The topic of climate protection plays a key role in our new ESG strategy. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions generated by our own activities, we are committed to reaching a net zero target by 2045 in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
A key milestone on our path to achieving this goal is our aim to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40% in absolute terms from 2020 to 2030 (Relative reduction, only including those sites which were already included in the base year 2020. New sites will be tracked separately). Our objective is to be climate neutral by 2025, which entails offsetting the remaining Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
We are currently looking at suitable measures to reduce indirect emissions that arise along our value chain, i.e. Scope 3 emissions. We also want to procure 100% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2025. In summer 2021, we joined the RE100 initiative to underpin our commitment and help raise awareness for this topic within the Brenntag Group. RE100 is a global initiative that brings together businesses aiming to source 100% renewable energy for electricity in the medium term.
Carbon management program gives the organization a clear climate protection signal
Taking responsibility for actions within one’s own sphere of influence and setting incentives – that is one of the central ideas behind the carbon management program. Each year under this program, Brenntag’s own Sustainability Council sets a virtual, intracompany price for CO₂ emissions (Scope 1 and 2) that is used to translate each company’s greenhouse gas emissions into internal costs.
This steers the transformation toward low-emission business practices, as the higher the price, the higher the incentives to save emissions. The Group-wide total calculated using the carbon price is paid into a climate protection fund, from which the companies, in turn, are provided with a budget for new carbon-saving projects. Last year, 16 sites worldwide had applied for this type of internal funding by submitting the project ideas they had developed for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and eleven of those sites were selected by the Sustainability Council. By purchasing electric cars, electric trucks and the related charging infrastructure or installing heat pumps, the companies not only wish to reduce their carbon footprint: The shift in vehicle, heating or air-conditioning technologies associated with these measures is a catalyst for change.
Our site in Traun in Austria is even aiming to complete the switch to being a zero-emissions site in the next few year.
