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. 

To align the business and sustainability strategy with stakeholder expectations Sika regularly processes a materiality analysis. The outcome is a Materiality Matrix, showing the topics that matter the most to Sika and its stakeholders. The information gained through this process supports decisions about the direction of the business and sustainability management, identifying risks and opportunities. It also allows the integration of sustainability topics into the Sika growth strategy, and the selection as well as the prioritization of focus areas for reporting and communication based on stakeholder needs. 

Materiality analyses were carried out by Sika back in 2013, 2015, and 2018. In 2022, to define the new Materiality Matrix, Sika followed a three-steps process: 

1. Inventory of potential material ESGE topics:  In total, 29 ESGE topics were rated by stakeholders (7 Environment, 8 Social, 10 Governance, 4 Economic), focusing on the ESGE topics’ relevance for Sika’s business.
2. Identification and prioritization of stakeholders: approximately 3,300 internal and external contacts, covering 17 stakeholder groups were sent a survey, with a total of 1,127 responses. For every response, Sika donated for two NGOs. Feedback was collected from more than 90 countries.
3. Prioritization of material ESGE topics: all sustainability/ESGE topics were given medium to very high importance, there has been a clear convergence between internal and external stakeholders’ opinions on the most important topics. Internal stakeholders gave higher scores to governance and economic topics, and external stakeholders gave higher scores to social and environmental topics. Global results matched regional preferences.

The Board of Directors approved the new Materiality Matrix in May 2022.