Koppers Highlights Sustainability Achievements Including Notable Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Performance
At Koppers, we believe that when we place the care and protection of our people, planet, and communities first, business success will follow.
Positive financial performance must go hand-in-hand with positive societal impact.
Koppers 2022 Sustainability Report
Our sustainability strategy, initiatives, and accomplishments over the last year, on full display.
Zero Harm Commitment
Zero Harm is our culture's foundation—our commitment to ensure the care and protection of our employees, our communities, and the environment comes first in all decisions. We believe that operating with Zero Harm as our first priority, always, is inherent to success in other areas such as productivity and profits—and we have the results to prove it.
Koppers is Built on Circularity
In the early 1900s, the Koppers brand was founded on the concept of circularity, when German engineer Heinrich Koppers created a new kind of coke oven furnace that would recover key by-products and use them to create new products rather than release them into the atmosphere. More than a hundred years later, the circular economy continues to drive our company today.
At least 75 percent of our products by revenue are made from recycled, reused, or renewable materials. We reuse waste and scrap materials from other industries as key production inputs, and use renewable resources for another significant portion of our raw material requirements—placing our company at the center of the circular resource economy.
Recycled Copper
Our facility in Hubbell, Michigan, converts scrap copper to copper carbonate for use in our wood preservation chemicals. In 2021, we used about 35 million pounds of recycled copper in our wood preservation products.
Sustainable Battery Projects
With patents pending relating to enhanced carbon products for use in the global electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery markets, we are working to help enhance the performance and extend the life of these products, contributing to worldwide energy efficiency.
Innovation
Koppers has created a culture where innovation, respect, teamwork, and customer focus are ingrained into our business. Our culture is critical to our success and longevity, and gives us the ability to adapt and innovate as the world changes around us by proactively adapting how we operate.
Our company's competitive advantage comes from our strengths in innovation and sustainability-focused products and services. Our innovative pursuits are driven by a dedicated team of chemists and wood-science professionals helping to pioneer new wood protection and enhancement chemistries.
Product Stewardship
We systematically manage our portfolio of products and services to reduce the environmental impact for our communities and stakeholders. Across the entire Koppers product line, we strive for sustainability from inception to end of life, while making our products safer for both people and our planet.
Financial Performance
As part of our value-creation strategy, we continually work to enhance our comprehensive product portfolio, expand our wood-treatment services, optimize our network, and strengthen our balance sheet. We aim to generate attractive returns on capital while adhering to our sustainability strategy and honoring our company-wide Zero Harm culture.
Our business success is driven by our vertically integrated business model coupled with a balanced product portfolio that serves a diversified mix of end markets. Our businesses are integrally connected, which allows us to take advantage of meaningful collaboration while enjoying the benefits that come from serving a variety of unique markets.
Investor Relations
Delivering Results
See how our commitment to transparency in reporting, disclosures, and governance delivers results and provides investors with the opportunity to make informed decisions about the company.