Lenzing is continuing to expand its global clean electricity portfolio by gradually transitioning to green energy at its production site in Nanjing. This will enable its Chinese subsidiary Lenzing Nanjing Fibers to use electricity derived solely from renewable sources from 2023 onwards and reduce the site’s carbon emissions by 100,000 tonnes annually.

Lenzing only recently announced the transition to green electricity at its Indonesian production facility.

In 2019, Lenzing became the first fibre producer to set a target of halving its carbon emissions by 2030 and becoming climate neutral by 2050. This carbon reduction target has been recognized by the Science Based Targets Initiative. In Nanjing, Lenzing is currently investing in cutting its carbon emissions and converting a standard viscose production line to 35,000 tonnes of Tencel branded modal fibres. Thanks to this move, the Chinese site will exclusively produce eco-friendly specialty fibres.

“Demand for our wood-based, biodegradable specialty fibres is constantly rising. We see enormous growth potential, especially in Asia. Thanks to our investments in China and other Lenzing sites around the world, we will be better positioned to meet this growing demand in future. At the same time, we are continuing to make considerable progress towards achieving a carbon-free future and becoming a champion of circularity,” comments Robert van de Kerkhof, Chief Commercial Officer for Fiber at Lenzing.

Boosting growth in specialty fibres

Man-made climate change is one of the most pressing problems of our time, Lenzing says, and the fashion industry has an extremely negative impact on the environment due to its fast fashion business model and the growing consumption of fossil resources in textile production. Lenzing’s sustainably produced specialty fibers under the TENCELTM brand help its customers, especially brands and retailers, to reduce their global footprint immensely.

Specialty fibres are Lenzing’s key strength. The company aims to generate more than 75% of its fibre revenue from the wood-based, biodegradable specialty fibres business under the Tencel, Lenzing, Ecovero and Veocel brands by 2024. With the launch of the lyocell plant in Thailand in March 2022 and the investments in existing production sites in China and Indonesia, the share of specialty fibres in Lenzing’s fibre revenue is set to exceed the 75% target by a significant margin as early as 2023.

www.lenzing.com