Knowing your own ecological footprint is becoming increasingly important – but employees, legislators and other stakeholders also have a keen interest in it.
36.3 billion tonnes of CO2
were emitted worldwide in 2021 – more than ever before.
(SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY – IEA)
46 per cent
of Executive Board members and Managing Directors state that they have so far taken sustainability measures for marketing reasons only.
(SOURCE: STUDY BY HR CONSULTANCY RUSSELL REYNOLDS IN APRIL/MAY 2021 OF 9,500 EXECUTIVES WORLDWIDE, THEREOF 747 IN DE)
41 per cent
of all German employees attach importance to their employer trying to become climate neutral.
(SOURCE: REPRESENTATIVE SURVEY BY THE MEINUNGSFORSCHUNGSINSTITUT CIVEY IN OCTOBER 2021)
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Companies that meet at least two of the following criteria must prepare a sustainability report from 2023:
• Balance sheet total greater than € 20 million • Turnover greater than € 40 million • Number of employees during the year greater than 250
(SOURCE: EU DIRECTIVE “CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING DIRECTIVE – CSRD”)
50,000
Companies in Germany must prepare a sustainability report in 2023.
(EXTRAPOLATION BASED ON THE EU DIRECTIVE “CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING DIRECTIVE – CSRD”, DATA BASIS: FEDERAL STATISTICAL OFFICE)
60 per cent
government funding is available for the determination of a CO2 company footprint and reduction strategy.
The funding rate equates to 50 per cent of eligible costs, for SMEs, it is 60 per cent. The maximum funding amount is € 80,000 (per location).
(SOURCE: FEDERAL OFFICE OF ECONOMICS AND EXPORT CONTROL [BAFAA])
EXPERT INTERVIEW WITH HELEN TACKE
How do I deal with my company’s CO2 emissions? It starts with an inventory of all current emissions. A thorough analysis then shows where savings can be made. This should be translated into specific measures and evaluated, in order to make progress measurable. I can only recommend involving all people who are part of the relevant processes, i.e. employees, suppliers and customers. Only those who communicate the topic of CO2 reduction effectively will be successful.
Helen Tacke is the founder and Managing Director of Cozero GmbH in Berlin. At the company’s core is a software solution that enables users to decarbonise effectively, and which digitally records the carbon footprint of the entire value chain, balances it and analyses it using artificial intelligence. Based on an impact analysis and investment calculation, concrete measures for CO₂ reduction are then introduced with the involvement of all stakeholders.
What are the ways to reduce your own CO2 footprint? By drafting a strategy on how to achieve actual savings, i.e. by carrying out specific ecological conversion measures. Alternatively, you can buy CO2 certificates to compensate. However, one thing has to be said about this: Those who only rely on compensation will miss the boat, entrepreneurially speaking, because certificates are becoming ever more expensive and only serve to postpone the problems until tomorrow.
But how do climate protection and a company’s profitability go hand in hand? We have developed a calculation standard for this – the ROCI: Return on Carbon Investment. Each CO2 reduction measure is subjected to an impact analysis and investment calculation, in order to determine whether it also makes prudent business sense. I am firmly convinced that climate protection can only function meaningfully in the German economy if it pays off in every respect.
By the way:
In future, a sustainability report is to be submitted by
• Banks and investors • Insurance providers • Customers and suppliers
What opportunities are there to address the issue of sustainability? Those who compile emissions on their own usually get an unstructured and imprecise result – and experience shows that this fails miserably. For example, anyone who hires a climate consultancy then receives a report that is standardised by law, but this involves a great deal of effort and expense every year. Moreover, the reduction proposals are often very subjective and often rely on certificates. And then there are the possibilities of tackling this in digital form ...
You use digital tools for CO2 accounting – how exactly does that work? With Cozero, we have developed software that automatically identifies, logs and analyses emission points in a report-compliant manner, 365 days a year – with the highest precision and depth. From millions of data points and taking into account economic efficiency, we can thus create forecasts and scenarios for savings. Real changes can then be derived from this. And we demonstrate how to bring in all the groups involved. Sustainability is a good example of the great opportunities offered by digitisation.
