Sustainability as a factor for success

Long-term thinking and responsible action have always been part of HOERBIGER’s corporate culture as a foundation- owned company – they contribute to the sustainable growth and stability of the Group. As pillars of international success, they provide orientation in times of change. Sustainability is also of key importance to HOERBIGER as an employer: Both employees worldwide and potential candidates place great value on sustainable work practices, equal opportunities, and social responsibility.

Priorities defined and initiatives launched
Many of HOERBIGER’s traditional business areas are undergoing fundamental change. In light of climate change and the associated increasingly stringent regulations worldwide, the industrial environment has been changing rapidly for several years. For this reason, the transformation of the Group is to be strategically driven forward and its leading position in future markets is to be expanded. In order to consistently embed and systematically execute our sustainability strategy, HOERBIGER is guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and focuses on the areas of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG). Priority topics have been defined and corresponding initiatives launched in all three areas. 

In the reporting year, HOERBIGER achieved encouraging results in the development of emission-reducing products and services as well as in the area of social responsibility. HOERBIGER has established a CSR framework that defines, among other things, the scope and focus of HOERBIGER’s commitment. The Group’s strong governance model helped to smoothly deploy the requirements of Germany’s newly enacted Supply Chain Sustainability Act (LkSG). In its efforts to reduce emissions at its own sites, HOERBIGER was slightly behind schedule in 2023, even though it succeeded in installing additional solar systems and also rolled out several energy optimization investments across its footprint. Overall, progress in the past fiscal year was satisfactory: The reporting structure and database were further optimized and the overview of group-wide sustainability initiatives improved.

More sustainability for a better tomorrow
HOERBIGER is traditionally rooted and has been a substantial part of the development of the oil and gas industry, where it is now pursuing the goal of becoming the leading solution provider for emissions reduction products and services. Thanks to its in-depth expertise in this market, the Group has great leverage here on a global scale to reduce the CO2 footprint of the industrial value chain. For example, better sealing of reciprocating compressors and wells can prevent greenhouse gases from escaping. In addition, driving large reciprocating compressors requires a large amount of energy. Compressor control systems and valves from HOERBIGER can significantly increase efficiency.

HOERBIGER has also been active in the automotive industry for over 60 years. The entire automotive ecosystem – from OEMs to suppliers – is working to become more environmentally friendly in the face of increasingly stringent regulations. As a result, customer requirements are becoming more specific, especially in terms of the products’ carbon footprint and the use of environmentally friendly materials. HOERBIGER is facing up to these challenges and is constantly adapting its existing business to the market situation. At the same time, the Group is expanding its product portfolio in the areas of emissions reduction, sustainability and safety through an unprecedented innovation offensive. 

One key technology is hydrogen, which is being addressed by almost all units through new developments. HOERBIGER also has exciting projects in the pipeline for the growth market of electromobility. All these activities serve the goal of shaping a future worth living for future generations while meeting customer requirements.
 

The next milestones
Over the past two years, HOERBIGER has been working on the introduction of data standards and governance for reporting data. The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which will be mandatory from 2025, now provide definitive clarity and certainty as to which KPIs will be relevant in future reporting. The HOERBIGER Group is now working at full speed to prepare its organization to collect this data in the same quality as the current financial indicators. The Sustainability Report to be published in 2025 will not only meet all standards but will also be confirmed in its quality by an external audit for the first time.

In business, the HOERBIGER Group considers its most urgent task to be creating awareness among customers and employees that sustainability and business success go hand in hand: Comprehensive solutions from HOERBIGER help industry reduce emissions, comply with stricter environmental and safety standards, while improving the overall efficiency of their operations and thus their cost structure. For itself, the HOERBIGER Group has set the goal of being climate-neutral along the entire value chain by 2039 (scope 1 and 2 emissions of the GHG Greenhouse Gas Protocol).