Kvadrat’s roadmap to net-zero

Through our commitment to the SBTi we strive to do our part in mitigating climate change. To successfully realise our targets, we have taken immediate action at many levels of our organisation. At Kvadrat, one of the first steps has been to define the most impactful activities to reduce our carbon emissions from our controlled operations. The ultimate goal is to create a solid decarbonisation roadmap and prioritise our resources to achieve the reduction targets across scopes 1, 2 and 3.  

Several climate-related actions are already underway, expressed in our energy efficiency ambitions across all Kvadrat sites, and we will continue to implement initiatives leading us to a net-zero economy. This includes transforming our daily office habits, investment decisions, procurement activities, production processes, and more.  

 

Energy efficiency initiatives

Around three quarters of the global GHG emissions result from energy production that still heavily relies on fossil fuels. Today, fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal are the largest source of energy (84%). To lower GHG emissions, we need to reduce our energy consumption, increase our energy efficiency, shift away from fossil fuel driven energy and opt for renewable energy sources.

To reach our net-zero goals, we have created a roadmap of energy efficiency initiatives, with an immediate impact on our scope 1 & 2 carbon emission targets. Our current focus is on switching to certified renewable energy and electrifying our production processes where possible.

Renewable  

In 2021, the highest increase in global CO2 emissions was the result of electricity and heat production, accounting for 46% of the global increase in emissions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) report’s projections estimate an 80% global electricity demand growth between 2020 and 2050. In 2021, the energy demand increased by 5.4%, which was partly met by the increased use of coal, resulting in 1.9 gigatonnes (Gt) jump in emissions, the largest annual increase in global CO2 emission from the energy sector ever recorded. Shifting to different sources for electricity production, such as renewable technologies, will be essential in enabling large scale GHG reduction globally, ultimately leading the transition towards net-zero.

At Kvadrat, we are on a path to becoming driven by renewable energy. In 2022, our renewable energy consumption increased to 62%. This is a 4% increase compared to 2021. Guarantees of Origin (as in Green certificates) currently make up the largest share of our renewable energy consumption. We derive 4% of renewable energy from self-generated solar energy. Our ambition is to run our production sites with 100% renewable electricity, by investing in on-site solar cells as the main energy source, complemented with Guarantees of Origins where required. Moreover, in the long term, we are looking for potential large scale renewable energy production partnerships.

Among other initiatives, we have invested in the expansion of our on-site solar energy production in Australia. In 2023, we are adding a new photovoltaic system (PV) twice as big as the existing one. The new PV system will have a capacity of 300 KW and provides solar energy for our production processes. We believe such an investment has significant potential as it will allow us to increase our own renewable energy production, bringing us one step closer to our ultimate goal: to self-produce enough renewable energy to sustain our own energy needs.

In 2023 we successfully reduced our impact from dyeing and finishing at our production partner in Norway, Innvik. We have transitioned away from fossil energy sources switching to locally produced steam from forest biomass. Together with the electricity sourced from hydro energy, now Innvik sources 100 % renewable energy. 


Reduce

Reducing energy consumption requires an overall commitment, as it requires behavioural change throughout our organisation. To achieve our ambitions, we have established Kvadrat’s Sustainable Site Policy, which includes an internal energy-saving policy for all our locations, which was rolled out in 2022. To implement this policy, Kvadrat selected 36 Local Sustainability Champions across our global showrooms and offices to carry the sustainability agenda into the experience of Kvadrat’s physical spaces, engaging with our local colleagues and clients.

In order to reduce our energy consumption, we are aware that we need to invest in efficiency projects. Our ambition is to use energy-efficient fit-out, such as 100% LED lighting in all production sites where we have operational control, in our showrooms, warehouses and at our headquarters. In 2023, we replaced old dyeing and finishing machines at our production partner Innvik in Norway production. As a consequence, the production facility experienced reduced energy consumption and higher energy efficiency. Additionally, our largest production partner Wooltex improved the insulation of their dye vessels which minimises heat loss and maintains machine temperatures for more efficient dyeing. Throughout the year this has saved 517,200kwhs of natural gas. 

 

Electrify  

We have estimated that the phasing out of fossil fuels in heating and production processes will allow us to substantially reduce our scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions. Hence we have started a roadmap to electrify our locations. As a first step, we aim to electrify the heating and move away from the use of natural gas in all our locations. In the long term, we aim to expand the electrification of our production processes. Already today we are investing in a fully electric car fleet for our employees, while encouraging a behavioural change in commuting habits, suggesting initiatives such as carpooling and hybrid working from home set-ups.