Our Commitment to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG)
As a responsible company, we take the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions very seriously. We see it as our duty to continuously reduce our CO2 footprint and thus make a positive contribution to climate protection. Through various measures, such as optimising our production processes, logistics, and product packaging, as well as promoting sustainable mobility we are working on minimising our emissions.
Our goal is to achieve climate neutrality in the long term through these efforts. We rely on specific targets and regular monitoring to make our progress measurable and transparent.
To address the complexity of this issue, we would like to highlight two key points in our blog for better understanding.
What is the Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF)?
The Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF) is a central tool for accounting for a company’s or production site’s GHG emissions over the course of a year. Emissions are recorded and analysed to develop measures to improve the climate balance and ideally achieve climate neutrality. The accounting period usually aligns with the fiscal year.
How can the CCF be specifically determined?
The steps to determine a company’s CO2 footprint include:
- Definition of system boundaries
- Data collection
- Calculation of GHG emissions
- Presentation of GHG emissions
- Derivation of measures to reduce emissions
GHG accounting distinguishes between direct and indirect emissions. The GHG Protocol divides emissions into three scopes:
Scope 1: Direct emissions from company-owned activities. This includes all emissions from sources within the company. Examples include:
- Fuels: Combustion of fossil fuels in company-owned boilers, industrial furnaces, or production facilities.
- Company vehicles: Emissions from company-owned vehicles.
- Process emissions: Direct emissions generated during production processes, such as cement manufacturing.
- Refrigerant losses: Leaks from company-owned cooling systems and air conditioning units.
Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased energy. These include emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, heat, or steam. Examples include:
- Electricity: Emissions from generating electricity that the company purchases and uses.
- District heating: Emissions from generating district heating used in company buildings.
- Steam: Emissions from purchased process steam used for industrial purposes.
Scope 3: Indirect emissions from upstream and downstream processes related to the company’s activities. These emissions occur outside the company but are associated with its business activities. Examples include:
- Upstream emissions:
- Purchased goods and services: Emissions from the production of raw materials used by the company.
- Transport and logistics: Emissions from the transportation of purchased materials by external logistics providers.
- Business travel: Emissions from employees’ business trips, such as flights or rental cars.
- Employee commuting: Emissions from employees commuting between their homes and the workplace.
- Downstream emissions:
- Distribution and transport: Emissions from the transportation of products to customers, carried out by external service providers.
- Use of sold products: Emissions generated during the use of products by the end consumer.
- Disposal of products: Emissions generated during the disposal or recycling of products.
Scope 1 and Scope 2 must be included in the accounting according to the GHG Protocol while reporting for Scope 3 is not mandatory. However, relevant criteria from Scope 3 should be included for a comprehensive view.
What is the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)?
Unlike the Corporate Carbon Footprint, the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) refers to the accounting of GHG emissions over the entire lifecycle of a product. The entire value chain is considered: from the production and transportation of raw materials and intermediate products to production, distribution, use, post-use, and disposal.
The accounting boundaries of a PCF can be set differently:
- Cradle-to-gate: Accounting from raw material extraction to the factory gate. For example, for a car manufacturer, this includes emissions from the extraction and transportation of raw materials (e.g., metals, plastics), the production of components, and the assembly of the vehicle until it leaves the factory.
- Cradle-to-grave: Accounting over the entire lifecycle until disposal. For the same car manufacturer, this additionally includes emissions from the use of the car (e.g., fuel consumption) and its disposal at the end of its life.
- Cradle-to-cradle: Accounting of a closed loop, including recycling. This means that the car is dismantled after use, and the materials are reused or recycled to produce new cars or other products. This reduces the need for primary raw materials and minimizes waste.
For B2B companies, cradle-to-gate accounting is often sufficient, while for B2C companies, a more comprehensive cradle-to-grave analysis makes sense. The data required for the accounting comes from various internal and external sources, such as energy management systems, environmental management, EU emissions trading, and external databases.
As readers may have realized, this topic can only be partially covered in this blog. For further reading, we recommend the following sources:
