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WE ARE CLIMATE NEUTRAL

 

Together with ClimatePartner, we have calculated our ecological footprint for the year 2020: 1,260,608 kg of CO2 are caused by our locations in Bochum and Dortmund as well as our logistics including all incoming and outgoing freight and our vehicle fleet.

Our path towards climate neutrality led us from avoiding unnecessary emissions to reducing existing emissions and offsetting unavoidable emissions:

WE CONSERVE RESOURCES

In recent years, we have already made a number of changes that have had a positive impact on our goal of "climate neutrality": We have successively made our packaging plastic-free, switched our shipping service providers to emission-free solutions, found a climate-neutral solution for printing our catalogues.

In further steps, we would like to reduce our paper consumption and use ecological materials, use recyclable cardboard packaging and focus our electricity consumption on the use of renewable energies.

WE CREATE A BALANCE

Unfortunately, some emissions are unavoidable: For these, we create a balance.

For this purpose, we have chosen various national and international certified climate protection projects that simultaneously focus on the protection of the ecosystem and global sustainability goals, such as the fight against poverty or the improvement of living conditions in emerging and developing countries:

Our funded projects

Project 1

For CO2 compensation and regional climate protection, we support a linkage project of the Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald e.V. (German Forest Protection Association), which combines forest protection in Colombia with the planting of trees in local forests.

Das Foto zeigt Setzlinge vor dem Einpflanzen
Das Foto zeigt eingepflanzte Setzlinge
Das Foto zeigt einen Mann beim Einpflanzen der Setzlinge
 

Regional initiatives protect natural habitats such as native forests, moors, the Alps or contribute to the agricultural turnaround. They are important for adaptation to climate change. However, due to the strict requirements for climate protection projects, these initiatives are not suitable for CO2 offsetting. In order to nevertheless promote regional commitment to climate protection, we have chosen a so-called coupling project: In this case, the CO2 compensation takes place via a certified climate protection project, such as a forest protection project in Colombia. For every tonne of CO2 offset, we make an additional commitment through our linkage project, depending on the regional initiative. In this way, we create a balance towards climate neutrality and support regional climate protection at the same time.

More information about the project:

https://fpm.climatepartner.com/project/1111/en

Project 2

In eastern Nicaragua, we support the reforestation of a native bamboo species and the protection of a 1,000-hectare forest. By reducing deforestation, this project contributes to the mitigation of global warming.

Forests are among the planet's most important CO2 reservoirs, are home to enormous biodiversity and are the basis of life for all humans. However, global forest areas have declined sharply in recent decades due to increasing settlement, agricultural use, illegal logging and resource extraction.

Afforestation or reforestation of degraded areas is an important contribution to increasing the CO2 storage capacity of the biosphere. Afforestation can take different forms. Sustainable forestry binds large amounts of CO2 due to fast-growing species. New forests also create habitats for animal and plant species as well as opportunities for local people.

More information on the project:

https://fpm.climatepartner.com/project/details/1216/en

Project 3

The Plastic Bank's mission is to protect the ocean, which is a major contributor to climate change. In Haiti, Indonesia, Brazil and the Philippines, where the infrastructure for proper disposal is lacking, residents collect plastic waste that they can exchange for money, food or drinking water. The project is linked to wind power projects in the Philippines and Aruba.

The ocean stores a quarter of the CO2 from the atmosphere and as much as 93 percent of the heat from the greenhouse effect - making it a major brake on climate change. Warming, overfishing, pollutants and waste endanger this balancing function. The Plastic Bank initiative prevents plastic waste from entering the sea and thus indirectly protects the climate. Because this does not result in certified emission reductions, this project is coupled with internationally recognised climate protection projects. Thus, ocean protection and climate neutrality are possible at the same time.

More information on the project:

https://fpm.climatepartner.com/project/1087/en

WE CARE ABOUT PEOPLE

It is important to us that we act in a socially responsible manner throughout our entire supply chain. That is why we are a member of the amfori Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) and - in addition to personal visits by our employees on site - ensure through regular official audits in our factories that, for example, working hours, remuneration, health and safety conditions meet ethical standards.

The amfori BSCI Code of Conduct is based on the conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the universal human rights declarations of the United Nations, the UN Global Compact and the OECD guidelines. All amfori BSCI participants agree to the CoC and undertake to comply with it.

By joining, members commit to engage their suppliers in the amfori BSCI process and are continuously monitored on their progress.

In turn, the suppliers of BSCI members commit to comply with the BSCI Code of Conduct and are audited accordingly. In addition, the companies are supported in their further development with training.

WE CONTINUE

We have achieved a lot, but there is still a lot ahead of us. Climate-neutral work always requires new adjustments and ideas. We look forward to taking you with us on our climate neutrality journey and to reporting to you and to report to you on our further steps.

You can also follow our climate neutrality journey on our ClimatePartner profile. Here you will find all the information about the projects we support collected together:

https://fpm.climatepartner.com/tracking/16587-2112-1001