Operations
We are constantly working to minimize our environmental footprint by preventing pollution on our sites, reducing waste, managing water use, and improving our energy efficiency to limit carbon dioxide.
Our results on 2021 targets:
- We reduced our production waste going to landfill by 37% vs 2015, well beyond our 10% reduction target, thanks to the outstanding work of some of our facilities, especially Muscle Shoals and Ravenswood.
- We were not able to achieve our target of 10% energy efficiency improvement vs 2015, and have put in place a targeted plan for 2025.
Energy Efficiency
Energy is a precious resource, and saving energy reduces both our environmental footprint and our costs. We build our energy efficiency program by:
- Defining an action plan for each site, including operational and investment-related improvements
- Certification of our key plants with ISO 50001 as the norm for our large European sites
How do we calculate energy efficiency?
Energy efficiency is the ratio of the energy we use to manufacture our products to the energy we would have used in a “business as usual” situation. Compared to a simple energy / ton indicator, it corrects potential biases associated with changes of product mixes and process routes (e.g. internal vs. external casting or recycling balance).
Reducing GHG emissions' intensity
Constelliums 2025 target aims at reducing GHG emissions' intensity by 25% versus our 2015 baseline, on its scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Improving energy efficiency is still at the heart of our efforts to limit our carbon footprint, since most of our GHG emissions are the product of energy use. We are undertaking various initiatives to be more energy efficient, including using LED lighting, optimizing production routes, and upgrading the idle modes on our equipment. In casting operations, we will in particular continue to deploy state-of-the-art technologies such as electromagnetic stirring and regenerative burners. We intend to complement these measures by modifying our energy mix and are exploring new possibilities, such as using electricity from renewable sources, or substituting high-emissions energy sources with more efficient ones.
Scope 1: direct emissions from sources we own or control
Scope 2: indirect emissions from production of the energy we purchase (electricity)
Scope 3: all indirect emissions (not included in scope 2) that occur throughout Constellium’s value chain, including both upstream and downstream emissions
Note: We calculate emissions intensity by dividing scope 1 and 2 emissions in t CO2 eq. by consolidated sales volume.
Reducing Landfilled Waste
Constellium has set an overall reduction target of 10% for the amount of landfilled waste resulting from our production operations. The result was 3 times better: We reduced the waste sent to landfill with 37% in 2021!
Today, over 85% of our waste goes to recycling.
However, on one hand, we produce "technical" waste that is not recyclable by traditional mean and that goes to landfill such as flue-gas dust, sludge from wastewater treatment, and waste from demolition.
On the other hand, and specifically in our US plants, we still generate municipal waste that currently goes to landfill. We are undertaking sorting and recycling of this scrap.
Preventing On-Site Pollution
We work hard to prevent pollution at our sites by maintaining adequate tools and processes (including internal directives and guidelines) and making sure we have the appropriate protection and containment equipment. Our air emissions remain relatively constant and of low intensity.
Our air emissions policy is based on:
- Strict compliance, with a strengthened follow-up of legislation at site level
- Adequate action plans to reduce or limit emissions, linked to more efficient investments and controls