Saint-Gobain, Committed to Achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2050

Founded in 1665 Saint-Gobain is one of the biggest French multinational corporations, with a presence in 70 countries and more than 167,000 employees’ worldwide and generating turnover of more than Euro 38 billion. Saint-Gobain designs, manufacture and distribute materials and solutions for the construction, mobility, healthcare and other industrial application markets. Developed through a continuous innovation process, the materials can be found everywhere in our living places and daily lives, providing wellbeing, performance and safety, while addressing the challenges of sustainable construction, resource efficiency and the fight against climate change.

This strategy of responsible growth is guided by the Saint-Gobain purpose, “Making The World A Better Home”, which resonates to the shared ambition of all the women and men in the Group to act every day to make the world a more beautiful and sustainable place to live in.

As one of the most 100 innovative companies globally, Saint-Gobain continues to deploy its technological know-how, in close cooperation with their customers and through partnerships with the most prestigious universities and laboratories around the world.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) expressed, “In Saint-Gobain, we sincerely care for our team members, which allowed us to be awarded Top Employer Global for 6 years in a row, in Asia-Pacific and Malaysia. As one of the only 16 companies in the world to benefit from this global label, the company commits to fostering our employees’ professional and personal development at all times.”

Moving closer, Saint-Gobain has been present in Malaysia since the year 2000, with five (5) plants in operation and one more to be commissioned in the coming weeks. The Group offers Malaysian customers a diverse variety of solutions and services, ranging from:

• Industrial mortars by Weber-E.Mix;
• Plasters, dry lining and ceiling solutions by
  Gyproc;
• High-performance polymer products by Saint-
  Gobain Performance Plastics;
• Glazing solutions for buildings by Saint-
  Gobain Exprover;
• Automotive glazing solutions by Saint-Gobain
  Sekurit;
• Technical textiles by Adfors; and
  Abrasive solutions by Norton.

South-East Asia is a key region for Saint-Gobain’s development, where the company is keen to invest and grow. With its strategic location at the heart of South-East Asia, excellent connections to major ports and no major natural disasters, Malaysia offers a costcompetitive and attractive location for Saint- Gobain. As a multi ethnic, multicultural and multilingual society, Malaysia represents a great reservoir of talents which is the core element for developing the Group in the region.

With the strong and constant support of local authorities and the commitment to global trade agreement such as ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Trade Preferential System among the Member States of the OIC (TPS-OIC), Malaysia is deemed to be positioned in a strategic location for Saint- Gobain to set its manufacturing footprint further and support the fast growing market in Asia.

In line with the Group’s direction of continuous innovation to bring new technology and technical know-how into the industry, Saint- Gobain is currently investing in a new plant in Tanjung Langsat, Johor by building a state-ofthe-art factory which will be commissioned by March, 2021. With this new factory, the company will  cater to both local and export market mainly to Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Brunei and many more.

As a well-established company, Saint-Gobain is committed to being carbon neutral by 2050 and has set up ambitious intermediate targets to make sure to reach this goal. As stated by the CEO, “This commitment guides our actions and decisions at all levels of the organisation. In Malaysia, we will continue to invest in Industry 4.0, recycling, raw material and energy reduction to reach this desired goal.”

Source: MIDA e-Newsletter February 2021