25 September 2019, KUALA LUMPUR – Following the worldwide shutdown to conduct sustainability training for its employees during Scania Climate Day on 20 September, Scania took another valiant step forward and responded to the call by the United Nations for businesses to step up and take bolder actions in tackling climate change by pledging to decarbonisation target in line with limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

As a big step forward from Scania’s current 2025 strategy, the 2050 commitment will see Scania operating with net-zero emissions. Currently, Scania is committed towards cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 50 percent from its land transport per transported tonne by 2025 (using 2016 as a baseline), cutting CO2 emissions from its operations by 50 percent by 2025 (using 2015 as a baseline), switching to 100 percent fossil-free electricity by 2020 where the necessary prerequisites are in place, and continuing to offer the broadest range of products on the market that run on alternatives to fossil fuel such as its commercial biofuel solutions. The new commitment will see Scania working towards further reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the pace and scale that is pre-determined through scientific research.

“As a business, Scania has been at the forefront of providing sustainable transport solutions to our customers, but we wanted to do more especially noting that road transport accounts for approximately 14 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

Answering the call by the United Nations reinforces the work that we are already committed to implement,” said Scania Southeast Asia Managing Director, Marie Sjödin Enström.

“Organising the Scania Climate Day is the first step towards our new 2050 commitment of achieving net-zero emissions as every single Scania employee will become a sustainability ambassador to battle climate change,” added Marie.

On 20 September 2019, Scania Malaysia and Singapore commemorated Scania Climate Day for its employees when more than 350 employees from all twelve of Scania Malaysia branches nationwide as well as the Regional Product Centre in Port Klang, Scania Singapore and Asia Product Centre in Singapore attended a one hour sustainability training at their respective premises. The programme included discussions, quizzes, and reflection and sharing sessions, ending with the charting of concrete action steps. Feedback and suggestions from the employees will be reviewed for possible implementation at Scania premises in Malaysia and Singapore.

“Scania Climate Day was an eye-opener for us as we did not realise how much impact we have on the environment. Knowing this, we are implementing several actions within the near future such as reducing the usage of plastic within the operations, switching to LED lighting instead of fluorescent lights, and having a recycling booth at our Centre. These actions might seem insignificant but in the long run, we are able to reduce our carbon footprint for a sustainable future,” said Sofyan Mohd Mokhti, Team Leader of Scania Asia Parts Centre in Singapore during the conference call with Scania Malaysia Bukit Jelutong.

Scania employees also identified and agreed on further actions that they will take as part of their commitment towards battling climate change. Amongst the immediate actions are to  further reduce the usage of plastics within the operations, shifting to a paperless working environment and further promote Ecolution to customers as part of the effort to reduce CO2 emissions by Scania’s trucks and busses. In the near future, Scania Malaysia will also look into the feasibility of using alternative energy sources such as solar power to provide electricity at their offices and workshops as well as switching to biodegradable plastic in their operations wherever possible. The first Scania workshop that will feature solar power at its premise will be the new Johor Bahru branch that is targetted to be completed mid next year. Feasibility of using alternative fuel in Scania vehicles for Malaysian market will also be analysed as part of Scania’s continuing effort towards providing sustainable transport solutions.

Scania customers, fans, as well as members of the media also attended the Scania Climate Day training in support of the noble effort. Several members of the Royal Malaysian Navy attended the session at Scania Malaysia Bukit Jelutong while several customers participated in the training session held at Scania branches in Butterworth, Kuala Terengganu, and Ipoh.

Scania Climate Day is part of Scania’s global effort to involve all its 52,000 employees to mitigate the effects of climate change. The event took place simultaneously around the world, with all Scania units worldwide suspending operations for one hour for employees to undergo sustainability training. Scania Climate Day was planned as a demonstration of Scania’s commitment on the eve of the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York that began on 23 September.