For companies worldwide, energy use has become a defining issue at the intersection of climate responsibility, operational resilience and long-term competitiveness. Energy is one of the most significant drivers of greenhouse gas emissions, and for industrial businesses in particular, it directly shapes environmental impact, cost structures and exposure to increasingly volatile energy markets. At the same time, rising expectations from regulators, customers and investors mean that how a company manages energy use is no longer a technical detail, but a clear signal of how seriously sustainability is approached.

“In an industrial setting like ours, energy is both a responsibility and a strategic reality,” says Ann‑Françoise Versele, Vice President Sustainability and Governmental Affairs at Bekaert. “The way we produce, source and use energy has a direct impact on Bekaert’s carbon footprint, cost resilience and ability to operate sustainably over the long term.”

In 2025, 40% of Bekaert's electricity needs came from renewable energy sources, supporting the company's ambition to decarbonize operations and achieve its science-based climate targets. 

Bekaert’s manufacturing activities are energy intensive by nature. Electricity is required to keep production lines running, to support heat treatment processes and to ensure quality and reliability across a wide range of applications. As a result, electricity sourcing has a direct influence on environmental impact and is a central component of Bekaert’s SBTi target to reduce absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by -46.2% by 2030 compared to the 2019 baseline.

Increasing the share of renewable electricity is therefore not a symbolic action, but a practical necessity. It allows Bekaert to decouple operational performance from emissions, reduce dependence on fossil-based electricity and support the decarbonization of energy systems in the regions where Bekaert operates. This approach is embedded in Bekaert’s energy and climate change policy, which explicitly combines renewable energy sourcing with structural improvements in energy efficiency.

“Our climate targets are science-based, but the way Bekaert reaches them is deeply operational,” Versele explains. “Renewable electricity is one of the most impactful levers available to reduce emissions today, while building a more resilient energy mix for the future.”

The progress is visible across Bekaert’s global footprint. In Belgium, India, Spain, Romania, the UK and the United States, renewable sources now represent the majority of the electricity consumed by Bekaert. 

When it comes to generating renewable electricity, Bekaert focuses primarily on solar and wind energy. These technologies are well suited to industrial environments when deployed at scale and assessed with technical and economic rigor.

To guide investments, Bekaert conducted a global analysis in 2022 to evaluate the potential for on-site solar generation across manufacturing plants worldwide. This assessment considered technical feasibility, grid constraints and economic viability to ensure that renewable energy projects support both sustainability objectives and long-term operational performance. 

Based on this approach, Bekaert has invested in on-site solar projects at manufacturing plants in Burgos in Spain, Aalter and Hamme in Belgium and across the Jiangyin campus in China. These installations make productive use of existing industrial infrastructure such as rooftops and parking facilities, generating renewable electricity close to where it is consumed.

This effort continued in 2025 with the installation of solar panels at Bekaert’s plant in Suzhou, China, adding 1 megawatt peak of renewable capacity. At the same time, additional solar installations were prepared at plants in Shenyang in China, Zwevegem in Belgium and Malambo in Colombia. Once these installations become operational, they will add nearly 16 megawatts peak of additional solar capacity. 

“On-site generation is a tangible way to turn ambition into action,” says Versele. “It makes renewable energy visible at plant level and reinforces the link between operations and Bekaert’s sustainability strategy.”

Bekaert continues to update its investment analysis annually and explore additional solar capacity in line with its longer-term decarbonization roadmap. 

Despite steady growth in on-site generation, Bekaert’s electricity demand cannot be fully covered through self-production alone. Industrial operations require a stable and substantial supply of electricity, which makes off-site sourcing an essential complement to on-site renewables.

Power purchase agreements, including virtual PPAs, allow Bekaert to secure long-term access to renewable electricity while supporting the development of new renewable capacity on the grid. This approach helps ensure that renewable sourcing contributes to system-level decarbonization rather than reallocating existing green electricity.

A key milestone in this strategy was the signing of a 10-year virtual power purchase agreement in Romania for 100 GWh of wind energy per year, sourced from the Vifor wind farm. In addition, Bekaert has signed PPAs in the United States and India, further strengthening Bekaert’s renewable electricity portfolio across regions.

“Renewable electricity sourcing is not just about percentage targets,” Versele notes. “It is about making structured, long-term choices that support grid decarbonization and provide stability for Bekaert’s operations.”

Reducing demand through energy efficiency

Increasing the share of renewable electricity goes hand in hand with reducing overall energy consumption. Every kilowatt-hour saved avoids emissions altogether and reduces the scale of renewable capacity required.

Bekaert’s global energy efficiency program, You Know WATT, sits at the heart of this effort. Launched at the end of 2021, the program is embedded within the Bekaert Manufacturing System and focuses on detailed energy measurement, identification of high-impact improvement opportunities and implementation of technically and economically feasible solutions that can be replicated across plants.

“You Know WATT has fundamentally changed how energy is managed inside Bekaert’s plants,” says Versele. “It empowers local teams to identify inefficiencies, share solutions and contribute directly to decarbonization goals.”

Through measures such as heat recovery, motor upgrades, process optimization and equipment efficiency improvements, the program helps lower energy demand and amplifies the impact of renewable electricity across the footprint.

Read more: Driving energy efficiency: empowering employees for a sustainable future

The 40% renewable electricity figure shows meaningful progress, but also confirms the scale of the work ahead. By combining energy efficiency, on-site renewable generation, long-term renewable sourcing and transparent reporting, Bekaert is building a more resilient energy model while continuing to reduce its industrial carbon footprint.