Barco just told rAVe that the company has actually reached its 2020 sustainability target on reducing the carbon footprint of its operations in the fiscal year 2019 — one year in advance.

In 2016, Barco first set several five-year sustainability goals to be established by 2020 (compared to 2015). The primary targets were reducing the carbon footprint of its operations by 20%, reducing the energy footprint of its products by 25% and ensuring that at least 25% of new product releases received the Barco ECO label. The first of these goals was reached in fiscal year 2019. Next to progress in the logistical footprint in the first years, strongly reduced business travel and a move of production activities to a more energy-efficient plant were the main drivers of 2019’s strong results.

Barco assigned an internal task force and partnered with an (external) carbon footprinting expert to create a roadmap for the coming years. A first focus on logistics, resulting in a shift of transportation by boat instead of airplane, led to reducing Barco’s carbon footprint. In subsequent years, also the mobility and infrastructure pillars were tackled.

In 2019, Barco not only achieved substantial business results but managed to do this while strongly reducing its carbon emissions in mobility and infrastructure, with a year-on-year reduction of 13% and 12%, respectively, compared to 2018. The main drivers are the reduction of business travel and the centralization of manufacturing activities (including the relocation of production activities to the state-of-the-art factory in Kortrijk).

2019 vs 2018 vs 2015

• Logistics — -1%, -21%
• Mobility — -13%, -19%
• Infrastructure — -12%,  -19%
• Total — -5%, -20%

In 2019, Barco set the focus again on the mod and long terms and set new targets for 2023. The objective is to improve sustainability across the board. Meanwhile, Barco also decided to commit Science Based Targets to solidify its sustainability goals further. Barco is joining the global movement of leading companies aligning their business with the most ambitious aim of the Paris Agreement, to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the best chance of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.

“The good results achieved in recent years for sure is a great way forward in this process,” said Jan De Witte, CEO of Barco. “It clearly shows our ambition to reach our targets and establishes our leading role in the switch to sustainable business conduct. Sustainability is now an integral part of the Barco DNA.”

In order to allow evaluating the ecological footprint of its products in a quantifiable and objective manner, Barco has developed a tool that grades its products according to its eco-design performance. This gives customers an overview of environmental performance and encourages developers in Barco to make sustainable choices. The framework that has been used to validate the eco-scoring is defined in the ISO 14021 standard.

Products that are at the top of the ranking and thus have a lower environmental footprint can be marked with the “Barco Eco Product label.” The first products with this Eco Product label are already being shipped, including the 6MP diagnostic display, some ClickShare solutions and the Series 4 Projectors. According to Barco, it is the company’s ambition that by 2023, 70% of its revenues will come from products with this Eco Product label — and 75% of products launched have this label: