Vallourec and the power of corporate social responsibility: the tangible results of a long-standing commitment
In May 2022, Vallourec unveiled its New Vallourec transformation plan, which includes a specific dimension dedicated to corporate social responsibility (CSR). The Group’s ambition is to become an ever more sustainable, resilient and responsible company and a leading player in a low-carbon economy. Thanks to its commitment and rigorous work, Vallourec has already achieved remarkable results. Corinne Willecomme, Sustainable Development Group Director, shares an overview of the Group’s CSR efforts over the past year, detailing its actions and achievements.
Vallourec has several core CSR ambitions. What are they, and what are their aims?
Corinne Willecomme:
CSR at Vallourec is structured around five pillars:
- Our number one priority is the safety of our employees and sub-contractors: ensuring that we operate in a safe environment
- Climate issues relate to actions to reduce CO2 and preserve biodiversity.
- Environment relates to water consumption and chemicals management, and emphasizes reducing and reusing resources following the principles of a circular economy.
- People covers initiatives to promote parity and diversity as well as employee development
- Compliance is a key priority and is all employees’ responsibility.
This comprehensive and robust approach enjoys full top management support. It mobilizes the whole workforce, fostering a real awareness and determination to act responsibly and sustainably in the face of the growing magnitude of non-financial imperatives.
In just one year, we have managed to stay ahead of our industry and achieve results we can be proud of in all focus areas!
What have been the major successes from the standpoint of Climate and Environment?
Corinne Willecomme:
Our journey began in 2008 with the “Greenhouse project” to reduce energy consumption. In 2020, we launched our Climate plan aiming to cut CO2 emissions by 25% by 2025, compared to 2017 levels. This number, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, is aligned with the Paris Agreement. And I’m happy to report that we have already surpassed this goal—our 2022 emissions were 34% lower than our 2017 emissions.
This year, we launched the “Climate Project” with new targets for 2030 and 2035. Our aim is to reduce the carbon intensity of our tubes by 35%, from 1.97 tonnes in 2021 to 1.3 tonnes of CO2e per tonne of tubes in 2035.
Our success stems from our thorough approach and methods. We con ducted a rigorous examination of all our activities to identify ways in which we could cut environmental impacts. As a result, 40% of our energy today comes from renewable sources, with new solar panels installed in China. Furthermore, 53% of the steel we produced in 2022 came from recycled scrap, making us a key player in the circular economy.
In Brazil, we are also deploying a process patented by Vallourec for a new pyrolysis method to produce vegetable charcoal without methane emissions. This charcoal is then used to produce steel.
Vallourec’s strategy to develop our "New Energies" offering in renewable energies is enabling us to further reduce our CO2e emissions, as is the transfer of our German operations to Brazilian sites equipped with green production processes.
In addition, 100% of our sites have ISO 14001 environmental certification. With water at the heart of our production processes, we are constantly seeking to reduce and optimize its use, notably by installing meters on our sites to detect and reduce leaks. We are also optimizing our production processes. In 2022, 9% of our water needs were covered by rainwater collection.
How about the Safety and People focus areas?
Corinne Willecomme:
Again, safety is our key priority. We have cut workplace accidents by more than 50% since 2015, but we want to go further and become the benchmark in our business. For this reason, we have set a goal to lower our Total Recordable Incident Rate to 0.2 in 2026 compared to 1.48 in 2022.
We are also actively working toward closing gender gaps: whereas 24% of management roles were occupied by women in 2022, by the end of 2026 we are targeting a figure of 30% while offering a mentoring program and home working and guaranteeing equal pay.
In our experience, when we support our employees holistically, they are better able to deliver value, innovation and performance.
These efforts have indeed created substantial change in just one year, but how does this plan contribute to a stronger Vallourec?
Corinne Willecomme:
Our CSR commitment has helped us plan for Vallourec’s future not just over the next quarter but also over the next several decades. In just one year, initiatives under New Vallourec have served to position us as an industry leader, trusted partner, and thoughtful employer.
We have received multiple accolades, including the Financial Times’s “Europe’s Climate Leaders 2023” designation, in which we ranked 36 out of 500 European companies. We also won the Ecovadis Platinum Medal, positioning us among the 1% most mature companies from a CSR standpoint. We are the only seamless tube manufacturer to complete all three Climate Disclosure Project (CDP) questionnaires for Climate, Water and Forests, putting us at the forefront of our industry. In 2022 we scored high ratings from CDP with A- in Climate and Water, and B- in Forests.
A member of the United Nations Global Compact since 2010, Vallourec supports the organization’s 10 guiding principles and contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The CSR dividends we are already seeing also support our customers’ transition to a low-carbon future, reassuring them while attracting new business. Just as importantly, they make us an employer where talented individuals want to work and contribute to our sustainability journey.
Our robust Governance framework, built around five strategic pillars—Climate, Environment, Safety, People, and Compliance—ensures effective oversight of all CSR efforts. A member of the Executive Committee sponsors each pillar, and the Executive Committee and CSR Committee monitor progress each quarter. The Audit Committee guarantees the pertinence of all nonfinancial information, and overall alignment with financial data. This strong structure helps fortify and safeguard the impact of our CSR efforts.
