Bang & Olufsen joins First Movers Coalition to help drive decarbonization of the aluminium industry

Today at COP27, it was announced that Bang & Olufsen has joined the First Movers Coalition (FMC), a public-private partnership driven by the World Economic Forum.

The FMC aims to leverage the purchasing power and supply chains of companies to create markets for innovative clean energy technologies and decarbonize seven industrial hard-to-abate sectors. Bang & Olufsen joins the aluminum sector and is one of ten new companies joining the FMC. 

“At Bang & Olufsen, we’re delighted to sign up to such a strong initiative and work with other leading companies to drive innovation and take needed climate action in this decade. Our commitment to source more sustainably and increase the use of recycled materials is in line with our overall sustainability strategy and it underlines our ambition to lead change within our own industry,” says Kristian Teär CEO of Bang & Olufsen. 

Bang & Olufsen is signing up to a target that at least 10% of its primary aluminum purchases will have near-zero carbon emissions by 2030. The company also commits to ensuringdecarbonization that at least 50% of the aluminum used in their production by 2030 is recycled.  The commitments aim to be collectively significant enough to commercialize the decarbonisation technologies.

The First Movers Coalition was established by the World Economic Forum and the US Government in 2021 at COP26 and the FMC is made up 65 leading global companies covering seven hard-to-abate industries. 

Studies have calculated that aluminium production is responsible for generating 2% of global emissions and that producing recycled, or secondary aluminium consumes about 90% less energy than the production of primary material. Aluminum can be a key element of the green transition due to its inherent recyclability and its use as a key input in electric vehicles and solar power technologies. However, aluminium producers need to find a way to reduce the negative climate impact of its own production before aluminum can realize its green potential.

Bang & Olufsen recently also joined the Science Based Targets initiative, and Bang & Olufsen is a signatory member of the United Nations Global Compact. In July 2022, the company presented its updated Sustainability strategy with new long-term sustainability targets.