December 15, 2022 marks the official starting point for the North Rhine-Westphalia Industrial Pact. In the presence of NRW Economics Minister Mona Neubaur, 31 industrial companies, associations and science representatives declared by signature their accession to the North Rhine-Westphalia Pact for Climate Neutrality and Competitiveness, including the Hot-Dip Galvanizing Industry Association. The aim of the pact is to make North Rhine-Westphalia the first climate-neutral industrial region in Europe.
"We are joining the industrial pact because we want to lead the way in the sustainability transformation. The transformation opens up a wide range of opportunities for our industry, which is why we are also involved in the pact's core team," explains Martin Kopf, Chairman of the Hot-Dip Galvanizing Industry Association. But the symbolic signature is not enough. Now it is a matter of contributing one's own ideas, plans and roadmaps for the sustainability transformation, evaluating plans and roadmaps from others and using them to develop a cross-industry transformation path for the most populous German state, at the end of which climate neutrality will be achieved. "Climate-neutral production is a goal for the future for the hot-dip galvanizing industry. It fully transforms hot-dip galvanizing into green corrosion protection," says Kopf.