Prysmian sets net zero carbon emissions target by 2050

Italy’s Prysmian (PRY.MI) has adopted a net zero carbon target by 2050 and slightly raised its emission reduction targets for the near term, the world’s largest cable maker said on Wednesday.

Prysmian — which supplies cables including for large interconnections and offshore wind farms and for wind and solar renewable energy generation — said in a statement it was committed to reducing all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout the value chain by 2050.

Chief Operating Officer Massimo Battaini, set to become Prysmian’s CEO next year, said accelerating on sustainability was also made necessary by an increasing demand from customers for cables with lower CO2 footprint.

“This costs us capex, but clients are starting to demand green cables,” he said. “And are ready to pay a premium price for them.”

Battaini added that Prysmian was encouraging its suppliers to provide materials with lower CO2 content and was taking measures itself, including totally cutting by 2024 the use in cablemaking process of SF6 gas, which alone accounted for 15% of the group’s emissions.

As part of its plan, which was approved by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), the company will cut so-called Scope 1 and 2 (direct and indirect) emissions by 90% by 2035, compared to 2019 levels.

It plans to attain end-user emission reduction, referred to as Scope 3, of at least 90% by 2050. The remaining 10% of carbon emissions will be offset, the company added.

Carbon offset credits for companies are generated from projects such as planting trees or switching to less polluting fuels.

Prysmian earlier this year said it was topping up its annual capital expenditure to up to around 500 million euros in the 2022-2025 period.

Learn more: Reuters