the need to reduce its impact on the environment and to promote responsible management in order to reduce water usage, minimize waste, lower emissions and conserve energy.
Stepan Company understands the need to reduce its impact on the environment and to promote responsible management in order to reduce water usage, minimize waste, lower emissions and conserve energy.
As a member of the chemical industry, environmental responsibility begins with safety. In the U.S., our sites conform to the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and Responsible Care Management System (RCMS)®, while sites outside the U.S. participate in region-specific Responsible Care® program equivalents. All Stepan facilities are certified to the ISO 9001 standard, and we focus on increasing the number of manufacturing facilities that are ISO-certified for environmental (ISO 14001) or energy (ISO 50001) management. In 2024, our sites in Voreppe, France; Wesseling, Germany; Vlissingen, the Netherlands; Stalybridge, UK; Nanjing, China, and Jurong Island, Singapore, achieved certification to either ISO 14001, ISO 50001 or both. Aligning to these standards helps foster a mindset that is key to driving efficiency and emissions reductions across our operations.
Our sites have continued to drive progress by prioritizing the following levers:
In support of our commitments to ACC Responsible Care® and the United Nations Global Compact, Stepan also has set 2030 environmental goals to promote energy efficiency, increase our use of renewable energy, and decrease water consumption for manufacturing:
*Reduction against 2016 base year
**With at least 60% as renewable energy
With a focus on creating and delivering value for our stakeholders, Stepan has expanded its technological and manufacturing capabilities. While these developments have increased energy consumption, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remains a key priority. For our Scope 1 and 2 emissions, Stepan continues to drive reductions through investments in renewable electricity and projects that enhance process efficiency. In 2024, Stepan remained fairly steady relative to prior year performance, demonstrating a reduction of 10% against the original baseline and 22% against the adjusted baseline. Our goal is to build on our efforts and reach 35% emissions reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.
In our manufacturing sites and offices around the world, actions such as switching to high-efficiency lighting, adding motion sensing fixtures, improving insulation, and other similar updates have been implemented to deliver more efficient energy use. Our 2025 goal is to secure 20% of Stepan’s global electricity from renewable sources.
Management of freshwater resources is an ongoing focus for the organization and for our stakeholders. This effort involves decision-making and planning for site resilience and sustainable access for our processing needs, as well as consideration of community related needs and regulatory compliance. Stepan communicated in our prior report that we met our goal to reduce water use by 40% for our 2016 baseline sites. As we look out to 2030, our goal is to implement water resilience projects at our manufacturing facilities that are in regions with higher water-risk. We also set a goal for 2030 to have a 43% reduction of freshwater use at select Stepan sites, and a 30% reduction achieved across our full footprint since 2016.
Stepan teams focus on identifying initiatives to reduce waste and wastewater at our sites. These projects offer multiple benefits, including enabling material reuse and circularity, supporting growth while maintaining permit compliance, lowering waste management costs, and providing environmental benefits. Over the next few years, Stepan will focus on reducing manufacturing waste directed to landfill by 10% and reducing generation of hazardous waste by 20%.
We aim to partner with third parties that align with our commitment to ethical and responsible business practices.
Responsible Care®
Responsible Care® is a voluntary initiative within the global chemical industry, aimed at promoting safe handling of products across the value chain.
United Nations Global Compact
Like Stepan, are you embarking on a journey that supports the UN's Sustainable Development Goals? Our products and practices can make a difference.