Koppers Highlights Sustainability Achievements Including Notable Greenhouse Gas Reduction

Performance

At Koppers, we believe that when we place the care and protection of our people, planet, and communities first, business success will follow.

Two women in a meeting

Positive financial performance must go hand-in-hand with positive societal impact.

Our financial performance and the long-term, sustainable value we create for all stakeholders are central to our purpose of Protecting What Matters and Preserving the Future. We do this by manufacturing products and providing services critical to our global infrastructure. Our products help transport goods, keep electricity flowing, and provide spaces of enjoyment for families.
We know what we do is essential both today and for our future. By delivering strong financial performance, we can continue to take care of our employees, make a difference in our communities, and create innovative products with benefits to society. We are successful only when our priorities of people, planet, and performance are in balance.

Koppers 2022 Sustainability Report

Our sustainability strategy, initiatives, and accomplishments over the last year, on full display.

Koppers employees in hard hats

Zero Harm Commitment

Zero Harm is our culture's foundation—our commitment to ensure the care and protection of our employees, our communities, and the environment comes first in all decisions. We believe that operating with Zero Harm as our first priority, always, is inherent to success in other areas such as productivity and profits—and we have the results to prove it.

Koppers' coke oven furnace

Koppers is Built on Circularity

In the early 1900s, the Koppers brand was founded on the concept of circularity, when German engineer Heinrich Koppers created a new kind of coke oven furnace that would recover key by-products and use them to create new products rather than release them into the atmosphere. More than a hundred years later, the circular economy continues to drive our company today.

Koppers employee standing between wooden poles

At least 75 percent of our products by revenue are made from recycled, reused, or renewable materials. We reuse waste and scrap materials from other industries as key production inputs, and use renewable resources for another significant portion of our raw material requirements—placing our company at the center of the circular resource economy.

Recycled copper

Recycled Copper

Our facility in Hubbell, Michigan, converts scrap copper to copper carbonate for use in our wood preservation chemicals. In 2021, we used about 35 million pounds of recycled copper in our wood preservation products.

Electric car charging

Sustainable Battery Projects

With patents pending relating to enhanced carbon products for use in the global electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery markets, we are working to help enhance the performance and extend the life of these products, contributing to worldwide energy efficiency.

Man working in a lab

Innovation

Koppers has created a culture where innovation, respect, teamwork, and customer focus are ingrained into our business. Our culture is critical to our success and longevity, and gives us the ability to adapt and innovate as the world changes around us by proactively adapting how we operate.

Crane moving wood

Our company's competitive advantage comes from our strengths in innovation and sustainability-focused products and services. Our innovative pursuits are driven by a dedicated team of chemists and wood-science professionals helping to pioneer new wood protection and enhancement chemistries.

Deck made with Koppers' wood

Product Stewardship

We systematically manage our portfolio of products and services to reduce the environmental impact for our communities and stakeholders. Across the entire Koppers product line, we strive for sustainability from inception to end of life, while making our products safer for both people and our planet.

Koppers employees in hard hats

Financial Performance

As part of our value-creation strategy, we continually work to enhance our comprehensive product portfolio, expand our wood-treatment services, optimize our network, and strengthen our balance sheet. We aim to generate attractive returns on capital while adhering to our sustainability strategy and honoring our company-wide Zero Harm culture.

Koppers' building in Pittsburgh

Our business success is driven by our vertically integrated business model coupled with a balanced product portfolio that serves a diversified mix of end markets. Our businesses are integrally connected, which allows us to take advantage of meaningful collaboration while enjoying the benefits that come from serving a variety of unique markets.

Wood awning

Investor Relations

Delivering Results

See how our commitment to transparency in reporting, disclosures, and governance delivers results and provides investors with the opportunity to make informed decisions about the company.