Fibres and Yarns | News & Insights | Technical Textiles & Non-Wovens

Lenzing again receives top sustainability ratings from MSCI & SAC Higgs FEM

Published: January 11, 2024
Author: TEXTILE VALUE CHAIN
  • With an ”AA“ rating, Lenzing is among the top eight percent of the industry worldwide
  • First SAC Higgs FEM verification delivered excellent results 

Lenzing – The Lenzing Group, a leading global supplier of specialty fibers for the textile and nonwovens  industries, has once again been recognized for its sustainability performance and its active contribution to  transforming the industry towards a circular economy. The rating agency MSCI awarded Lenzing an “AA” rating  for the third time in a row, placing Lenzing among the top eight percent of rated companies in its peer group. In  addition, Lenzing participated for the first time in the SAC Higgs FEM verification to assess the environmental  impact of product manufacturing at its sites and achieved excellent positive results. 

According to the rating agency MSCI, Lenzing continues to lead the way among global companies in terms of  governance structures. In addition, MSCI highlights Lenzing’s leadership in implementing strong initiatives to  mitigate the risk of environmental liabilities associated with the release of toxic pollutants and highlights its strong  water stewardship program, which includes a water risk assessment. The confirmation of the “AA” rating from  MSCI ESG enables Lenzing to further reduce its interest expense. In November 2019, Lenzing placed a bonded 

loan in the amount of around EUR 500 mn, which is linked to the company’s sustainability performance. In line  with its commitment under the bonded loan, the company will donate the entire interest expense it saves thanks  to the “AA” rating to a social-ecological project. 

“I am proud that Lenzing is among the top eight percent of the world’s most sustainable companies. At Lenzing,  we are working hard to make our industries even more sustainable and to drive the transformation of the textile  business model from a linear to a circular economy model. This approach is firmly anchored in our strategy and  corporate values. I am therefore particularly pleased about the MSCI rating and that we as the Lenzing Group  have also achieved excellent results in the SAC Higgs FEM,” says Stephan Sielaff, CEO of the Lenzing Group. 

SAC is an alliance of the apparel, footwear and textile industries in which Lenzing is an active member. Lenzing  has achieved outstanding results in the Facility Environmental Module (FEM) assessment. The Higgs FEM is a  revolutionary tool for assessing the environmental impact of product manufacturing in factories and provides a  clear picture of the environmental impact of a facility. Every stage of the production process is captured with this  tool – from water consumption and waste management to the use of chemicals and energy. This not only identifies  hotspots for improvement, but also reduces redundancies, mitigates risks and creates a common language for  communicating sustainability to stakeholders. 

By November 2023, all Lenzing sites, with the exception of the sites in Brazil and Thailand, which are however  scheduled for 2024, have completed the first external verification of the module with excellent results. With almost 20,000 participating companies from different sectors of industry, which achieved less than 50 percent in total  average in 2023, Lenzing sites achieved verified scores of more than 70 percent to 95 percent. 

Related Posts