Sasol confirms refinements being made to emissions reduction pathway

Energy and chemicals group Sasol has reiterated that its target to reduce its greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by 30% by 2030 remains in place, but has also confirmed that it is refining its “pathways” towards meeting that goal.

In a note to shareholders, the JSE-listed group indicated that these refinements might involve “shifts in feedstock, energy and products to support our pathway towards being more sustainable”.

“The group target of a 30% reduction by 2030 remains. However, we are in the process of refining our pathways towards achieving this target to ensure that we remain agile, mitigate potential risks and also respond to new emerging opportunities, given the changing global landscape and energy security needs.”

It added that detailed work was currently under way and an update would be shared at its Capital Markets Day in 2025.

The statement was issued in response to reports indicating that Sasol could revise its emission-reduction goal from a specific target to a range, with the Business Times having quoted CEO Simon Baloyi as suggesting a moving target of between 25% and 35%, instead of a hard target for 2030.

Sasol described the proposal of a range as “only an example of an approach addressing the complexity of our transition”.

During the group’s results presentation in August, Baloyi also hinted at a possible shift, indicating that its approach to emission reductions was “influenced by multiple factors, including the imperative for energy security and a just transition”.

“Given this context, it is essential that we optimise the execution of our GHG roadmap … to ensure we maximise value from the Secunda operations for energy security and to enable a just transition,” Baloyi said.

Sasol’s decarbonisation efforts have already been heavily criticised by environmental groups and shareholder activists, and in 2022 it announced the 30% reduction target for 2030, after its initial 10% target was slammed for being inadequate.

Questions have also been posed about Sasol being granted permission to employ a load-based emission limit for its coal-fired power stations rather than the concentration-based emissions limit used for setting Minimum Emission Standards in South Africa.

Following an appeal, the group’s alternative approach for measuring the sulphur dioxide emissions from the 17 coal boilers at the group’s Secunda complex, in Mpumalanga, was approved after Sasol claimed that sticking to the prescribed approach would result in the phased shutdown of Secunda.

Sasol will now shut down individual boilers to meet emission limits instead of ensuring that each boiler is compliant, and will progressively replace the coal electricity with renewable energy.

“We continue to progress our renewable-energy commitment of 1 200 MW by 2030. To date, we have signed 750 MW of power purchase agreements, some which are in construction and will come online in the near term,” Baloyi said during the results presentation.

“Moving forward, we aim to build on this success, and we are exploring options to position ourselves as leaders in the renewable-energy projects.”