Sustainability at Haltermann Carless: Pioneering spirit with responsibility

The sustainability transformation is steadily advancing in the chemical industry – but not everywhere at the same pace and with the same consistency. Haltermann Carless, a long-established manufacturer of hydrocarbons with over 160 years of innovation history, sees sustainability as a central element of its corporate strategy. In this interview, Dr Eva Morsbach, Senior Vice President Corporate Development & Sustainability, explains how the company's pioneering spirit is reflected in concrete measures today, the importance of transparency – and how sustainable solutions can also be economically viable. 

Dr Morsbach, Haltermann Carless talks about a pioneering spirit that is deeply rooted in the company's history. How is this reflected in your sustainability strategy today?  

The sustainability transformation has long been a reality – but it has not arrived everywhere at the same time. At Haltermann Carless, our pioneering spirit is always evident in the way we question the status quo and develop future-proof solutions. 

Our chemical production facilities are already designed to process both fossil and renewable raw materials. 

This gives us a real advantage: we are ready to gradually replace fossil raw materials with renewable ones. This is already a reality for our speciality and racing fuels. Here, we are proving that sustainability and performance go hand in hand – an example that is also paving the way for us in other markets. 

What concrete steps have you taken to implement sustainability at Haltermann Carless? 

We pursue a holistic approach based on three pillars: 

• Reducing emissions, 
• Developing sustainable product solutions and 
• Creating certified transparency.

This means that we are increasingly integrating biogenic, circular and mass-balanced raw materials into our processes in order to offer CO₂-reduced alternatives with consistently high quality. 

At the same time, we are investing in our own sites: all large production facilities in Germany and the United Kingdom are now powered by certified green electricity, saving around 8,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year. 

In addition, Haltermann Carless implements targeted resource efficiency programmes, for example to reduce water consumption, increase recycling and minimise waste.

Transparency is a key theme in your communications. Why is it so important – and how do you implement it in practice?  

Transparency creates trust – both among our customers and our partners along the value chain. That is why we regularly undergo external inspections and audits. 

In 2024, we once again achieved EcoVadis Gold Status – an award given to companies for sustainable business practices. In addition, we are ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS certified and have received the highest 3-star environmental accreditation from the FIA. 

These independent assessments confirm that our sustainability performance is measurable and traceable. We also provide product carbon footprint (PCF) data for our products so that our customers can precisely manage their own sustainability goals. 

One area where sustainability is particularly visible at Haltermann Carless is motorsport. What role does it play in your sustainable product developments? 

Motorsport is an ideal field of innovation for Haltermann Carless. With our ETS Racing Fuels brand, we demonstrate that high performance and environmental responsibility are not mutually exclusive. We develop racing fuels that are increasingly based on renewable components while delivering maximum performance. Motorsport has set itself ambitious sustainability goals, and we are proud to support these with our premium fuels, which are up to 100% renewable. 

We transfer the experience we gain from motorsport to other areas – from speciality fuels for the automotive industry to industrial applications. In this way, we are doing pioneering work that is having an impact not only in motorsport but also in many other markets. 

This results in a direct transfer of knowledge from racing to industrial practice. 

Another example of sustainable business activities is your Electrical Oil Services (EOS®) division. What role does it play in your sustainability strategy? 

Electrical Oil Services (EOS®) is an excellent example of circular economy in action. EOS® collects used transformer oils throughout Europe, processes them using a special procedure and returns them to the market as products of new goods quality. Everything is certified according to international standards. The advantage for our customers in the energy sector is improved performance and service life for their transformers, while at the same time conserving valuable resources. Insulating oil can be recycled perfectly nowadays. We call this innovative approach the EOS Closed Loop model. 

Solutions like this show that sustainability is an integral part of Haltermann Carless's service portfolio – with tangible added value for our customers. 

For many chemical companies, sustainability also means remaining economically realistic. How do you manage this balancing act between aspirations and market requirements? 

Sustainability can only be successful if it is economically viable. 

We offer our customers sustainable solutions where they bring clear benefits – whether through regulatory advantages, CO₂ savings or higher energy efficiency. We also take a realistic approach to market conditions: not all customers are immediately ready to switch to renewable raw materials. That's why we support them step by step – with transparent data, meaningful advice and scalable solutions. 

Our goal is to establish sustainability not as an add-on, but as a quality feature. 

Where is your sustainability strategy heading in the coming years? 

We are pursuing ambitious but realistic goals: 

• Our Scope 1 and 2 emissions are to be reduced to zero by 2045, in line with national legal requirements.
• Interim targets are a20 per cent reduction by 2030and a 60 per cent reduction by 2040 (base year 2019). 
• In addition, we are focusing on two UN sustainability goals where we can make the greatest contribution:SDG 12 – sustainable consumption and productionand SDG 13 – climate action. 

Our goal is clear: together with our customers and partners, we want to actively shape the green transformation of the chemical industry. This path is supported by our clear stance and our unmistakable pioneering spirit. 

Thank you very much for this conversation, Dr Morsbach!