Chronological overview from the birth of the modern understanding of sustainability in 1987 to the objectives in Continental's Sustainability Roadmap to 2050.
1987: The presentation of a final report entitled “Our Common Future” by the United Nations’ Brundtland Commission, founded in 1983, under the leadership of former Prime Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland, is regarded as the birth of how we understand sustainability today. Its aim: to describe long-term perspectives for a development policy that also serves to protect the environment. Today, this is regarded as the birth of modern sustainability policy. Precursors to sustainable business management had already been around in earlier centuries, however, most notably in the area of forest management.
1992: At the Rio “Earth Summit”, the concept of sustainable development is acknowledged as an international guiding principle. Further global environmental conferences are held in 1997, 2002 and 2012.
1992:Continental launches its environmental management system.
2011: Publication of Continental’s first-ever sustainability report.
2012: Sustainability is established in the Executive Board of Continental together with the topic of personnel.
2015: Paris Agreement: Industrialized nations commit to keeping the long-term rise in global average temperature to well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels.
2015: At the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are adopted in September 2015.
2018: Consolidating the sustainability strategy in a newly created sustainability department at Continental.
2019: First non-financial statement with the highest external auditing standard and reasonable assurance of the documented Continental sustainability figures.
2019: Continental approves carbon neutrality targets for the purchasing of electricity (2020), production (2040) and the entire value chain (2050) as well as further environmental targets.
2020: Sustainability becomes one of the deciding factors for the remuneration of all executives and the Executive Board at Continental.
2020: Adoption of Continental’s new sustainability framework with four focus areas and eight sustainability essentials. The targets to be met by 2050 at the latest are: complete carbon neutrality; emission-free mobility and industry; circular economy; and 100 percent responsible value chains.
2020: Procurement of 100 percent electricity from renewable sources in all of Continental’s production sites.
Since 2022: With Net|Zero|Now, our immediate action program to mitigate climate change, Continental offers customers with ambitious sustainability targets the option of achieving carbon neutrality for their business with Continental along the entire value chain. The focus here is on Continental products for emission-free vehicles; the program is additionally being offered for the combustion-engine vehicle business and the industrial business.
By no later than end-2040: CO2 neutrality throughout Continental’s entire production processes.
By no later than 2050:100 percent carbon-neutral value chains, 100 percent emission-free-emission mobility and industry, 100 percent circular economy and 100 percent responsible value chains at Continental.