Sustainability efforts at SABEU

According to the principle of the "Clean Development Mechanism" described in the Kyoto Protocol, unavoidable greenhouse gases that are emitted in one place on earth should be saved by climate protection projects somewhere else. Companies buy certificates to finance these climate protection projects from the six available sectors (biomass, cooking stoves, solar energy, forest protection, hydropower and wind energy). Each certificate represents 1 ton of CO₂ saved by the respective project. There are numerous climate protection projects around the globe, most of which support renewable energy projects. Their initiators receive emission credits for their efforts, which can be traded in the form of climate protection certificates. The amount is measured by comparison to the emissions that would have resulted from building a coal-fired power plant, for example.

The carbon footprint is a measurement of the amount of directly and indirectly produced greenhouse gases (measured in CO₂ equivalents) which results from the activities of an individual, a company, an organization or a product. It includes the resulting emissions from raw materials, production, transport, trade, use, recycling and disposal. The basic idea behind the carbon footprint is to create a basis on which to measure, evaluate and compare the impact on the climate, in order to then be able to identify necessary potential for reduction, develop measures and evaluate their effectiveness. There is a distinction between the corporate carbon footprint and the product carbon footprint.

How were the CO₂ emissions for our company calculated?
We commissioned the external sustainability consulting firm Fokus Zukunft with calculating our company's footprint. The emission offset was determined using the official Greenhouse Gas Protocol guidelines.

What is reported under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol?
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol divides types of emissions into Scopes 1, 2 and 3. Scope 1 includes direct emissions from own energy plants. Scope 2 covers emissions that are indirectly caused by the provision of energy to the company. Scope 3 emissions are other indirect emissions that occur along the entire value chain.

Which greenhouse gases are included in the calculation?
The calculation of greenhouse gas emissions includes the seven main greenhouse gases defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. These are carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆).

What does “CO₂ equivalents” mean?
The seven main greenhouse gases are not all equally damaging. Methane, for example, is 21 times more harmful to the climate than CO₂, nitrous oxide is 310 times more harmful and sulphur hexafluoride is an astonishing 14,000 times more harmful. In order to compare the emissions with each other, they are allconverted to CO₂ and then referred to as CO₂ equivalents.

How is the consumption data collected then converted into greenhouse gas emissions?
The consumption data (e.g. electricity or fuel consumption) is converted using emission factors, which indicate the emissions per unit (e.g. per kilowatt hour of electricity or liter of petrol). The emission factors mainly come from DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), but also from the GEMIS database (Global Emission Model for Integrated Systems, IINAS) as well as from the Ecoinvent database, and are regularly updated.

How are emission certificates generated?
The initiators of climate protection projects –mainly renewable energy projects – receive emission credits for their efforts, which can be traded in the form of climate protection certificates. The emission offset is measured by comparing it with the emissions that would have resulted from the construction of a coal-fired power plant, for example, instead of generating renewable electricity.

The climate protection projects we purchase are accredited, approved and controlled according to one of the three internationally recognized certification standards – VCS (Verified Carbon Standard), UN CER (Certified Emission Reduction of the United Nations) or the Gold Standard developed by WWF. The validation of the project results, in terms of the CO₂ savings achieved, is certified by independent inspection agencies such as the German TÜV.

The CO₂ certificates purchased are decommissioned, which is an important prerequisite for designing and marketing CO₂-neutral companies and/or products. Without decommissioning, a CO₂ certificate could potentially continue to be traded, which would not result in any additional reduction in emissions.

Which projects do the purchased certificates support?
We are using our 1,418 certificates to support a wind energy project in Mexico which is certified by the United Nations.

Why are international projects supported?
Climate change is a global issue, so it doesn’t matter where CO₂ emissions are emitted or saved, because at the end of the day the overall amount of greenhouse gases is what counts. Reducing or offsetting CO₂ is very expensive in Germany, but is much cheaper in emerging and developing countries. The Kyoto Protocol, which is binding under international law, therefore stipulates that so-called climate protection projects which avoid or store greenhouse gas emissions should take place where they are most economical. Accordingly, there are many projects in newly emerging and developing countries, as the potential for savings through new technologies is still very high there and they can be used much more cost-effectively. In addition, the conditions for renewable energy plants (solar, wind, hydro and biomass) are often much more advantageous there. Projects in emerging and developing countries also contribute to improving the economic, social and ecological situation and support the realization of the UN’s sustainability goals. Emissions trading is a key driver in emerging and developing countries for transferring clean technologies and sustainable economic development.