Sustainability Strategy

The strong performance of Sika is founded on the company’s entrepreneurial philosophy and the Sika Spirit,  which is a synonym for the set of five values and principles that make up the DNA and culture of the company: Customer First, Courage for Innovation, Sustainability & Integrity, Empowerment & Respect, and Manage for Results

The Sika Growth and Sustainability Strategies were aligned in 2019 and are closely linked to each other:

• The Sika Growth Strategy 2023 ensures long-term success and profitable growth. The company’s innovative drive combined with sustainability is a key component. Sustainability is the overarching principle with the overall goal to reduce the CO2eq emissions (scope 1 and 2) per ton sold by 12% until 2023.
• The Sustainability Strategy “More Value – Less Impact” 2023 integrates the results of the materiality analysis conducted in 2018 and the development of the Sika Growth Strategy. It refers to Sika’s ambition to maximize the value of its solutions and contributions for all stakeholder groups, while simultaneously minimizing the risks and resource consumption associated with value generation. With the “More Value – Less Impact” Strategy, Sika pursues six strategic target areas, focusing on Climate Performance, Energy, Waste/Water, Community Engagement, Occupational Safety, and Sustainable Solutions.

The Sika Sustainability Roadmap includes the milestones that will be performed between 2021 and the second half of 2022:

• Scope 3 assessment: Sika initiated a company-wide initiative in 2020/2021 to assess and calculate the CO2eq emissions from its material scope 3 GHG categories in accordance with the requirements of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP). Based on this analysis, Sika will define its carbon reduction pathway which will contribute to reaching net zero by 2050. 
• Sustainability, Scope 3, ESG workshops: three internal workshops were organized for the Group management by internal and external experts to trigger a discussion on sustainability-related topics and prepare for the upcoming strategy review process. 
• Materiality analysis: Sika has started to work on the Sika Materiality Analysis 2022 as an important basis for the Strategy 2028. The new materiality matrix will be reviewed by the Group Management in February 2022 and approved by the Board of Directors in the second half of 2022
• TCFD: Sika is an official supporter of the TCFD recommendations and, in 2021, the company has further advanced its analysis. 
• Net zero roadmap: Sika is tackling climate change comprehensively in its strategic development. Several activities were performed in the last years to foster the basis of Sika’s forthcoming net zero roadmap.
• Sika as Enabler: Sika has a strong focus on helping customers reduce their CO2eq footprint by providing innovative solutions and products. Sika’s technologies enable the construction and transportation industries to move forward on their climate neutrality journey.
• Assurance: Sika selected an external auditor that will perform a limited assurance of 2022 non-financial data and information. 
• Strategy 2028: in February 2022, Sika held the first workshops to prepare the review process of the Corporate Strategy, further integrating sustainability with long-term profitable business growth.

In 2021, Sika nominated Patricia Heidtman as the new Chief Innovation and Sustainability Officer and member of Group Management. Combining leadership for Innovation and Sustainability will allow Sika to accelerate the integration of sustainability within the organization at all levels, and to become a leader within its industry.

In 2021, Sika has allocated the responsibility for the ESG controlling to the corporate finance function which is led by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to further strengthen the collection process of non-financial data and information for the Sika Group. The holistic controlling system enables Sika to track finance, operations, quality, and sustainability performance in a coordinated way, thus improving the quality of nonfinancial data and information.

The controlling activities are strengthened and management at all levels is supported in their short, mid, and long-term decisional process. Since 2020, a network of four Regional Sustainability Managers, coordinated by the Innovation and Sustainability team, has the objective to strengthen the rollout of the Sustainability Strategy at regional and local levels. The existing network of regional EHS managers, operations managers and sustainability experts supports local Sika companies in the identification, planning, and implementation of higher-level regional measures. Local operations managers are responsible for implementing initiatives helping Sika’s targets to be met and for setting and achieving local targets. 

A materiality assessment is a process to identify the most important sustainability topics, opportunities, and risks for Sika’s business from two perspectives: their importance to stakeholders and their importance to Sika. The outcome is a materiality matrix, showing all topics which are identified and prioritized to focus on the ones that matter the most to Sika’s business and stakeholders. The information gained through this process can support decisions about the direction of the business, it allows the integration of sustainability topics into the core business strategy, and the selection of relevant topics for sustainability reporting. In 2018, Sika conducted a materiality analysis, focusing on potential material topics, reflecting the sustainability impacts of Sika’s operations, products, and services, along the entire value chain. During this process, Sika considered the sustainability context in which the company operates at global and regional level to determine the long list of potential material topics and their relevance.

 The materiality assessment conducted in 2018 contributed to the definition of the strategic target areas for the Sika Sustainability Strategy 2019 – 2023 and the selection of topics for the Sustainability Report. In 2021, Sika conducted a new materiality assessment which will provide the basis for the definition of Strategy 2028 and future reporting. The Board of Directors will officially approve the new Materiality Matrix 2022 during the second half of 2022.