A review of Safran’s climate action plan in four questions

Do you know what the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) is? This new European Union Directive requires greater integration of environmental, societal and ethical issues in business within corporate strategy and ensures reliable assessment of their performance in these areas.

To this end, the CSRD sets out requirements that aim to improve the transparency of information. This year, European corporations listed on European markets must publish a Sustainability Report, which replaces the previous Statement of Non-Financial Performance. 

This year, Safran has published its first Sustainability Report as part of the 2025 Universal Registration Document. This Sustainability Report devotes a significant part to the Group’s policy, action plan and results in terms of climate change. On this occasion, Nathalie Stubler, Group Sustainability Officer, reviews the progress made in the Group’s Climate strategy. 

Nathalie Stubler: Firstly, we should remember that scopes 1 and 2 concern direct emissions associated with our sites and our operations, as well as indirect emissions related to the energy used to carry out these operations. They have been reduced by 44% in relation to 2018 and by 14% in relation to 2023. 

We are in line with our long-term objective to achieve a 50% reduction by 2030, but we must continue to intensify our efforts because of the growth forecast for the coming years. 

The reduction of CO₂ emissions related to our operations is a key factor on which we can take action directly. 

Amongst the levers we can use to achieve these results, are reducing the gas and electricity consumption of our sites around the world, which has fallen by 11.4% in relation to 2019. The sobriety plan has been a success as everyone has contributed!

In 2024, more and more sites received gold certification for their energy management system, which corresponds to 93% of the Group’s total energy consumption. This certification enables us to better manage our consumption and drive our energy performance.

Moreover, 45% of our global energy consumption is from low-carbon sources (nuclear, renewables) thanks to the power grids in the countries where we operate and through our procurement actions. Self-generation on site and renewable energy purchases account for 17% of our global energy consumption. 

We are also ramping up our use of sustainable fuels (SAF) with 25% of SAF used in engine tests in 2024, representing 2.5 million liters. For 2025, we have set our sights on 35%. 

The objectives of 2025 have been upgraded, and we are now aiming for a 35% reduction instead of 30% previously. And we have the resources to achieve it.

N.S.: Emissions related to the use of our products sold represent the greatest portion (90%) of our carbon footprint. In 2024, they were significantly reduced compared to 2018 (by 44%), but slightly up in 2023 (2.3%). 

To calculate the emissions of a product, we use the ratio of its mass in relation to the aircraft where it is installed, then the CO₂ emissions are estimated over the product service life. Lastly, we publish the data before and after the incorporation of sustainable aviation fuel. 

Our objectives are validated by SBTi* and expressed in intensity, or grams of CO₂ per seat-km. Here again, the results are better than 2018 (reduction of 15%) and our target is to achieve a reduction of 42.5% by 2035. The levers to achieve our 2035 objective are mainly the renewal of airline fleets and the incorporation of SAF. In the longer term, actions on the Safran technology roadmap will contribute to the global objectives of the aviation industry to achieve net zero emissions in 2050.

N.S. : Our approach encouraging our suppliers to adopt our low-carbon approach is ongoing. 71% of suppliers in our Top 400 have defined and communicated a reduction target concerning their own activities (scopes 1 and 2). And 80% of those in our Top 50 have committed to an action plan to reduce the emissions related to their operations.

Lastly, we have achieved a 6% reduction in emissions related to employee commuting in relation to 2023 (and 11.6% compared to 2018), despite the strong rise in the Group workforce population. We are continuing our approach to analyzing these emissions using a company survey, enabling us to know more about Group employee commuting arrangements. 

N.S. : In line with our roadmap, in 2025 we will pay close attention to the topic of adapting to climate change within Safran - whether in terms of our buildings, our processes and of course the impact on our employees. Our main objective is to prevent climate-related risks and ensure we have the right tools to adapt. 

This approach involves multiple divisions such as Health & Safety, Risks, Industrial etc. and was initiated at the end of 2024 with an assessment of how exposed our sites are to climate risks. We are aiming to produce a roadmap for an adaptation plan addressing 10 sites in 2025. 

To conclude, it is essential that we achieve our ambitious CO₂ emission reduction objectives in a backdrop of growth in Group activities. The action plans deployed by divisions and companies make us confident about the future. 

*SBTi: Science Based Target initiative.