Climate

Leading the energy transition

At Alfa Laval we are committed to leading the transition towards a more sustainable low-carbon future. We intend to lead by example, and in 2024 Alfa Laval brought forward the near-term target year for Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions reduction from 2030 to 2027, while aiming for net-zero value chain emissions no later than 2050.

More ambitious climate targets

In 2024, Alfa Laval further strengthened the commitment to combat climate change by bringing forward the target year for reaching close to zero (95 percent reduction from 2020 base year) Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions from 2030 to 2027, and aiming for net-zero value chain emissions no later than 2050. Both the near-term and long-term targets have been validated by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), ensuring that Alfa Laval’s climate ambitions are in line with the latest science and contribute to meeting the 1.5-degree target defined in the Paris Agreement.

Progress on emission reduction targets

Operational emissions (Scope 1 and 2) have decreased by 13 percent since last year and by 57 percent since 2020. Further investments in phasing out fossil fuels are planned to reach the near-term target by 2027. Value chain emissions (Scope 3) have continued to increase, mainly due to a growing business and larger volumes of products put on the market. Relative to Alfa Laval revenues, total emissions have decreased by 30 percent from 1,056 tons CO2e/MSEK in 2020 to 738 tons CO₂e/MSEK in 2024.

Greenhouse gas inventory

	Relevant scopes and categories of emissions (tCO₂e)	2020 (Base year)	2023	2024
Own operations	Scope 1 GHG emissions
	Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions	23,241	17,637	16,113
	Scope 2 GHG emissions
	Gross location-based Scope 2 GHG emissions	67,495	66,004	65,086
	Gross market-based Scope 2 GHG emissions	26,029	6,462	4,817
	Scope 3 GHG emissions
Upstream	1 Purchased goods and services	1,184,794	1,320,181	1,365,310
	2 Capital goods	31,259	54,178	71,595
	3 Fuel and energy-related activities	18,026	18,651	17,728
	4 Upstream transportation and distribution	51,748	59,594	62,243
	5 Waste generated in operations	715	2,034	1,055
	6 Business travel	14,846	26,443	28,627
	7 Employee commuting	21,947	27,717	29,020
Downstream	9 Downstream transportation	10,350	11,919	12,449
	11 Use of sold products	42,435,496	44,077,523	47,963,884
	12 End-of-life treatment of sold products	1,824	3,249	652
	15 Investments	73	103	135
	Total gross indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions	43,771,077	45,601,592	49,552,698
	Total GHG emissions
	Total GHG emissions (location-based)	43,861,813	45,685,233	49,633,897
	Total GHG emissions (market-based)	43,820,347	45,625,691	49,573,628

Operational emissions

Phasing out fossil fuels

Replacing fossil fuels with renewable sources and using energy more efficiently are key to reducing operational CO₂ emissions. Alfa Laval has a clear strategy to phase out fossil fuels used for heating purposes and process-related activities in manufacturing and service operations, and these efforts continued according to plan in 2024. In addition, Alfa Laval will maintain sourcing of renewable electricity at a high level, and increase this when possible. In 2024, close to 96 percent of the electricity used came from renewable sources.

Activities to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions depend on the availability of appropriate technical solutions and energy sources. In locations with access to district heating systems based on renewable energy, connecting to these systems can remove the need for natural gas heating. In other cases, converting process equipment powered by fossil fuels to electricity can contribute to reducing emissions. As an example, the Fusa manufacturing site in Norway replaced diesel burners used in the painting process with more efficient heat pump technology during the year, resulting in a significantly reduced carbon footprint and overall lower energy consumption.

In 2024, emissions data for the period 2020-23 was updated based on more accurate emission factors for certain countries and to include recently acquired companies such as Desmet. Market-based operational emissions increased on average 3,600 tons CO₂e per year and location-based emissions increased on average 9,800 tons CO₂e per year.

Home-grown innovation

Using an innovative ammonia-based heat pump solution developed in-house, Alfa Laval can recover waste heat from production plants and reduce both carbon footprint and heating costs at the same time. Alfa Laval has been using the heat pump system at its Lund site in Sweden since 2013. The solution works by recovering low temperature waste heat generated in the component production and using it for heating and hot water demands for the entire factory, as well as much of Alfa Laval’s corporate headquarters.

In 2024, it is estimated that the system reduces CO₂ emissions by around 146 tons per year. It has also reduced Alfa Laval’s consumption of local district heating by around 85 percent – a saving so substantial that the heat pump solution effectively paid for itself in less than three years.

At the heart of the system is a flooded semi-welded evaporator, combined with an Alfa Laval U-turn separator. It absorbs the thermal energy of the oil cooling system, which is heated to around 40°C in the factory’s plate production pressing operations. After compression, the heat pump delivers the heat from the semi-welded condenser to the buildings’ heating-water circuit, thus boosting the water temperature to 65°C.

When looking for a natural and future-proof refrigerant for the system, it was discovered that by using ammonia, we could achieve twice the efficiency compared to using an off-the-shelf commercial system.

Alfa Laval is now using the successful heat pump solution as a demonstration for customers, organizations, and employees.

Upstream emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions upstream are mainly embodied in the materials Alfa Laval purchase from suppliers, representing more than 80 percent of upstream emissions. Steel and copper are some of the most significant raw materials used in Alfa Laval products, and we are aiming to reduce the impacts from metals manufacturing by purchasing increasing quantities of steel and copper with a low CO₂ footprint.

Supplies of metals with a low CO₂ footprint are still limited and business growth in 2024 contributed to further increasing upstream emissions compared to the base year. Updated methodologies and more accurate emission factors related to purchased goods and services and transportation resulted in an average increase in upstream emissions by 780,000 tons CO₂e per year for the period 2020-23.

Downstream emissions

Customers’ use of Alfa Laval products is the single largest source of downstream emissions, accounting for more than 96 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. Innovating products that use less energy during their lifetime is essential for Alfa Laval to reach near-term and net-zero climate targets, but we are also dependent on customers increasing their use of renewable energy.

In 2024, downstream emissions continued to increase in line with business growth and a larger volume of Alfa Laval products put on the market. Downstream emissions for 2020-23 have been adjusted in light of more accurate data and emission factors, leading to an average increase of about 1,100,000 tons CO₂e per year for this period.

A step closer to Concept Zero™

In 2024, Alfa Laval ramped up its use of low-carbon steel as part of the Concept Zero™ initiative, where we aspire to produce the world’s first heat exchanger with no fossil carbon emissions by 2030.

Alfa Laval has already implemented a range of solutions to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions as part of our journey towards net-zero. Reducing Scope 3 upstream emissions is a tougher challenge, requiring both innovation and collaboration with value chain partners.

For heat exchangers, the biggest challenges are upstream in the value chain connected to sourced materials and components. During 2024, Alfa Laval increased use of “green steel” with a low CO₂ footprint in both the frames and channel plates of plate heat exchangers at the manufacturing facility in Lund, Sweden. As an example, implementing green steel on the high running T21 plate heat exchanger will reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 39 percent on the unit itself.

The Concept Zero™ initiative marks a journey on the path towards net-zero, a journey we make together with our partners, customers and suppliers. The Concept Zero™ initiative is where net-zero commitments are turned into actions. This step-by-step journey will continue to require partnerships across value chains and the development of innovations in the full product life cycle.