Bekaert Joins Forces with Non-Profit Solar Impulse Foundation to Combat Climate Change

Bekaert Joins Forces with Non-Profit Solar Impulse Foundation to Combat Climate Change

(IN BRIEF) Bekaert has announced its partnership with the Solar Impulse Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Bertrand Piccard, which aims to promote sustainable and profitable solutions. Through this partnership, Bekaert will have access to valuable resources and expertise in sustainability and collaborate with other organizations in the fight against climate change. Bekaert will work closely with the Solar Impulse Foundation to develop sustainability opportunities, improve the sustainability of their operations, and participate in the foundation’s programs and initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable practices across industries and communities.

(PRESS RELEASE) ZWEVEGEM, 22-Mar-2023 — /EuropaWire/ —  Bekaert (EBR: BEKB), a world market and technology leader in steel wire transformation and coating technologies, has announced its partnership with the Solar Impulse Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Bertrand Piccard, which aims to promote sustainable and profitable solutions. This partnership is another significant step forward for Bekaert in its commitment to making a positive impact with sustainable solutions in the areas of mobility, energy transition, and low-carbon construction.

As a partner of the Solar Impulse Foundation, Bekaert will have access to valuable resources and expertise in sustainability, allowing them to collaborate with other like-minded organizations in the battle against climate change. Bekaert is committed to working closely with the Solar Impulse Foundation to develop sustainability opportunities such as scouting for new sustainable solutions, scaling current sustainable solutions, and improving the sustainability of their internal operations.

‘We are thrilled to join forces with the Solar Impulse Foundation and to contribute to its important mission of creating a more sustainable world with profitable solutions,’ said CEO Oswald Schmid. ‘At Bekaert, we recognize that the well-being of our planet and our communities is essential to our long-term success, and we are committed to doing our part in developing solutions that both work to minimize our impact and help customers and end-users to minimize theirs. We share the mutual belief that solving climate change is a necessity and a great opportunity’.

Furthermore, Bekaert will be actively involved in the Solar Impulse Foundation’s programs and initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable practices across industries and communities. By partnering with the Solar Impulse Foundation, Bekaert is demonstrating its strong commitment to creating a sustainable future and promoting sustainable practices in all areas of its business.

‘In recognition of our long-standing commitment in delivering profitable and sustainable solutions, we’re proud to share that our Dramix® steel fiber for low-carbon concrete reinforcement is the first Bekaert solution to receive the Solar Impulse Foundation Label,” said Ann Francoise Versele, VP Sustainability.  The Solar Impulse Foundation Label is granted to the solutions that show excellence in both business and sustainable benchmarks. The label is audited by Ernst and Young and is valid for three years.

‘We are delighted to welcome Bekaert to our network of partners,’ said Bertrand Piccard. ‘Our partnership with Bekaert indicates how much this company values the importance of investing in sustainability through all the sectors, from construction, mobility, energy, agriculture to consumer goods. Their vision matches that of ours at the Solar Impulse Foundation by seeking to go beyond traditional ways of thinking and changing the paradigm. In so doing, they will be able to lead by example with a portfolio full of impactful, sustainable, and profitable solutions.’

Read more about the partnership of Bekaert and SIF on our dedicated partner page: Bekaert (solarimpulse.com)

About Solar Impulse Foundation
The Solar Impulse Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by explorer and cleantech pioneer Bertrand Piccard. Following the success of the first round-the-world trip in a solar-powered plane, its mission is to accelerate the adoption of solutions capable of protecting the environment in an economically profitable way. It thus reflects the unifying and realistic approach of its founder around ‘Qualitative Growth’. Demonstrating that it is possible to meet ecological challenges without undermining economic development, the Foundation achieved, in April 2021, its first objective of identifying and labelling 1000 ‘Efficient Solutions’, assessed as clean and profitable by independent experts. While continuing to increase its portfolio of solutions, Bertrand Piccard and the Foundation are seeking to facilitate the emergence of these technologies on the market through advocacy in favor of modernizing the legislative framework and by publishing guides to support political and business decision-makers in their ecological transition.

About Bekaert
Bekaert’s ambition is to be the leading partner for shaping the way we live and move, and to always do this in a way that is safe, smart, and sustainable. As a global market and technology leader in material science of steel wire transformation and coating technologies, Bekaert (bekaert.com) also applies its expertise beyond steel to create new solutions with innovative materials and services for markets including new mobility, low-carbon construction, and green energy. Founded in 1880, with its headquarters in Belgium, Bekaert (Euronext Brussels, BEKB) is a global company whose 27 000 employees worldwide together generated almost € 7 billion in combined revenue in 2022.

About Bekaert’s sustainability strategy and progress
Bekaert is making significant progress in delivering on the company’s sustainability strategy. This includes transformational improvements of the business portfolio through the development and offering of sustainable solutions, a clear step-up of the health & safety performance, the active engagement of employees and business partners across the supply chain, the responsible use of materials and energy, and much more. By actively investing in renewable energy facilities, Bekaert contributes to expanding the capacity, reaching the emission reduction targets, and accelerating the energy transition required to reduce climate change and its impact.

Recent publications
▪ 15 Feb 2023 Bekaert included in BEL ESG index of Euronext Brussels – Bekaert.com
▪ 8 Dec 2022 Bekaert obtains SBTi validation for the Group’s carbon reduction targets
▪ 2 December 2022 Bekaert to achieve 100% renewable power supply in the United States
▪ 31 March 2022 Bekaert breaks ground for Spain’s largest solar power project with on-site power consumption
▪ 8 July 2020 Bekaert to source 55 per cent of US electricity needs from renewable energy
▪ 7 January 2020 Solar energy for Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group plant in Aalter (Belgium)

Disclaimer
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Bekaert is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release in light of new information, future events or otherwise. Bekaert disclaims any liability for statements made or published by third parties and does not undertake any obligation to correct inaccurate data, information, conclusions or opinions published by third parties in relation to this or any other press release issued by Bekaert.

Press
Katelijn Bohez
T +32 56 76 66 10
katelijn.bohez@bekaert.com

Investor Relations
Guy Marks
T +32 56 76 74 73
guy.marks@bekaert.com
bekaert.com

SOURCE: Bekaert