Our path to climate neutrality

OUR PATH TO CLIMATE NEUTRALITY

OUR PATH TO CLIMATE NEUTRALITY

Extreme weather conditions, rising sea levels, acidifying oceans and reduced biodiversity are the dramatic consequences of rapidly changing climatic conditions. Climate change affects the entire world. And thus each and every one of us. That is why we must do everything in our power to ensure climate neutrality by the middle of the 21st century and thus limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This threshold was deemed safe by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and adopted as a binding target by 195 countries in the Paris Climate Agreement.

The roadmap to climate neutrality is clear: "Reduce & Compensate". And so we, too, are actively assuming our responsibility as part of the system.

1. WE REDUCE THE CO2 EMISSIONS OF OUR ENTIRE COMPANY AS FAR AS POSSIBLE.

In addition to all the construction and infrastructure measures already implemented to reduce the CO₂ footprint of the main site in Gersthofen, we are working in the long term to reduce the CO₂ footprint of our products in particular. In addition to the increased use of recycled and bluesign® certified materials as well as sustainable technologies with a lower CO₂ footprint, according to ECOS, the extension of product life cycles in particular contributes 10% to improving the footprint and not only saves 8% CO₂, 10% water and 9% waste, but also reduces the cost of resource consumption by 9%.

However, even with the greatest efforts, we cannot get a product to be climate neutral. That's why we offset selected products and our company site in cooperation with ClimatePartner.

2. WE OFFSET CO2 EMISSIONS THAT WE CAN NO LONGER REDUCE.

When recording and calculating the remaining CO₂ emissions - the so-called CO₂ footprint - emissions from energy procurement as well as energy and fuel consumption are taken into account. In addition, emissions from upstream supply chains are recorded in order to be able to make complete product lines and production sites CO₂ -neutral. To this end, we work together with the experts at ClimatePartner. They identify and develop offset projects worldwide. For our current ClimatePartner certified products, we have chosen three social and climate protection projects.

OUR ClimatePartner certified PRODUCTs

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Pico

7 Color variants

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Kikki

6 Color variants

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Junior

3 Color variants

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OUR SELECTED OFFSET PROJECTS

WIND ENERGY IN PIAUÍ AND PERNAMBUCO, BRAZIL

14 wind farms with a total of 156 turbines are helping to increase the share of renewable, emission-free energy in Brazil's electricity mix and improve the national and regional energy supply. Thanks to a total capacity of 358.8 MW, the project saves about 652,150 tons of CO2 per year that would otherwise have been generated by fossil fuel power generation. The project will also create jobs, improve local infrastructure and provide access to education.

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COAL EXIT WITH BIOMASS IN SOACHA, COLOMBIA

Biomass refers to organic residues of a biogenic, non-fossil nature, such as branches, sawdust or coconut shells, etc. This can be used to fire modern energy-efficient kilns and prevents the emission of harmful smoke and large amounts of CO2 during the production of bricks. And these are in hot demand in the fast-growing region around Bogotá. This project saves around 18,470 tons of CO2 every year, creates jobs and is a great example that will hopefully soon be followed by more brickworks in Colombia.

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CLEAN DRINKING WATER IN MANICA, SOFALA & TETE, MOZAMBIQUE

Two billion people in the world have no access to drinking water. Depending on the region, ever larger areas are being deforested in order to boil the available water over an open fire. This results in high CO2 emissions, which can be avoided by the drinking water project. Through chemical or mechanical treatment and increased well construction for groundwater extraction, clean drinking water will be provided to about 102,000 additional inhabitants, 180,000 tons of CO2 emissions will be saved and diseases will be prevented.

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Expansion of renewable energy generation in Asia

Interest and demand for renewable energies are growing on the Asian continent as well. Climate projects generate necessary resources to drive the expansion of sustainable technologies. This renewable energy portfolio supports projects in several countries across Asia:

wind energy projects in India, China, Indonesia and Turkey
solar energy projects in India and China
hydropower projects in Turkey and Sri Lanka
biogas- and biomass projects in India, China and Thailand

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Race to Zero: to protect what we love

Climate science findings show that the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C can only be achieved if carbon dioxide emissions are stopped and ‘zeroed’, since reduction alone is not enough. ‘Zero’ in this context means that all emissions released into the atmosphere by human activities need to be offset by removing or sequestering an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. This needs to happen globally and as soon as possible, but at the latest by the middle of the century.

Businesses, countries, regions and cities are being called upon to set ambitious net-zero targets and make faster progress than planned. Net zero means reaching a point where activities throughout the value chain do not have a net effect on the climate resulting from greenhouse gases. It’s a huge challenge, yet one that cannot - and must not - be tackled alone.

The ‘Race to Zero’ global campaign, backed by the United Nations, is the largest coalition of non-state actors to date, including companies, cities, regions and financial and educational institutions. Over 14,000 members are committed to take rigorous and immediate action to halve emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050 at the latest.

We too have committed ourselves to this important initiative and have set ambitious targets in our climate strategy based on the Science Based Target Initiative: By 2030, directly attributable emissions, such as those from the company fleet and company infrastructure, as well as any indirect CO2 emissions, such as those from purchased goods and services, upstream and downstream logistics, fuel and energy or waste disposal, are to be reduced by 42% compared to the base year of 2022. By 2050 we are also aiming to cut CO2 emissions by at least 90 % compared to the base year of 2022 and achieve net-zero emissions status.

This involves company-wide commitment, dedicated teams, ambitious plans, proper implementation of measures as well as regular checks and flexible adjustments to achieve our targets. Joining the SME ClimateHub is further evidence of how seriously we are committed. As part of this, we have publicly announced our participation in the Race to Zero campaign and are publishing reports on our targets.

By taking action and implementing targeted measures to protect the climate, we can help to create a more sustainable and fairer future for everyone. Because we want to protect what we love – both for us and for future generations to enjoy.