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Climate-neutral at own locations: Dr. Oetker achieves climate target

Dr. Oetker is reducing its carbon footprint and becoming climate neutral at its own locations.

Climate-neutral at own locations: Dr. Oetker achieves climate target

28.7.2022 Corporate News

<Bielefeld, 7/28/2021> Dr. Oetker is reducing its carbon footprint and becoming climate neutral at its own locations. The company has thus achieved an im-portant climate target in its Dr. Oetker Sustainability Charter. The next steps have already been defined.

Last year, Dr. Oetker presented its international sustainability strategy, the Dr Oetker Sustainability Charter (Homepage - Sustainability | Dr. Oetker), to the public. The company is already announcing that the goal of climate neutrality at its own locations (Scope 1 and 2 according to Greenhouse Gas Protocol) will be achieved in 2022. But this is far from the end of the road: The company aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 35 percent in all direct and indirect areas of influence by 2030 (Scope 1, 2 and 3 according to Greenhouse Gas Protocol) in order to be completely climate neutral by 2050. "All of our international locations will be climate-neutral this year," says Dr. Judith Güthoff, Sustainability Officer at Dr. Oetker, "but that's just the beginning. We're working hard to use less energy, generate renewable energy ourselves or purchase it so we have to offset as few unavoidable emissions as possible."

Four-stage plan for consistent climate protection

In order to achieve its ambitious climate target, Dr. Oetker has drawn up a four-stage plan that the company is consistently pursuing. “We fully support the goal of the Paris climate protection agreement to limit global warming to one and a half degrees Celsius. As a food-producing and internationally active company, we feel obliged to do everything we can to achieve this goal. We at Dr. Oetker have therefore defined a clear plan with which we want to achieve success as quickly as possible. We have now achieved an initial partial success," says Güthoff.

1. Reduce energy consumption

Dr. Oetker generated more than 110,000 metric tons of CO2 annually by 2021 through energy consumption in production and office buildings as well as fuel consumption by the company's own vehicle fleet. Most of the CO2emissions are attributable to the consumption of energy such as natural gas or electricity in production. In order to reduce this consumption as much as possible, Dr. Oetker has defined savings potential and set up various programs that ensure that energy is used more efficiently and consumption is thus significantly reduced.

2. Generate renewable energies

Renewable energies are emission-free and are generated from unlimited re-sources such as the sun or wind. Dr. Oetker is therefore continuously working on generating them itself. At the location in Johannesburg, South Africa, a photovoltaic plant has been generating more than 30 percent of the energy required on site since 2021. Other facilities are in Bielefeld and Oerlinghausen, Germany, Desenzano del Garda and Rivergaro, Italy, and Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. Various other locations are currently planning the installation of photovoltaic systems.

3. Acquiring renewable energies

It is not always possible to generate energy yourself. Thus, the company buys additional electrical energy from renewable sources such as solar or wind power. This measure alone reduces Dr. Oetker's carbon footprint by around 65,000 tons. In addition, Dr. Oetker is keeping a close eye on the market for gas from renewable sources and is exploring possible options. At the same time, the company is also working on a possible energy switch in order to be able to do without the fossil fuel gas completely.

4. Offsetting emissions

Dr. Oetker offsets emissions that cannot yet be avoided through the first three steps via offset projects that either remove CO2 from the atmosphere elsewhere or help to avoid CO2. The company only buys its certificates from projects that meet the internationally recognized Gold Standard or Verified Car-bon Standard and are therefore highly credible. These projects not only offset CO2, but also contribute to the United Nations' sustainable development goals. Dr. Oetker has already shut down 40,000 tons of CO2 with the help of compensation projects.

In the long term, Dr. Oetker plans to continuously improve steps one to three so that one day no further offsetting will be necessary.

Dr. Oetker supports the following compensation projects financially and with full conviction:

Investments in Turkish wind farm

Wind energy is particularly space-efficient and also free of emissions. Therefore, Dr. Oetker supports a Gold Standard project in Turkey, in which 20 wind turbines supply the Turkish grid with clean energy - instead of fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. In addition, the project creates jobs and brings new technologies and know-how to the Turkish economy. For more information on the project, please visit: GSF Registry (goldstandard.org)

Efficient cooking stoves in Ghana

The WHO estimates that around 3.8 million people die every year from indoor air pollution. The reason: cooking on open fireplaces and inefficient stoves, in-cluding those with coal or kerosene. A project in Ghana supported by Dr. Oetker (GSF Registry (GSF Registry (goldstandard.org) finances charcoal stoves that reduce con-sumption, increase efficiency and store heat. And thus not only save costs, but above all reduce air pollution in houses.

Planting trees in Kenya

Collecting seeds, planting trees and tending groves are on the daily agenda of the international small group and tree planting program TIST. The participating farmers absorb CO2 from the atmosphere through their work and receive 70 percent of the revenue from the sale of emission certificates in return. All, of course, under the strict supervision of external bodies. All information at: TIST KE PD-VCS-006a PD Text 120824.doc (live.com)

Where do we go from here?

In addition to its own locations, Dr. Oetker also considers indirect emission sources along the upstream and downstream value chain (Scope 3 according to the GHG Pro-tocol). This includes, among other things, the raw materials purchased for Dr. Oetker products, the recycling of waste generated, and employees’ commutes and business trips. In accordance with the Dr. Oetker Sustainability Charter, the company aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 35 percent by 2030.

In addition, Dr. Oetker is working on being able to calculate its carbon footprint for all product ranges in order to enable consumers to make environmentally conscious purchasing decisions.

At the same time, the company supports methods of regenerative agriculture that ensure that food is produced in a way that not only improves soil health, but also strengthens water cycles and promotes the diversity of animals and plants. The soils then store extra carbon that doesn't end up in the atmosphere, and they even need less fertilizer and pesticides. In the long term, this leads to improvements in climate protection, biodiversity, the water balance and also greater resilience to extreme weather events.

By 2050, Dr. Oetker will ultimately be completely climate-neutral. For Güthoff there is no alternative to the chosen path: “We are fully committed to actively protecting the climate. It is important to us to use natural resources responsibly in order to preserve and improve the livelihoods of future generations. Fewer CO2 emissions, less plastic and food waste, more sustainable raw materials and deforestation-free supply chains - that's what we're working towards every day at Dr. Oetker."

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Thierry Krauser 

Media Spokesperson Finance / Countries